Our team

Meet Your
Financial
Architects

Our vision is a world where private business owners can focus on their impact, not their financial to-do list.

Blue Ocean was born from a shared frustration with the traditional financial services model — one that too often prioritizes products over people, quick fixes over lasting solutions. 

We saw business owners struggling alone with decisions that would impact generations, while getting fragmented advice that didn't address the full picture. We came together because we believed there had to be a better way.

Our complementary perspectives and shared commitment to doing the real work — not just making recommendations — created something unique in the industry:

A team that truly functions as architects of comprehensive solutions, not just advisors pushing products.

  • Managing Partner

    Jay Halverson is Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Companies, a firm dedicated to helping business owners navigate the complexities of succession, exit, transition, and key employee retention planning. With a career spanning over two decades,  Jay offers a rare blend of hands-on experience running and scaling companies, combined with decades of consulting business owners on their most challenging succession and exit decisions.

  • Managing Partner

    Will Hendricks is Co‑Founder of Blue Ocean Companies, balancing daily conversations with business owners and hands‑on leadership of the firm’s active planning cases. For 15 years he has guided founders in manufacturing, construction, real estate, and niche services - interviewing more than 600 key employees to uncover what keeps talent anchored in closely held companies. By pairing rigorous analysis with accountable execution, Will converts complex financial puzzles into sharp, do‑this‑next playbooks.

  • Managing Partner

    Michael is Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Companies, specializing in guiding business owners through the intricate processes of ownership transition, succession, and exit strategy. With a thirty-year career marked by operational excellence, he is committed to delivering remarkable client experiences. His approach is distinguished by deep financial expertise gained as both a business owner and senior executive at major U.S. financial institutions.

  • Managing Director

    John helps business owners build stronger companies, retain key employees, and plan for successful transitions. As a Certified Financial Planner™ with a background in financial strategy and succession planning, he brings clarity and structure to every stage of the business lifecycle. His relationship-first approach ensures clients are confident in both their day-to-day operations and long-term goals.

  • Managing Director

  • Managing Director

We don't just work together—we think better together. And our clients feel the difference.

Our collective strengths allow us to approach every situation from multiple angles: analytical rigor, strategic innovation, and deep human understanding. 

Our values directly impact how we serve you and your business.

They drive us to dig deeper when others settle for surface solutions. They push us to handle the hard work of implementation when others stop at recommendations. They ensure we never lose sight of the human element in every decision we make.

  • Be Good means we do the right thing, always — especially when the right thing is the hard thing. It means radical integrity in everything we do, even when no one’s looking. When we say we'll do something, we do it - no exceptions. 

    And above all, we're honest with ourselves, holding each other accountable to not only be excellent advisors but also be good people.

  • Being Real means understanding that financial decisions aren't just about numbers—they're about relationships, emotions, and deeply personal values. 

    It’s recognizing that our clients are people first, business owners second, and that behind every business is a person making decisions that affect their company, their family, and their legacy. 

  • Being Different isn’t about being contrarian or chasing disruption — it's about intentionally breaking from industry norms because we know they don’t serve our clients. 

    Being different means rejecting conventional approaches that yield conventional results. It means staying curious and creative, embracing differing perspectives to find better solutions.