Meet the Founder

Johan Boakes, President of Global Shareholder Services®, was born in Switzerland and raised in France and England.  He is fluent in English, French, and Swedish and conversational in Spanish and German.

 

With over 25 years of experience working in foreign unclaimed property and owner location, he oversees the company’s industry leading Pre-escheat International Lost owner Location & Asset Reunification Service ™ (PILLARS™) program. Corporate and individual clients alike seek out his assistance to resolve foreign unclaimed property assignments worldwide.

An adept leader with excellent operational, project management, and customer service skills, he is accomplished at finding solutions for clients and delivering results.  He has proven unqualified success in handling the most complicated foreign claims, even those involving multiple estates and heirs spanning more than one country.

Clients trust Johan to achieve their goals and he routinely exceeds expectations whether the client is an individual claimant or a Fortune 500 company.

As a respected forensic genealogist, his expertise is regularly sought by law firms to resolve complex court kinship cases and provide estate due diligence services.

 

Such cases typically span 150 years of paternal and maternal family ancestries both in the US and overseas. Johan is a court recognized expert witness in New York County and Kings County NY, USA.

 

Johan is also a qualified GDPR Data Protection Officer and holds Certified GDPR Expert Practitioner (CEP) and GDPR FAS (Foundation, Application and Substance) certifications. He is the Co-chair of the Claimants Representatives committee and also an active member on the Government Relations & Advocacy committee of the Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization.

As a former professional track athlete, Johan represented Great Britain at both Junior and Senior levels. He gained Academic and Athletic All-American honors and was co-captain of NCAA Champion University of Arkansas indoor track and cross-country teams. A former sub four-minute-miler he has held many age-group records. He competed as a professional athlete for Malmö Allmänna Idrottsförening (MAI) in Malmö, Sweden and is a former Swedish indoor 1500m champion. Johan is a 1991 graduate of the University of Arkansas.

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Tenacity, consistency, reliability, and focus, the characteristics that helped Johan to succeed on the track, continue to serve him and his clients today as he successfully resolves complex estate cases and reunites heirs with their unclaimed property globally.

 

Johan resides in Florida with his partner Chelsie and her two sons. He enjoys international travel and supporting animal rescue organizations.

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