Dana Baughns
Chief Legal Officer, Allegis Group
Baughns is chief legal officer with Allegis Group. Baughns has extensive legal experience, including risk mitigation and litigation defense, restrictive covenants, contracts formation and negotiation, collective bargaining negotiations, union grievance settlements, and interest arbitrations. Baughns earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Howard University in Washington, DC, and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut. She is admitted to practice in the state of Connecticut as well as the federal district of Connecticut and southern and eastern district courts of New York.
Joanie Bily
Chief Executive Officer, Employbridge
Bily is division president and chief workforce analyst 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 keynocte 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.
Kelly Boykin
Founder, Growth Curve Advisory
Boykin is the founder and driving force behind Growth Curve Advisory, and she helps staffing firms optimize their success with MSP strategies that streamline operations and maximize growth. She isn’t your average consultant; she’s a seasoned staffing executive with a proven track record as a sales leader. As a Certified Contingent Workforce Professional (CCWP) and three-time honoree on Staffing Industry Analysts’ Global Power 150 Most Influential Women in Staffing list, Boykin has picked up more than a few tricks of the trade over the years.
Jim Collins
Best-Selling Author, Forbes 100 Greatest Living Business Minds, Socratic Adviser to Business Leaders, and World-Renown Speaker
Collins is a student and teacher of what makes great companies tick, and a Socratic adviser to leaders in the business and social sectors. Having invested more than a quarter century in rigorous research, he has authored or co-authored a series of books that have sold in total more than 10 million copies worldwide. They include Good to Great, the No. 1 bestseller, which examines why some companies make the leap and others don’t; the enduring classic Built to Last, which discovers why some companies remain visionary for generations; How the Mighty Fall, which delves into how once-great companies can self-destruct; and Great by Choice, which uncovers the leadership behaviors for thriving in chaos and uncertainty. Collins has also published two monographs that extend the ideas in his primary books: Good to Great and the Social Sectors and Turning the Flywheel.
His most recent publication is BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0), an ambitious upgrade of his very first book; it returns Collins to his original focus on small, entrepreneurial companies and honors his co-author and mentor Bill Lazier.
Driven by a relentless curiosity, Collins began his research and teaching career on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, CO, where he conducts research and engages with CEOs and senior leadership teams.
In addition to his work in the business sector, Jim has a passion for learning and teaching in the social sectors, including education, healthcare, government, faith-based organizations, social ventures, and cause-driven nonprofits. In 2012 and 2013, he had the honor to serve a two-year appointment as the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Collins holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences and an MBA from Stanford University, and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. In 2017, Forbes selected him as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.
Jennie Dede
Head of Sales, Search and Staffing North America, LinkedIn Talent Solutions
Dede leads the staffing vertical within LinkedIn’s North American business, where she excels in driving sustainable growth in highly competitive and dynamic markets. With more than two decades of expertise in the talent and recruiting industry, she blends strategic operational design with a focus on results, enabling impactful business outcomes. She is a master at leveraging recruitment and learning technologies to create meaningful, customer-centric experiences. Known for her exceptional communication and motivational skills, she has consistently built and led high-performing teams during periods of transition, growth, and cultural transformation.
In her prior role, Dede led LinkedIn’s global Customer Success organization for its Talent Solutions business, helping organizations optimize their talent acquisition strategies. Before LinkedIn, she held pivotal roles at renowned companies like Adecco, Randstad, and CareerBuilder. She has collaborated with Fortune 500 clients such as Bristol Myers Squibb, Bank of America, and United Airlines to develop innovative hiring processes that attract and retain top-tier talent.
David Folwell
Founder and President, Staffing Referrals
Folwell is the founder and president of Staffing Referrals, the first automated referral platform built for staffing firms. Host of “The Staffing Show” podcast, Folwell combines a passion for technology with years of industry experience to help agencies grow smarter and faster. When he’s not driving innovation, you’ll find him running ultramarathons, snowboarding, or exploring new corners of the world.
