ABOUT US

Al Katz began his business career when he joined a small family owned business employing sixty employees with sales of four million dollars. Working his way from unloading trucks to President and COO gave Katz an opportunity to learn all aspects of the company and the dynamics of its family. He was instrumental in transitioning this company into a leader in its industry with record sales of over ninety million dollars employing some eighteen hundred associates. The business was sold in 1985 achieving the company’s five year plan. (see BIO)

The concept of The Next Level, LLC began in 1985 when his previous company was sold and Al Katz followed his passion to become a Business Coach. He began his coaching in the catalog showroom industry where he had spent the previous twenty five years. He later branched out into other areas including retail, wholesale, distribution, manufacturing, professional organizations as well as civic and educational organizations.

During the last twenty years he has developed “The Process” a concept that has proven highly successful to hundreds of companies and organizations (see TESTIMONIALS). Al and Earl bring over 50 years of experience to help you solve your business and personal issues.

Earl Walker joined The Next Level, LLC with backgrounds in business, education, and the military. Dr. Earl Walker is currently Professor of Management and Leadership at The Citadel, prior to being the Founding Dean of The Citadel School of Business Administration. Previously, he served as Dean of the Business Schools at three different universities.

He was Director of Training at McLane Company in Temple, Texas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart. He was also a line Army officer, who commanded Army units in Vietnam, Germany, and the United States, and was Airborne and Ranger qualified. He retired in 1993 as an Army Colonel after 26 years of service, and 18 years in academics at West Point.

He was a 1967 Distinguished Graduate and Phi Beta Kappa from the US Military Academy at West Point, an has a PhD in Organizational Behavior and Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has received a number of distinguished awards, to include selection as a White House Fellow and a NATO Research Fellow.

He has also served as the President of the Rotary Club of Charleston, and on the boards of many organizations in the Lowcountry, to include Free Enterprise Foundation and The Charleston Regional Alliance.

Earl has been married to Susan Porter Walker for 39 years, and they have two children, Allen and Kathryn.