Speaker Biographies

ASA ExecuVision 2024

Threase Baker, TSC, CSP
President and owner, Abbtech Professional Resources Inc.

Baker is president and an owner of Abbtech Professional Resources Inc. Based in Washington, DC, the company supports both the government and private sectors by providing information technology, engineering, and office–clerical staffing services, as well as personal identity verification. Baker has more than 20 years of staffing industry experience. She is past president of the Capital Area Staffing Association.

Thomas Bailey
Managing director, Houlihan Lokey

Bailey is a managing director in Houlihan Lokey’s Business Services Group. He specializes in advising clients in the HCM, IT, and professional services industries on sellside and buyside M&A, debt and equity financings, and strategic alternatives assessments and also leads the practice group for Houlihan Lokey. His recent transactions include the sale of ettain to Manpower (NYSE:MAN); the sale of Addison to Trilantic; the sale of Planet Group to Odyssey Investment Partners; the sale of Magenic to Cognizant (NYSE:CTSH); the sale of ettain and Global Employment Solutions to A&M Capital; the sale of Eliassen to Stone Point Capital; the sale of PSI to Waud Capital; the take-private of CDI Corp. (NYSE:CDI) to AE Industrial; the acquisition of WilsonHCG by CIP Capital; the leveraged buyout of PRO Unlimited by Investcorp; the sale of MedPartners to AMN (NYSE:AMN); the sale of Attero to Recruit; the sale of Bartech to Impellam; and the sale of CIBER (NYSE:CBR) to HTC Global. Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Bailey was a director at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in the Technology and Services Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Before that, he was with middle-market investment bank CHILDS Advisory Partners, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions for small to middle-market IT and professional services companies.

Joanie Bily
Chief executive officer, Employbridge

Bily is chief experience officer of Employbridge, the largest industrial staffing company in the U.S. In this executive leadership role, she brings together brand enhancement, public relations, enterprise communications, internal branding, and the company’s Voice of the American Workforce program—the largest annual survey of the U.S. hourly workforce—to create a connected internal and external brand experience. Bily also led RemX, the professional staffing division at Employbridge for more than seven years. She is recognized as a prominent authority on labor market data, workplace trends, and expert career advice. She is a frequent keynote speaker and appears regularly on national broadcast networks and major publications. She is the author of Dive In D.E.E.P.: Strategies to Advance Your Career, Find Balance, and Live Your Best Life and hosts a podcast called “Employment Insights by the Duchess of Labor,” available on Spotify. Bily is also a contributing author to the book, Together We Rise, which highlights stories of 15 inspiring women pursuing their goals, building confidence, and overcoming adversity. Prior to joining Employbridge, Bily held executive leadership roles including senior vice president, global market insights, for Monster; senior vice president and chief employment analyst for Randstad; and senior vice president at Adecco.

Hope Bradford
Senior Director, IT, Kelly

Bradford is an accomplished technology enablement consultant with more than 25 years of experience developing and launching business technology application solutions for global markets. She is a strategic analyst with a proven track record of optimizing processes to improve efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce costs to ensure the timely completion of projects within budget and to specifications. Bradford also is a proven and effective leader who motivates crossfunctional teams to boost performance to consistently exceed goals and further the mission of the organization.

Kelly Boykin
Founder, Growth Curve Advisory

Boykin is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in the staffing industry. She has a proven track record of building and leading sales and delivery organizations across North America, partnering with Fortune 500 brands in diverse verticals, such as Creative & Marketing, Life Sciences, Engineering, and Commercial staffing. She is a three-time honoree on Staffing Industry Analysts’ Global Power 150 Most Influential Women in Staffing list. Recently, she earned recognition as one of Pride Global’s Trailblazing Women, dedicated to promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and advancing opportunities for women in the industry. Active within the staffing community, she is actively engaged with organizations like the American Staffing Association (ASA) and Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA). Her passion lies in championing women in the industry. Boykin chaired the Women in Leadership Council for the American Staffing Association, sits on the IDEA council promoting diversity in the industry, and mentors women in staffing through the ASA Mentoring program. Notably, Boykin co-authored the book “Together We Rise” alongside several iconic female leaders in the industry. She and her fellow authors have generously contributed all proceeds from the book and speaking engagements to the ASA Scholarship program, supporting emerging female leaders in the industry.

