Art Van Cook founded Avanco International, Inc. in 1982 following a distinguished career at the Department of Defense. During the early years, Avanco focused exclusively on business within the DoD providing management consulting and policy analysis services. This continues to be a cornerstone of Avanco's government business.

Steve Vandivier became President of Avanco in 1994 and altered the company strategy to include information technology. This enabled Avanco to provide solutions to a broader spectrum of customers in the Federal Government, State & Local government, and within the commercial sector.

Today Avanco is a recognized leader in the Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence field partnering with such companies as Oracle, Cognos, and Actuate to provide industry leading solutions to business. The company has been named to the Virginia Fantastic 50 (Fastest growing small businesses) four years out of five.