Bios

Richard E. Kohler
Steven M. Rosenbloom
Jess W. Wright, ASA
Joseph E. MacHatton, ASA, CFA
Karen Koch
Jenna Daugherty
Joseph W. Sharp J.D.

SMK applies a team approach to each valuation assignment. A minimum of two, and in some cases three, professional financial analysts are involved in each company assignment.

Our principal began performing business appraisals in 1967 and has been involved in over 2,000 valuation engagements.

SMK's vice president has over 10 years of appraisal experience and has participated in over 1,000 business appraisals.

One senior analyst specializes in intangible assets and intellectual property values.

Our senior staff is qualified to teach continuing education classes to attorneys and certified public accountants.

All financial analysts are experienced in multiple industry appraisals and a variety of equity interest valuations.

Our support staff includes an economist/industry analyst who performs research and provides data for each valuation client. The professional staff is variously recognized by and/or participate in such organizations as:

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants
New York Institute of Certified Public Accountants
National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts
American Society of Appraisers
Institute of Business Appraisers
ESOP Association
National Association for Business Economics

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Richard E. Kohler -

Dick Kohler has been involved in private business valuations since 1967. During theensuing years he has participated in well over 2,000 assignments and there are very few valuation practitioners in the country who have as much experience as Dick. In 1984 he consolidated his own valuation practice to form Sheldrick, McGehee & Kohler, and was principal owner of the firm until 2005.

Currently Dick serves as our Chairman, and continues to work on complex valuation matters. He also oversees special projects such as fairness opinions and family continuity planning. Over the years he has helped clients with tax and estate valuations, buy-sell agreements, and mergers and acquisitions. He has also been heavily involved with Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), having worked with over 300 ESOP clients. Dick has been recognized as an expert witness by various court jurisdictions, including United States Tax Court.

In addition to his valuation work, Dick has served as a board director, financial advisor, and ownership transition consultant to numerous privately-owned businesses. Earlier in his career Dick analyzed acquisitions for a Fortune 500 company, worked for a member firm of the New York Stock Exchange, and was an independent consultant.

Dick has a degree from Brown University and has completed graduate and professional studies in economics, accounting and corporate finance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the N.Y.U. Graduate School of Business, the University of Vermont, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

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Steven M. Rosenbloom -

Steven M. Rosenbloom is the president and an equity partner in the firm. With a background in investments and financial services, Steve’s primary responsibility is marketing the firm’s valuation services to a wide range of attorneys, CPAs, business owners and other clients.

Of special interest to Steve is the fact many older generation business owners have been slow to sell or transition their businesses and/or wealth to the next generation. In addition, baby boomer business owners are now turning 60, and the second wave of business transactions and asset transfers is not far off. The combination of these two “asset rich” generations growing older is now creating an immense opportunity for professionals to encourage their clients to consider wealth planning strategies.

Steve has extensive experience in the financial services industry. He began his career as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and later managed offices for both Merrill Lynch and UBS Paine Webber. He was also the senior vice president and chief investment officer for Florida Physicians Insurance Company, Inc., where he managed the company’s initial public offering (IPO) and oversaw the company’s $400 million investment portfolio. Steve began his career as an investment advisor and investment performance consultant.

Deeply committed to the Jacksonville area, Steve is a former board member of Greenscape of Jacksonville, a not-for-profit organization that has planted over 150,000 trees throughout Jacksonville, a recent chairman for the Jacksonville Public Library Board of Trustees, a position that mirrored his own personal enthusiasm for reading and book collecting, and is on the board of The River Club. In addition, Steve previously served as a board member for Beaches Episcopal School and as an elected commissioner for the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida.

Steve has an economics degree from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and has held Series 7, 9, and 10 securities licenses.

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Jess W. Wright, ASA -

Jess has been with SMK since 1992, is a senior vice president and equity partner in the firm, and oversees the valuation practice as well as staff management and training. Through the years Jess has become an expert in many areas of the valuation industry: closely-held business continuity and succession planning, company acquisitions, sales and mergers, interest transfers, gift and estate planning, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), intangible assets and intellectual property, litigation support, IRS dealings, shareholder dissent, minority interests, marital dissolution and other transactional engagements.