Teresa Carroll

Chief executive officer, Magnit

As Magnit’s chief executive officer, Carroll is responsible for leading vision and strategy for the company. With more than 30 years in contingent workforce management, she is an innovative and impactful human capital management expert, distinguished board member, and a trusted adviser to companies seeking guidance on the ever-evolving workforce and labor market. Prior to her role as Magnit’s CEO, Carroll was president of multibillion-dollar growth segments in two separate public companies and served on Magnit’s board of directors.

Claudette Cunitz
Chief executive officer, CC Advisors Group

A growth strategist and business coach, Cunitz works with staffing leaders with a focus on growth and increasing revenues. She has worked with business owners of small and medium-sized companies guiding them through sales strategies, operational and people challenges, that are all critical to company success. Helping her clients reach their full potential is her passion. With an emphasis on individual strengths, Cunitz works with each client and meets them where they are on their individual journey. As a sales coach, growth is at the heart of her POWER MESSAGING methodology. She has helped leaders and sales teams grow revenues and profits, teaching techniques for a winning formula to close more deals! She is also a certified life coach.

Diego de Haro Ruiz
CEO, US, Job&Talent

De Haro Ruiz is a digital leader with experience in scaling global technology companies. He began his career as a mechanical engineer and later worked for McKinsey, taking on various leadership roles across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Asia Pacific. In 2016, he joined CoverWallet as part of the founding team, led funding rounds that raised $30M+, and participated in the sale of the company to Aon. He then became Chief Revenue Officer of Digital Client Solutions at Aon, leading the company to $1Bn in annual premiums. In 2022, he was appointed US CEO of Jobandtalent, the world-leading marketplace for essential workers that connects them with back-to-back job opportunities through its platform. In his current role, Diego is leading the company’s local operations and scaling the business on the ground. Under his leadership, Job&Talent has successfully placed over 115,000 workers and served more than 730 clients in over 30 states since entering the US in 2021, making it the largest market of the European unicorn in terms of revenue.

Susan Dietrich, SPHR, TSC, CSP
Principal owner, TOPS Staffing LLC, AllTek Staffing and Resource Group Inc., e-Staff Consulting Group, AccountStaff Inc., Sterling Office Professionals, and TVS Inc.

Dietrich is a principal owner of TOPS Staffing LLC, AllTek Staffing and Resource Group Inc., e-Staff Consulting Group, AccountStaff Inc., Sterling Office Professionals, and TVS Inc. She began the western chapter of the Pennsylvania Staffing Association, an ASA-affiliated chapter, and served as its president for three years. Dietrich also has served on the ASA chapter leadership council and the chapter past presidents committee.

Russ Dunlap
Managing director of technology enabled services, investment banking, William Blair

Dunlap focuses his time on the services and technology businesses that serve the human capital management sector. He has advised numerous clients, public and private, on merger & acquisition and capital raising transactions, including multiple high-profile transactions in the staffing and contingent workforce sector such as ALKU, Planet Group, Vista Locums, Vaco, Addison Group, PROUnlimited, and GRI. Prior to joining William Blair in 2012, Dunlap worked in the management consulting sector, where he specialized in economics and financial consulting and served in senior operational and corporate development roles.

W. Benjamin “Ben” Elliott
U.S. chief financial officer, Randstad North America

Elliott has been with Randstad for the past 20 years. He is presently the U.S. chief financial officer for Randstad North America, responsible for building the U.S. financial shared services center and leading the robotics process automation initiative within Randstad. He is also responsible for the financial leadership of the Spherion Franchise Organization, which is a separate operating division within the U.S. Elliott is a board member for ASA and a member of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Prior to Randstad, Elliott served as CFO for numerous organizations, including OneSource Inc., Allied Automotive Group, and National Linen Service. He also has industry experience in electronic payments, dot.com, logistics, and transportation. Elliott began his career as a staff auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co., becoming a certified public accountant in the state of Illinois in 1980.

