10X Team
Kent Wagner
Managing Partner, Co-Founder
Kent resides in beautiful Charleston, SC with his wanderlust wife, PJ. He is an avid pickleball player and proud father of his daughter, Sasha, and son, Quinn.
Kent founded 10X Recruiting Partners to help enhance lives and businesses by drawing from top business philosophies and personal experience from an extensive and varied entrepreneurial business career.
After majoring in Economics and Psychology at the University of Michigan and Washington University in St. Louis, Kent has had 30 years of experience in entrepreneurial business operations, consulting, and recruiting.
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Previously, Kent founded and operated Millennium Music, a popular music retail chain, that sold over $100 million of CDs in the Carolinas. Kent is also currently a partner in Talinity, a Hire-By-Referral software platform and in Kickit, a fast-growing soccer training product business and new hybrid soccer/tennis game.
Kent’s passion is connecting Good People and helping their teams and businesses thrive.
Paul Mayer
Board Member, Co-Founder
Paul Mayer is a lifelong entrepreneur. He started and sold his first business, a legal courier company, while still in college. In 1982, at 21 years old and just months after graduating from Duke University, he started Satisfaction Restaurant and Bar, nationally recognized as the most popular hangout for Duke students.
Prior to selling Satisfaction, Paul co-founded and was CEO of Planet Music, one of the first all-compact-disc chains. After selling Planet Music to Borders Group, a public company which owned and operated the Borders Books and Waldenbooks chains, Paul began doing angel investing and advising young companies. Paul also co-founded Fusion Ventures, a boutique venture capital fund and business incubator and was a Lecturer at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business, where his course on Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital was a required course for all first year MBA students.
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After relocating to Hawaii, Paul co-founded and was CEO of real estate firm Elite Pacific Properties, growing it from a single agent to over 250 agents and support staff and over $1.5 billion in annual sales, as well as becoming the highest volume independent Vacation Rental Management company in Hawaii.
In addition to co-founding 10X Recruiting Partners, Paul also co-founded Talinity, a hire-by-referral software company.
Paul is passionate about helping others to achieve success through vision and goal setting, personal development, and productivity techniques, so after selling the brokerage business and replacing himself as the leader of the Vacation Rental business, Paul started Be Happiful (https://www.behappiful.com/), a personal development company dedicated to helping people to become happy and successful in their business and personal lives.
Paul splits his time between Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, and Lake Como (Italy).
Alanna Buono
Recruiting Partner
Industry Specialties: Healthcare, Technology, Financial Services
Meet Alanna, a recruitment powerhouse with 15 years of corporate success and agency staffing under her belt. Armed with charisma and a knack for coaching executive-level job seekers through the interview process, she’s the ultimate matchmaker between talent and opportunity. When she’s not uncovering talent, you’ll find her soaking up the California sun, and taking adventurous hikes with her husband, Jeff and their furry sidekick, Cannoli the goldendoodle. With Alanna on your team, the hunt for talent becomes a walk in the park—literally!
Mike Germano
Recruiting Partner
Industry Specialties: Technology, Engineering, Executive/C-level Roles
Mike is a strategic talent acquisition partner with 15+ years of experience helping hiring leaders build high-performing teams across GTM, Tech & Engineering, and Executive/C-level roles. He’s known for standing up TA functions from scratch, streamlining hiring processes, and delivering scalable, data-informed recruiting solutions for his clients. Michael acts as an extension of your leadership team—absorbing your culture, championing your brand, and driving top-tier candidate experiences.
Melissa Latham
Recruiting Partner / LinkedIn and Resume Coach
Industry Specialties: All things Retail, Merchandising, Marketing, MP&A, Operations, Finance, IT, HR, Field & Executive Leadership
Melissa is the President and Managing Director of Global Recruiters of Lowcountry. As a senior retail executive of 30+ years, Melissa has an extensive background and expertise in leading both domestic and international businesses. She has held store level, multi-unit and ultimately corporate strategic leadership roles leading entire business units. Her two previous assignments included Vice President of Retail for Vera Bradley and Vice President of North American Retail for Jockey, International. In all of her roles Melissa has been accountable to delivering sales and bottom line profit through excellence in marketing and merchandising, operations and finance and most importantly human resources and talent acquisition. She lives by the principle that people really do make the difference and has always been intentional about sourcing and developing exceptional talent.
