about LTA

Prior to founding Leadership Talent Advisors, Trent Merchant was an executive for 8 years with a $5B distribution company owned by private equity firms. Initially he established and led the company's first Talent function for 3 years, during the company's most significant period of growth, with numerous greenfield market openings in the USA, multiple acquisitions - including two that each exceeded $300M, and expansion outside the USA for the first time in the company's 80 year history. He then led the consolidation of several acquired international businesses into a cohesive division, and served as Head of the Global Division for 5 years.

 

Prior to his corporate leadership, Trent was a Partner in another national retained executive search firm, where he was the top revenue producer.  

 

During that same time, he was also an At-Large Member of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education, the 17th largest public school district in the USA. Despite massive budget cuts caused by the Great Recession, Trent's tenure was an era of growth, transparency, teamwork, and dramatic improvement in student learning outcomes. CMS won the Broad Prize given to the top large school district in the United States, and 25 members of the leadership team from that era went on to become public school Superintendents.

 

Trent's early career was eclectic, but - in keeping with the arc of his work - it was focused on driving and managing change... He was an HR generalist for one of the largest natural gas distribution companies in the US as they pioneered deregulation. Trent served as an analyst in the start-up knowledge management function of the largest management consulting firm in the world, as they drove efficiency, innovation, and results by capturing and sharing expertise and best practices across offices and practice groups. He was also a high school leader, teacher, coach, and theatre director. Finally, Trent was an actor, mostly performing Shakespeare and new/premiere work on regional stages in the USA and Germany. He met his wife in a musical... and later conducted two leadership searches for the production company.

 

Trent graduated from Washington and Lee University with a BA in African and Asian History, and later earned an MA in American History from Wake Forest University.  He has been married for 26 years and has 3 children.

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