For starters, Mr. Talbott is an avid Winston Churchill fan. As a high school student at Nashville’s Montgomery Bell Academy, he decided to follow in the footsteps of the former prime minister. Literally. And after winning a Wilson Grant to study abroad, he traveled to England and France, London to Normandy, to get a boots-on-the-ground understanding of the former prime minister’s world. In the process, it seems that some of Churchill’s intellectual curiosity, persistence and resourcefulness rubbed off.

Carson Talbott has lived in Knoxville, Nashville, Charlottesville and New York. He’ s been a golf caddy on Nantucket (“best job ever!”), an intern for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under Senator Bob Corker (during the Russian invasion of Crimea and the Rex Tillerson confirmation hearing), and he has assisted his girlfriend’s at-home cookie business as the Chief Dough Maker. But as a 2020 graduate of the University of Virginia, his passion for macro- and micro-economics, accounting, econometrics, and the Theory of Financial Markets ultimately led him to make his own dough in the financial world.

Carson interned at New York private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson &Stoweas a finance analyst in healthcare and technology after his junior year at UVA, and he was hooked. Hoping to land a job in investment banking after graduation in May of 2020, Carson began pursuing investment banking opportunities in New York City during his senior year – but the pandemic had other plans. With in-person interviews and New York City shut down and hiring stalled, Carson chose to weather the COVID storm at home in Nashville. And at his local Chick-Fil-A.

As a big fan of the “original chicken sandwich,” Carson began posting religiously on social media about his experiences there. The restaurant noticed and named him their Favorite Instagram Fan. Then they offered him a job. Instead of waiting months for the financial hiring market to return, he took that job – and says the lessons he learned about logistics and customer service during the pandemic were invaluable.

Along the way in early 2021, he also found Avondale Partners. And he has become an invaluable and insightful member of our analyst team ever since – bringing his unique and diverse set of life experiences and perspectives to work with him every day.

Out of the office, Carson enjoys a variety of sports and music. From UVA basketball, UT football, the Titans, Colts and Broncos (“anything Peyton Manning”) – to the sounds of Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, and Post Malone. His favorite books are The Great Gatsby and The Count of Monte Cristo. And on the videogaming console, it’s the fierce car soccer competition of “Rocket League.”

What If he wasn’t in banking?

“I’d probably be interested in a career in social consciousness technology, coming up with solutions to improve the environment.”