Will Barfield
Recruiting Partner
Industry Specialties: Sales, Marketing, HR, Executive Leadership Roles
Meet Will, President & CEO of Barfield Revenue Consulting (BRC). Will has 25+ years of sales and revenue creation experience, and he’s been in the recruiting industry for over 20 years. Will owns BRC with his wife and business partner, Amy Barfield, and they have been in business together for nearly a decade. Will recruits for talent at all levels, including executive search, and he fulfills needs for clients in the United States, as well as Canada, the UK, Europe, and beyond. If you want to onboard revenue-impacting talent, or if you have a critical leadership recruiting requirement, Will has the experience and network reach necessary to resolve your hiring need.
Lileah Akiode
Recruiting Partner
Industry Specialties: Retail, Construction, Manufacturing, and Financial Services
Meet Lileah. With more than 20 years in retail and additional experience supporting construction, manufacturing, and financial services, Lileah Akiode brings both breadth and depth to every search. As founder of The Black Diamond Agency, she partners with leadership teams to design hiring strategies that not only fill roles but also reflect culture, brand, and long-term goals.
She’s known for her people-first style—making candidates feel seen, helping leaders grow their teams, and connecting the right people with the right opportunities. By combining proven recruiting expertise with innovative use of AI to make the hiring process more efficient and effective, Lileah delivers results that last.
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Outside of work, you can find her running 5K races with her son and husband (always chasing the next medal) or enjoying time at sea on a cruise.
Terry Johnson
Recruiting Partner / Client Development
Industry Specialties: Logistics, Technology, Construction, and Non-profit
Meet Terry Johnson, a recruiting and business development professional with more than 15 years of experience driving hiring success, talent strategy, and organizational growth across multiple industries. Terry has a proven track record of scaling teams, reducing time-to-hire, and aligning recruitment solutions with client goals.
As a Regional Talent Acquisition Leader, Terry has partnered with executives and hiring teams in construction, infrastructure, and public-sector organizations to identify high-performing talent and implement recruitment systems that deliver results. His collaborative approach combines data-driven decision-making, strategic relationship building, and a deep understanding of the talent marketplace.
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Terry specializes in full-cycle recruiting for professional, technical, and leadership roles nationwide — helping organizations build teams that perform, lead, and last.
In his free time, Terry enjoys long distance cycling. He is also very active in giving back to the community through his work with the Senegambia-Ohio Trade Alliance (SOTA), a 501(c)(6) nonprofit dedicated to strengthening trade, investment, and workforce connections between the United States and West Africa.
Pam Winholtz
Recruiting Partner / Coach
Industry Specialties: Civil Engineering (Transportation, CEI, Land Development, Water/ Wastewater)
Pam Winholtz is a Mindset Coach, Speaker, and award-winning Headhunter who helps executives and professionals find a new career they love—or fall back in love with the one they already have. With over 15 years of experience as a top executive recruiter, Pam blends her deep industry insight with certified life and mindset coaching techniques to help career-minded individuals transition with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Her strategic approach has helped professionals across the globe reinvent their careers, enhance their leadership, and create a healthier work/life balance. Pam is known for her expertise in networking, interviewing, career development, and mindset transformation.
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She offers private coaching, consulting, and is available for speaking engagements on career reinvention, professional growth, and overcoming fear to live a life you REALLY want.
As a fun fact, Pam loves to meet interesting people. When she turned 50, she overcame her fear of traveling alone. She filled a backpack and traveled across dozens of countries on five continents meeting many people who became friends.
Margot
Recruiter
Industry Specialties: Healthcare, Technology, Financial Services
Coming soon…
Ceil
Recruiter
Industry Specialties: Healthcare, Technology, Financial Services
Coming soon…