BIOS

AL KATZ

Al Katz, a native of Greenville, SC, graduated with honors from The Citadel and earned his MBA from Georgia Tech. After serving with distinction as an army officer, he returned to Atlanta to begin his career with Ellman’s Inc., a publicly held retail specialty organization.

During his twenty plus years with this company, Katz held senior level executive positions and filled the office of President and COO of this $90 million company employing over 1,800. During his five years as President he led his team in achieving record sales and profits and ultimately sold the company in 1985. He was the recipient of numerous industry awards for his accomplishments.

Since then, he has been serving as a “Personal and Business Coach” working with organizations as founder and Managing Partner of The Next Level, LLC; special attention being given to closely held businesses, professional practices and family owned organizations. Katz has coached hundreds of businesses and organizations throughout the country with offices located in Charleston and Greenville, South Carolina. Currently, he is writing a book dealing with the planning and communication issues facing most businesses today.

Additionally, he holds the Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., Chair of Innovative Marketing in the Business School, continues to teach as an adjunct professor in both the undergraduate and graduate programs at The Citadel. He also held the Robert A. Jolley Endowed Chair of Business Administration. Katz assists the Dean of the Business School in reaching out to the business community.

Al sits on the boards of the Gibbes Museum, The Harbour Club and has been an officer and/or director of the Presidential Advisory Committee at MUSC, the Charleston Concert Association, the Lowcountry Children’s Center, The Charleston Ballet Company, and The College of Charleston School of Arts. He also holds various board of director positions with local businesses and is a recognized speaker and facilitator throughout the country. Al is a member of St. Philip's Episcopal Church and the Stephens Ministry. He has a son and daughter, and five grandchildren, all of whom are in Atlanta, Georgia.

EARL WALKER

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.