The Battery Show North America is next week. If your work touches battery materials, cell and pack manufacturing, energy storage, or the critical minerals and rare earth supply chains behind them, it’s worth setting aside ten minutes to talk with John Kehoe or Robbie Villemarette of Boaz Partners, whether you have an open role right now.

What Is the Battery Show?

The Battery Show North America is the region’s leading event for advanced battery and EV technology. The 2026 show runs October 12–15 at Huntington Place in Detroit. It includes a pre-conference workshop, a three-day expo with more than 1,300 exhibitors, and a multi-track conference with 150+ speakers (Informa Markets, n.d.). Attendees include suppliers, manufacturers, engineers, researchers, and procurement professionals, and topics cover cell chemistry, pack design, thermal management, manufacturing equipment, safety, and recycling. Much of the battery and EV supply chain is in one building for four days, which makes it an efficient place to have a real conversation about your talent pipeline (battery-techbattery-tech)

Why Meet With Us, Even Without an Opening

Confidentiality Is Our Specialty

Boaz Partners is a retained search firm built around a “triple-screen” process: a researcher, a recruiter, and an executive manager each vet every candidate before presentation. Confidential search is a core part of how we help clients engage with senior talent discreetly. That discretion runs both ways. A conversation with us commits you to nothing, and it stays between us.

2027 Is Closer Than It Looks

The fourth quarter is when many organizations do their 2027 planning, including succession planning. Supply chains and policy are shifting quickly in the battery and EV sector. Meeting now, before a search is urgent, means we already understand your team, your culture, and your hiring standards when a role opens. That head start is often the difference between a rushed hire and the right one.

Boaz Partners’ Advanced Materials Team

John Kehoe, Associate Partner and Practice Leader for our Advanced Materials division, has more than 20 years in recruitment, sales and business development. His leadership foundation comes from service as a commissioned and non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Infantry. He has built a deep, sector-specific understanding of advanced materials, which he uses to match technical talent with the organizations moving the field forward.

Robbie Villemarette, Senior Search Executive, spent more than 20 years in C-suite and commercial leadership roles in the specialty chemical and energy storage industry, including at Albemarle, before moving into executive search. He works alongside John on searches across advanced materials and energy storage. His operator’s perspective helps clients move quickly and confidentially from intake to a qualified shortlist.

Our Specialized Approach

Boaz Partners isn’t a generalist shop. We focus on a small number of niche sectors:

  • Companies we work with: Manufacturers and technical organizations building advanced engineered materials, from established primes to fast-scaling innovators in batteries and energy storage.
  • Roles we recruit for: C-suite and president-level leaders, commercial and business development, operations, engineering, production, research and development, EHS, quality, regulatory, maintenance, reliability, and supply chain/procurement.
  • Verticals of focus: Electric vehicles, energy storage, aerospace, military and defense, medical, semiconductors, precious minerals, and rare earth and critical minerals processing, an increasingly strategic part of the battery supply chain.
  • Confidentiality throughout: Every search runs on a discreet, triple-screen process designed to protect both client and candidate.

Let’s Talk at The Battery Show

Whether you’re quietly planning for 2027 or actively searching for your next technical leader, a conversation now costs nothing and positions you well for whenever the timing is right.

If you’ll be in Detroit October 12–15, reach out to John or Robbie directly:

Are you looking for top talent in the Specialty Chemical, Advanced Materials, or Animal Health industry?

Contact us to discuss how we can bring top leadership talent to your team. Boaz Partners is a premier executive search firm focused on the direct recruitment of executives and professionals in the specialty chemicals, advanced materials, and animal health spaces. We are your partner, and our focus is on custom recruiting solutions. Follow the link to learn more about how our advanced materials recruiters can help you.

References

Informa Markets. (n.d.). The Battery Show North America. Retrieved October 9, 2026, from https://www.thebatteryshow.com/en/home.html

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