During his tenure at SMK, Jess has earned the title of Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) with the American Society of Appraisers. The ASA title is the most recognized and valued designation in the business valuation industry. He has also been active in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan Association.
Jess had previously worked as a mergers and acquisitions analyst for a large holding and investment company. He began his career as an internal auditor in the mortgage banking industry.

Jess holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in finance from the University of North Florida, located in Jacksonville. He has also completed additional coursework in accounting, taxation, management information systems, and computer science.

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Joseph E. MacHatton, ASA, CFA -

Although Joe has only been in his role as a valuation analyst since 2005, he has completed appraisals totaling over $3 billion dollars in value in that short time and has been promoted to vice president. Joe’s combination of international business experience and high caliber education brings a world view perspective to SMK and his work. Joe specializes in the valuation and appraisal of larger and more complex structures and arrangements, and is particularly adept at creating and applying quantitative valuation techniques.

Joe’s most recent experience has been as chief investment officer for a boutique investment advisory firm handling private clientele. Prior to that, he held positions in New York, London, and Mexico City as an investment analyst and strategist specializing in Latin American equities and bonds. He has also been a chief investment officer / portfolio manager for a large asset management company.

Joe began his career as a fund manager and growth stock analyst. Joe has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, considered the “gold standard” in the investment industry. He holds an MBA from the University of Connecticut, and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of New York. In addition, Joe received a Certificate in Credit Analysis from the New York Institute of Finance and recently earned the Senior Appraiser Accreditation from the American Society of Appraisers.

Due to his extensive work and travel overseas, Joe is fluent in Spanish and conversational in both French and Portuguese. Joe has been in the Jacksonville area since 2003 and has become active in the Jacksonville CFA Society.

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Karen Koch -

Karen Koch is a very valuable member of the SMK team. As the office administrator and project coordinator, Karen is involved with virtually every aspect of the firm, and is often the first point of contact for new projects.

Karen is an extremely well organized individual and brings a very detail-oriented approach to the SMK work platform. Having been with the firm for over 12 years, her work includes collecting all of the necessary information (financial statements, operating agreements, shareholder lists, real estate appraisals, etc.) to start a valuation project, and tracking these assignments from start to finish.

A native Floridian, Karen has an Associate in Arts from Florida Community College, and is currently working toward earning her business degree from Jacksonville University.

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Jenna Daugherty -

Jenna Daugherty is one of the most recent additions to the SMK team, joining the staff in May 2006 as a research economist. Her work includes researching and writing about industry conditions as well as local economic conditions. Additionally, she performs market research as needed and writes a quarterly update of U.S. economic conditions.

Prior to joining SMK, Jenna worked with several Jacksonville nonprofit agencies, performing such duties as program research and analysis, grant writing, and real estate development. She was also the Resident Services Manager for a residential program serving HIV+ persons in the Northeast Florida area.

A native Floridian, Jenna attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in May 2004. Jenna majored in Sociology which gave her much experience with researching and writing about a variety of topics, including poverty and international environmental policy.

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Joseph W. Sharp, J.D. -

Joseph Sharp is a tax specialist and primarily consults with SMK clients on tax controversies and disputes involving the Internal Revenue Service. Though Joe discontinued the active practice of law, he has a law degree from the University of Kentucky and is a member of both the Florida and Kentucky Bar Associations.

Prior to joining SMK, Joe Sharp spent 33 years with the IRS. From 1999 to 2005 he was the East Coast Gift & Estate Tax territory manager where he oversaw ten regional IRS offices and 85 attorneys administering estate and gift tax returns. Prior to this position he was the IRS National Coordinator for Foreign and Abusive Trusts.

Joe Sharp speaks often to organizations, attorney groups and CPAs on estate and gift tax matters, tax administration policy, issues surrounding wealth transfer, and is a knowledgeable resource on various wealth transfer strategies.
In his spare time Joe is the chairman of the Jax Federal Credit Union and is an extensive traveler to foreign lands.

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