Tom Erb, CSP
President, Tallann Resources LLC

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Erb has established himself as one of the top subject matter experts in the staffing and recruiting profession. Since opening his consulting firm Tallann Resources in 2010, he has advised more than 1,000 firms in the U.S. and around the globe. Erb is one of the most highly sought-after speakers in staffing and recruiting, presenting to a variety of industry organizations—including ASA, the National Association of Personnel Services, TechServe Alliance, and dozens of others. He is the author of Winning the Staffing Sales Game and currently writes the “Recruiting Today” column for Staffing Success magazine. He is also host of “Staffing in Sync,” a podcast dedicated to the staffing and recruiting profession. HR Examiner named Erb one of the “Top 25 Online Influencers in Staffing.” He is the immediate past chairman of the board for the National Association of Personnel Services and is a past chairman of the ASA professional-managerial section council, past president of the HR Association of Central Ohio, and past president of the Ohio Staffing and Search Association. He is a Certified Personnel Consultant and Certified Staffing Professional.

Maddie Gaber
Key account leader, Gallup

Gaber is a key account leader with Gallup. She partners with organizational leaders of midmarket clients throughout the globe to create strengths-based and engagement-focused cultures of performance. She leads change within the leadership and growth of her clients through their missions of strengths, engagement, well-being, performance, and cultures of inclusiveness. She has led briefings throughout North America sharing Gallup’s research and providing analytics and insights to clients.

Deepak Gupta
Chief corporate development officer, Employbridge

As the lead on the M&A deal life cycle, Gupta is devoted to expanding Employbridge’s footprint into key markets with an expertise in corporate development, M&A, and integration. He brings 25+ years of experience, previously serving as senior vice president of corporate strategy at Covanta and vice president at BMO Capital Markets.

Kim Gottschalk
Head of innovation, LHH Recruitment Solutions

Past Public Accountant and current Senior Vice President with a demonstrated history of working in the staffing and recruiting industry. Skilled in Permanent Placement, Career Development, HR Consulting, and Executive Search.

Lauren Jones
Founder, Leap Consulting Solutions

Jones is a powerful voice in the staffing industry, sharing her expertise in recruitment technology, business operations, change management, and women’s issues as a frequent speaker, podcast co-host, author, and entrepreneur. After decades as a technology-obsessed staffing industry innovator and influencer, Jones founded LEAP Consulting Solutions to advise recruiting companies on how to be more efficient, more successful, and more human. She is fueled by an endless curiosity, deep commitment to helping others, and all things road racing.

Shiri Katalan
Head of marketing, TaTio

Katalan has a long and varied work experience. In 2012, they began their career as a Parliamentary Assistant for MP Erel Margalit at the Knesset. In 2016, they became a Legal Intern at the Israeli State Attorney’s Office in the High Court of Justice department. In 2017, they were a Judicial Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Israel, where they conducted extensive interdisciplinary research and drafted memoranda on complex legal cases. In 2018, they became the Chief of Staff at JVP, where they were responsible for investor relations, strategic business initiatives and communicating with executives. In 2019, they joined Tadmor Levy & Co. as the Head of Marketing, where they were in charge of marketing strategy, market research, digital marketing and brand management. In 2021, they moved to Darrow as the Head of Marketing & Communications, where they built the Darrow brand and was responsible for increasing company revenue. Finally, in 2022, they became the Head of Marketing at TaTiO.

Mike Lejeune
Chief executive officer, Lighting the Path

Based in Houston, TX, Lejeune has more than 25 years of experience as a leader in the executive search industry. He served as president of Steverson & Co., one of the top search firms in Texas. Lejeune is a director on the board for the Texas Search Recruiting and Staffing Association and a former president of the Houston and Texas recruiters’ associations. He has a passion for developing tomorrow’s leaders and delivers keynote addresses, personal coaching, workshops, in-person and virtual courses, and retreats designed to enhance leadership effectiveness, emotional intelligence, culture shaping, and communications. He focuses on reasons that today’s workforce becomes disenfranchised and offers techniques and strategies industry champions use to lead high-performing organizations. Lejeune is the author of the highly regarded blog “Lighting the Path” and is the co-author of two books—A Father’s Love—The Generational Bridge That Changes Hearts Forever with his daughter Nikki Lejeune, and EQuip to Lead: The Extraordinary Power of Emotional Intelligence with Thecia Jenkins. He is also the host of the podcast series “Leadership Strategies for Tomorrow’s Leaders.” He has served as president of the National Speakers Association and is on the executive board of Outback Texas Ministries.

