Who We Are

Margaret Smith, CEO

Margaret Smith, CEO of Emerge EQ, Inc., is a well-being advisor to legal and financial services industries.  With over 25 years of experience in HR consulting, performance leadership, and executive search, Margaret’s approach is deeply rooted in building trusted, collaborative relationships to create transformative and sustainable change.  Her goal is to work closely with stakeholders to create strategic responses and programming that aligns with their organizational goals and optimize workforce well-being, productivity, and connection.

 Previously, Margaret founded and led a leading financial services executive search firm working with global investment banks, hedge funds, private equity, and boutique firms and began her career in investment banking.

Margaret is the founder and president of Veterans Healing Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to supporting US military veterans with access to mental health resources, and a former board member of Caron Treatment Centers, New York. Margaret is a passionate advocate for suicide prevention with particular emphasis on teens and young adults and volunteers as support to families who have lost a loved one to suicide. She holds a BA in history and political science from Columbia University and a Leadership and Performance Coaching Certification from Brown University.

Jonathan Benz, President

Jonathan Benz, MS, CASAC, ICADC, President of Emerge EQ, is a clinician, author, and public speaker. He has over twenty-five years of experience equipping individuals and organizations for long-term success. He has served as a leadership consultant to various U.S. and U.K. agencies and has conveyed his message of strategic, transformative living to global audiences.   

Jonathan has extensive experience working with professionals in high-performance industries and advocating for the LGBTQ community and people of color in corporate settings. Jonathan has supported the unique needs of HR and wellness teams in various industries, especially the legal and financial services sectors.  He has spent much of his career building bridges between communities, cohorts, and individuals that might not otherwise intersect.   

He is passionate about seeing professionals discover and align with their personal values in a way that gives them greater purpose and meaning in life. He lives in New York City.