Meet Our Team

Neil McLean sits in the Visionary seat for Sagacious Partners. He began his career as a high school football coach and that’s where he discovered his passion for bringing out the best performance in teams. Team building has been a continuous theme for Neil… serving as a U.S. Air Force Officer, as partner of an internet startup that he grew from 8-45 employees, and again in 2001 when he formed Sagacious Partners.

Neil’s firm is a South Carolina based executive coaching firm dedicated to helping companies and communities grow. McLean is the first Certified EOS Implementer™ in S.C. and has worked with more than 40 CEOs and leadership teams helping them gain traction and breakthrough results in their businesses.

McLean received his BS-Engineering and MBA from the University of South Carolina and participated in executive education programs at Wharton and Harvard Business Schools. Neil serves as Vice Chair for Providence Health and was named to Columbia Business Monthly’s  “50 Most Influential” in 2011 and 2012.

Neil lives on a pond just outside of Columbia in Blythewood, S.C. with his wife Deb and dogs Pete and Cooper. Children Veronica and Thomas are off to college but still maintain bedrooms in the home.

Hometown: Columbia, S.C.

What do you do really well?
See the big picture. Help others believe. Simplify. Coach. Cook.

What are some things you care about deeply?
Deb, Veronica and Thomas. USC Football.

What upsets you?
Excuses. When the Gamecocks lose games that they are supposed to win.

What grounds you?
Walking or running around the old cow field next door to my house. Fripp Island. Planting new things in my yard.

What word describes you best as a person?
Sagacious (here’s a definition)

Kristin Hamilton sits in the marketing seat and is part of the leadership team for Sagacious Partners. She joined SP in 2013 and leads the marketing and communications efforts for the company and for several SP clients and initiatives. Kristin’s marketing experience comes from both the agency side (Erwin Penland in Greenville; Edelman in Chicago) and in-house (NAI Earle Furman in Greenville). She graduated from the University of Florida Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Advertising in 2006, and later with a Master’s in Advertising. She’s had the unique privilege of working remotely for SP since her oldest daughter was born in 2016 and currently lives in Spartanburg, S.C. with her husband Alex, daughters Hope and Sadie, and two dogs. When she’s not working or chasing a toddler around, she spends her time working on house projects in their historic 1920’s home, volunteering through the Junior League, or cheering on the Wofford College Men’s Golf Team that her husband coaches.

Hometown: Okeechobee, FL (more cows than people)

What do you do really well?
Organize. Make lists. Laundry. Entertain toddlers.

What are some things you care about deeply?
Work/Life balance. Girls’ weekends. Agriculture. Dairy products.

What upsets you?
Misplacing something. Last-minute changes. Toddler tantrums for no reason (is there ever a reason?).

What grounds you?
Cuddling with my daughter (when she sits still). Relaxing with a glass of wine and a mountain view. A weekend away with my husband. A clean house.

What word describes you best as a person?
Dedicated.

Will Schenk joined Sagacious Partners as a project manager in 2016 after starting with the company as a fellow. A graduate of Clemson University with degrees in both Economics and Environmental & Natural Resources, his broad background of knowledge gives him a unique perspective. His natural curiosity and expertise in producing relevant, concise research and strategy enables him to constantly seek and create new solutions for clients. Will’s passion for placemaking and competitive spirit make him a natural fit for regionally-focused and statewide initiatives.

Will’s unique ability is benchmarking the best to create a clear vision, developing decisive, forward-thinking strategies through his own dot-connecting lens, and competing tenaciously to set new standards for people and places around him.

A native of New Windsor, Maryland, Will spends his free days fishing the Congaree, backpacking the Blue Ridge and finding the best new restaurants and breweries in Columbia. He also serves as a mentor for innovative Richland Two teachers and faculty as they develop new projects through the R2 Innovates program.

Hometown:  New Windsor, MD (Motto: “We’ll get a stoplight one of these days”)

What do you do really well?

Research. Strategy. Carry things over mountains.

What are some things you care about deeply?

Placemaking. Conservation. Family (including my dogs, Riley and Mako).

What upsets you?

“Columbia’s best attribute? It’s two hours from the mountains and two hours from the beach.”

What grounds you?

Time spent outdoors: there’s nothing better than a long, difficult backpacking trip with tons of elevation gain in freezing-cold weather.

What word describes you best as a person?

Curious