Jason Leverant, TSC, CSP, CSC, CHP
President and chief operating officer, AtWork Group

Leverant is president and chief operating officer of the AtWork Group, which helps more than 50,000 people find jobs at more than 1,500 client companies each day. Under his leadership, AtWork has grown 61% in annual revenue over the past two years and has been recognized by a number of organizations for accelerated growth and operational excellence, including ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing–Client and Best of Staffing–Talent; Staffing Industry Analyst’s U.S. Largest Staffing Firms, U.S. Fastest-Growing Staffing Firms, and U.S. Largest Light-Industrial Staffing Firms; and Franchise Business Review’s Top 100 Franchises for Veterans. Leverant is an active and long-time volunteer and in 2016 was recognized with the ASA Volunteer of the Year Award. He has served on the employee safety and workers’ compensation committees, as well as chaired the ASA Tennessee Council. Currently, he is actively involved in the association’s staffing tech taskforce, which he will chair starting in 2023.

Eric Ly
Founder and chief executive officer, KarmaCheck

KarmaCheck uses data-driven technology to bring truth, speed, and efficiency to credentialing verification. In addition to founding KarmaCheck, Ly is the co-founder of LinkedIn where he served as the chief technology officer. Ly helped launch LinkedIn strategically, designing and implementing the networking and search algorithms. Ly is a technology veteran who focuses on the invention and creative use of new technologies that aim to change how we express ourselves and interact with the world. Holding two US patents, he is on the leading edge of leveraging the power of social networks in online marketplaces.

Janette Marx
Chief executive officer, Airswift

Marx started with Airswift in 2014 and served as chief operating officer for four years before assuming her present role as chief executive officer. She has a passion for investing in the development of people to help everyone achieve their aspirations. Throughout her career, Marx has championed new initiatives, including diversification strategies, sales and recruitment growth improvements, and operational efficiencies. She has led cutting-edge programs to give her teams a competitive advantage. Before Airswift, Marx served in various leadership roles with the Adecco Group over a 19-year period. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management and an MBA.

Robin Mee
Founder and president, MeeDerby

Mee is founder and president of MeeDerby, a search firm in the staffing industry. She is a passionate advocate of staffing, a volunteer industry leader, and a regular speaker at staffing events nationally. In 2016, ASA recognized Mee with its first-ever Volunteer of the Year award. Mee has served on and chaired several ASA committees and task forces including the staffing as career; women in leadership; education and certification; direct hire; and inclusion, diversity, equity, and advocacy (IDEA) groups. Her firm is a supporting sponsor of the ASA women in leadership interest group.

Billy Milam
Chief executive officer, Employbridge

Milam is CEO of Employbridge, recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as America’s largest industrial staffing firm. Employbridge combines the advantages of national scale and local market knowledge with the speed and efficiency of its proven Bluecrew digital platform. Employbridge’s brand purpose of championing people and unlocking potential is a mantra that drives the company, putting more than 440,000 temporary employees to work annually across a network of approximately 400 offices in 48 states. In 2022, Employbridge provided value-added workforce solutions to 17,000 customers. The company is also helping close the skills gap in America’s supply chain by providing free, career-focused skills development courses to its temporary talent as well as personal development courses through the firm’s Better WorkLife Academy and Life Skills Studio; approximately 20,000 temporary associates are enrolled annually. Milam is an accomplished leader with nearly 30 years of experience driving focused strategic alignment, enhancing culture through defining a common purpose and facilitating high growth and profitability. Today, he guides the digital-first growth and innovation journey of Employbridge with decisive focus on and investment in its people. His transparent and approachable leadership style encourages candid employee dialogue, resulting in meaningful career growth programs and outstanding colleague longevity.

