Our Team

Joel M. Koblentz, Senior Partner

jkoblentz@koblentzgroup.com

Joel M. Koblentz is nationally recognized for resolving the most sensitive, critical and confidential client situations. Accordingly, his practices, as developed over the last 25 plus years, can best be described as "at the value creation level" for publicly traded companies and for private equity concerns. Mr. Koblentz advises various corporate boards, their chairmen and chief executive officers on succession and recruitment of new board members, CEOs and executive leadership. Mr. Koblentz’ typical clients are comprised of boards of directors or chief executives.

Previously, Mr. Koblentz was a Senior Partner at Egon Zehnder, a leading global executive search and board of directors’ consultancy. During his tenure with Egon Zehnder, he led its New York and Atlanta practices as well as leading its service sector practice group for the Americas region. Prior experience includes senior strategic management and financial positions at Cox Cable Communications (Atlanta) and Tiger International (Atlanta and Los Angeles) while gaining prior experience in a financial role at Occidental Petroleum (Los Angeles) and as a senior consultant at Ernst and Young (Los Angeles).

In 2001, Mr. Koblentz conceptualized and co-founded Emory University’s Goizueta Directors Institute, which centers on the study of corporate governance and best practices for boards of directors. He is currently serving as a board member of Focus Brands. His recent activities include his participation as a two-term board member of Atlanta's High Museum, The Dean's Advisory Council for the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and the Emory University Board of Visitors, along with serving as a board member of Central Atlanta Progress, The Latin American Association and several terms on the board of ZooAtlanta. Mr. Koblentz is also a member of the Board of Councilors at The Carter Center, as well as Business Executives for National Security, where he was involved as an advisor to the U.S. government-sponsored C.I.A. venture capital fund.

Mr. Koblentz is a certified public accountant (CPA) and holds an MBA from the University of Southern California. He has lectured at various educational institutions and societies over the years and has authored numerous articles on leadership; corporate governance; board of director responsibilities; relationships between boards and their CEO’s; and the role of corporations within their shareholders' communities.

Mr. Koblentz has been named repeatedly as one of Atlanta’s “100 Most Influential”. .


Morgan Henritze Hamilton, Partner

mhamilton@koblentzgroup.com

Morgan Hamilton commenced her consulting experience at a leading global executive search firm several years ago advising on numerous senior level appointments principally for service companies.

Recently, she has led engagements for Division Presidents, Vice Presidents, CFOs, Head of Strategy and Vice President of Human Resources for clients in the lodging and restaurant arena, professional firms, as well as serving multiunit business to business service companies.

Over the past couple of years, Ms. Hamilton has led several engagements for one of the most significant players in the hotel and gaming sector. She has also successfully conducted numerous searches for a leading globally-oriented company in document movement and storage, a NYSE financial services and a top 10 global law firm, among many others.   Ms. Hamilton is also directly involved in our very active board practice having recently conducted several engagements for Fortune 500 companies.

Ms. Hamilton brings global experience in previously being associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, and having studied in Innsbruck, Austria.

Ms. Hamilton holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Georgia.




John Takerer, Partner

jtakerer@koblentzgroup.com

As well as being a partner in The Koblentz Group, John Takerer is the President of Oxford Investments Inc., an advisory firm dedicated to finding and unlocking value in industrial, process and basic materials businesses. The partners in Oxford develop international mid-market companies and divisions of companies as investment opportunities, help them drive to value, and link them up with direct investment funding. 

Prior to forming Oxford Mr. Takerer bought, sold, ran and transformed several businesses ranging in size from $100 to $700 million for J.M.Huber Corporation's Engineered Materials sector, a leading worldwide manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals and minerals serving markets as diverse as paper and paint to food and pharmaceuticals.

He joined Huber from Egon Zehnder International, the world's largest private executive search firm. He was a Principal in the firm's Atlanta office and focused on serving clients in manufacturing, process and services sectors, public and private, and was a leader of the North American Services Practice as well as Atlanta office research.

Earlier in his career Mr. Takerer formulated and implemented strategies in turnaround and transformation situations, in leadership positions with ECC International and as a Senior Engagement Manager with McKinsey and Company. He also has held finance, M&A and strategy positions with the Mead Corporation and Canadian Pacific Ltd.

Mr. Takerer has a BSc. in Engineering from Queen's University in Canada and an MBA from Purdue University. He has served as Board Chair of Diversion Alternatives for Youth, an innovative youth counseling organization in Ohio. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University, and of Abel Solutions - an Internet portal enabled software solutions provider - and is a member of the Society of International Business Fellows.


Shari Hembree, Managing Consultant

Shari Hembree brings over 12 years of executive search experience to our clients, focusing on senior level executive positions spanning a variety of industries. Her industry experience includes successfully completing senior level engagements within the fields of Technology, Consumer Products, Financial Services/Banking, Energy, Not-for-Profit, and Healthcare.

Ms Hembree has several years of search experience, initially working at Spencer Stuart for five years. Additionally, she spent five years with Dell Computer, Inc., a Fortune 50 company, where she led the executive recruitment activities for two of Dell’s large business units.

Ms. Hembree received her Bachelor’s degree in management, cum laude, from McMurry University. Additionally, she completed the executive management program at Rice University.

Ms. Hembree currently serves on the board of directors of the Palm Beach Sailing Club, and is an active member of Executive Women of the Palm Beaches, The Business Development Board of Palm Beach, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Gulfstream Goodwill Foundation.


Parker M. Henritze, Researcher

Ms. Henritze is attending Princeton University where she is majoring in Politics while pursuing a minor in American Studies. Her studies, interests, and abilities drew her to our Firm during which time she assisted both Mr. Koblentz and Mrs. Hamilton as a researcher. Ms. Henritze has coordinated searches through original research efforts, developed strategy for identifying target companies groups, compiled reports for clients, and interacted in the pre-screening of candidates across a variety of industries.

Prior to assisting the Koblentz Group, Ms. Henritze worked for United States Senator Saxby Chambliss in his Washington, D.C. office where she gained additional research experience as well producing briefing memos and assisting with constituent response.

During her time at Princeton, Ms. Henritze splits her time between academic endeavors, Varsity Women’s Volleyball and a variety of leadership positions. She was selected to the All-Ivy First Team for her contributions to the Varsity Volleyball team in her sophomore season as well as the All-Ivy Academic team after garnering Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors in her freshmen debut. Outside of volleyball, Ms. Henritze was selected to serve as the clerk of the Undergraduate Honor Committee and next year will become the committee’s chair. She was also selected for the Varsity Student Athletic Advisory Committee which coordinates with the NCAA and Ivy League on possible legislation and other athletic issues within the university. Additionally, Ms. Henritze is the sole undergraduate representative on of the President’s Advisory Committee on architecture and one of only two undergraduates chosen to help with Princeton’s NCAA self-study on compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.


Tom Schwartz, Information Technology Advisor

Tom Schwartz holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology with a minor in computer Engineering. He was a Captain in the US Army flying OH-58 observation and command and control helicopter missions for an AH-64 Apache Battalion in IRAQ during the first Gulf War in 1991. He has been in small business since 1994 with Prime Power Inc developing state-of-the-art Electrical Switchgear solutions for light and heavy industrial, hospitals, commercial high-rise buildings, and electrical power utilities in the Eastern part of the USA.

Mr. Schwartz subsequently joined IntelliNet, a world class Microsoft Solution Provider in Atlanta where he developed and managed their internal systems and acquired his Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) certifications.

In 1999, he started TES Enterprises to provide highly customized service and support to the ever growing small business community.

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