Sara Moss
Vice president, tech advisory, Newbury Partners

Moss helps staffing companies develop tech strategies that deliver strategic business outcomes. As head of Newbury Partners’ Technology Advisory team, and throughout her 20-year staffing career, Moss has supported a long list of leading staffing companies achieve their goals.

Greg Palmer
Chairman and chief executive officer, Supplemental Health Care

Palmer served eight years at Remedy Temp Inc. as president and CEO, where he led a successful turnaround, exit strategy, and sale in 2006. He currently serves as an operating partner and investor to private equity, where he focuses his time and attention in the health care and health care staffing industries. Through his consulting firm G. Palmer & Associates, Palmer has been the buy side advisor on over 33 staffing industry acquisitions valued at more than $3.1 billion. Palmer is a past member of the ASA board of directors and was inducted into the Staffing Industry Analysts Hall of Fame in 2018. He has also served nine years as a director of the Orange County Community Foundation and currently serves on the advisory board of Hope Builders, a health care-focused social enterprise and workforce development nonprofit headquartered in Orange County, CA.

Jodda Perry
Vice president of enterprise solutions, Avionte

Perry has over 20 years of experience in sales and sales leadership. He is passionate about partnering with customers to create mobile strategy and help clients lean into digital transformation, to eliminate manual processes, and create amazing candidate and client experiences. Perry is instrumental in helping our customers navigate the tech-stack and collaborate with partners to create a comprehensive in-app experience.

Dana Peterson
Chief economist and leader, Economy, Strategy and Finance Center, The Conference Board

Prior to her role at The Conference Board, Peterson served as a North America Economist and later as a Global Economist at Citi, the world’s largest investment bank. Her wealth of experience extends to the public sector, having also worked at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. Her wide-ranging economics portfolio includes analyzing global themes having direct financial market implications, including monetary policy; inflation; labor markets; fiscal and trade policy; debt; taxation; ESG; consumption, and demographics. Her work also examines myriad U.S. themes leveraging granular data.

Peterson’s research has been featured by U.S. and international news outlets, both in print and broadcast. Publications and networks include CNBC, FOX Business, Bloomberg, Thomson-Reuters, CNN Finance, Yahoo Finance, TD Ameritrade, Barron’s, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. She is member of the Board of Directors of NBER, NABE, and the Global Interdependence Center, President of the New York Association for Business Economics (NYABE), and a member of NBEIC, the Forecasters Club, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Paul Pincus
Partner, Ortoli | Rosenstadt LLP

Pincus is a partner at the international law firm Ortoli | Rosenstadt LLP and head of the firm’s mergers & acquisitions, and staffing / workforce solutions, practices. He is one of the leading M&A attorneys in the U.S. for the staffing industry, having completed more than 90 deals in the staffing industry during the past 35 years, ranging in size from under $20 million to over $200 million in value. He has represented domestic and international staffing firms in purchases, sales, recapitalizations, and management buyouts, and in transactions with strategic buyers and private equity firms. Pincus has written and lectured extensively on M&A topics for the staffing industry.

Ashwarya Poddar
Founder and chief executive officer, ConverzAI

Poddar is the founder & CEO of ConverzAI, which offers a readily deployable Voice AI platform for staffing organizations. The platform automatically sources and screens candidates through 6–21 minute phone conversations to boost staffing topline and candidate experience. Before founding ConverzAI, Poddar was a principal product manager at Microsoft where he took conversational intelligence products from ideation to commercialization, creating multi-million dollar businesses. He has multiple patents on Conversational AI, Communications Networking, and Natural Language Processing. Outside of work, Poddar enjoys playing music and cooking nights with his family in the Seattle, Washington area.

Matt Rupprecht

Director, PMCF

Rupprecht is a director of PMCF and co-leads the firm’s business services and technology team. He has more than 15 years of experience advising clients with the buy side and sell side M&A transactions, leveraged buyouts, and the placement of senior and subordinated debt. In addition, Rupprecht has extensive experience across multiple segments, including human capital management, advertising, facilities management services, managed services, and business process outsourcing. Rupprecht earned a BBA with high distinction with an emphasis in finance and accounting from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He is a licensed securities representative holding his Series 7 and 63 registrations and a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Joyce Russell
President, Adecco Group

As president of the Adecco Group US Foundation, Russell is committed to making the future work for everyone. The foundation launched in January 2019 and focuses on upskilling and reskilling American workers and helping to ensure work equality for all. Russell has firmly established her reputation and passion for working with people and providing new opportunities for both employees and companies. She constantly strives for growth both personally and professionally, while remaining focused on work-related programs, partnerships, and investments that create greater economic opportunity for American workers. In 1987, Russell joined Adecco as a branch manager in Charlotte, NC. From 2004 to 2018, she served as the president of Adecco Staffing US, leading the largest business unit of Adecco Group North America—with more than 450 branch locations, approximately 1,800 colleagues, and a diverse portfolio of clients. Russell is a member of the Committee of 200, a founding member of Paradigm for Parity, and a member of Women Corporate Directors. She holds a degree in business and communications from Baylor University.

Mike Small
President, Akkodis NA and country president, The Adecco Group US

Small serves as the president of North America for Akkodis, a prominent global technology staffing, consulting, and solutions company that is part of the Adecco Group. In his role, Small helps companies reimagine their businesses through transformational and innovative digital solutions across seven global industries and tech practices. Prior to joining Akkodis, he held the position of chief executive officer of Americas at business process outsourcing company Sitel Group. Throughout his career, Small has occupied key leadership positions at various reputable organizations. He has served in senior executive roles at VXI and Symbio Global Solutions, Capgemini BPO, and with Hewlett Packard / MphasiS in Bengaluru, India. Additionally, Small excelled in multiple leadership roles at IBM. He also serves as the Adecco Group US country president, responsible for fostering collaboration, fueling growth, driving cross-organizational efficiencies, and unlocking ecosystem solutions across the Adecco Group in the U.S. Small is an advocate for diversity in tech and is passionate about developing career pathways for underrepresented communities. He is an active sponsor of the Adecco Group’s Military Alliance and Women’s Networking Group. Small also supports Girls Who Code and serves on the board of the Expect Miracles Foundation, which helps rally the business community to fund life-saving cancer research.

Jeff Silber
Managing director and senior analyst, BMO Capital Markets

Silber is a senior analyst in BMO Capital Markets Equity Research, covering the business services and education sectors, including the staffing and information services industries. He is well-known for his deep dives into various industry topics, including his annual overview of the education industry. He was the longtime host and moderator of BMO’s annual Back to School Education Conference. His research has been recognized in many industry surveys, including by Refinitiv (formerly Thomson Reuters) / StarMine, Institutional Investor, The Wall Street Journal, the Reuters survey of small- and mid-cap fund managers, and Zacks.com. Before the StarMine Analyst Awards were discontinued in 2020, Silber won this award for 10 straight years (2011–20) and was named the No. 1 stock picker in the diversified consumer services sector for three years in a row (2017–19). Prior to joining BMO Capital Markets, Silber was a director of Deloitte & Touche PeerScape Services. Prior to that, he worked at Deloitte Consulting and was an accountant with KPMG Peat Marwick. He joined BMO Capital Markets in 1996. Silber holds a master of business administration degree from the Wharton Business School and a bachelor of science degree from Yeshiva University. He is also a certified public accountant.

Britt Trukenbrod
Managing director of technology enabled services, Investment Banking, William Blair

Trukenbrod has worked extensively in the human capital and education & training sectors, completing over 150 M&A and financing transactions for these high-quality, growth-oriented clients. He has advised on multiple high-profile transactions in the staffing sector for clients, including ALKU, Addison Group, Vaco, Planet Group, and Employbridge. Prior to joining William Blair in 2000, he worked at Robert W. Baird & Co. and was previously a management consultant at Arthur Andersen.