Eric Gregg
Founder and CXS, ClearlyRated
Gregg founded ClearlyRated, bringing his expertise in marketing and quantitative analysis to some of the nation’s top professional service organizations. Since its founding, ClearlyRated has sustained double-digit growth by actively partnering with firm leaders and managers to find answers to critical issues of satisfaction and retention. The ClearlyRated research team has experience in a variety of professional service industries, including the legal, accounting, staffing, architecture and insurance fields. Gregg received his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business in 2003, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing, with a Statistics minor in Spring of 1998 from Montana State University. He is a past president for the American Marketing Association’s Oregon Chapter. In his free time, Gregg’s passions turn to the outdoors, where he is an avid photographer and scuba diver, and enjoys hiking and camping with his family.
Jason Heilman
SVP, Product Automation and AI, Bullhorn
As the senior vice president of product for Automation and AI, Heilman is at the forefront of integrating cutting-edge automation and AI technologies into the staffing industry. He has been deeply ingrained in the recruitment industry since 2006, previously serving as the co-founder and CEO of Herefish, he has been instrumental in developing innovative solutions that drive productivity and growth for staffing firms. His combination of industry experience, business, and technical acumen has helped thousands of recruiters, salespeople and leaders turn challenges into growth opportunities.
Lauren Jones
Founder and President, Leap Advisory Partners
A staffing industry powerhouse. Workforce technology whiz. Change management mastermind. Fierce female leader champion. Professional storyteller. Jones is all of these things as well as the founder and now president of Leap Advisory Partners (formerly Leap Consulting Solutions). After decades as an innovator and influencer in the staffing industry, Jones founded LEAP to make recruiting companies more efficient, more successful, and more human. How? By helping firms define and understand their technology needs, embrace change, and ensure adoption of a firm’s largest investment.
Thomas Kosnik
Founder and President, Visus Group
Kosnik is the staffing industry’s leading expert offering a unique combination of business consulting acumen and experience to independent staffing firms. He advises on all aspects of running a staffing firm including organizational performance; change management; strategic planning; financial analysis; compensation plan design; process and profit improvements and business value enhancement to help staffing firms across the country improve operations and the bottom line.
In 1995, Kosnik started the Presidents’ Roundtable program to improve leadership capabilities of independent staffing firms’ management through creative idea generation, sharing, collaborating and addressing industry challenges. The Roundtables have expanded to include CFOs, COOs, and CMOs. He is the only consultant for independent staffing firms with a degree in Organizational Development (M.A. from Bowling Green State University) and a B.A. in psychology from Seattle University. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union and is also certified with the Center for Creative Leadership. This specialized educational and professional background equips him with a unique skill set for guiding independent staffing firms.
Colin LaBeau
President, FoxHire
LaBeau is the president of FoxHire, a leading tech-enabled employer of record (EOR) platform that simplifies employment processes for staffing agencies and HR teams. Under LaBeau’s leadership, FoxHire has become a trusted partner for staffing firms navigating the complexities of payroll, onboarding, compliance, and benefits administration. Through double-digit growth performances, LaBeau has led FoxHire to be recognized by industry-leading analyst firms like SIA, NelsonHall, and G2. When not championing simplified employment, he advocates for the critical role talent acquisition professionals play in shaping the future of work through his podcast “How to Get Away With Staffing.” LaBeau’s expertise, combined with a belief that “employment should be easy” has led to speaking engagements across the staffing industry with organizations like NAPS, HR.com, the Pinnacle Society, and more.
Jason Leverant, CSP
President and COO, 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.
Janette Marx
CEO, 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.
Jay Mattern
CEO, TerraFirma Marketing
Mattern, TerraFirma Marketing CEO and former CEO of the Peoplelink Group, has spent more than 35 years in the staffing industry. Under his leadership, Peoplelink had a compound annual growth rate of nearly 12% and became the 35th largest staffing firm in the U.S. He was named to Staffing Industry Analysts’ 100 most prominent staffing leaders for three consecutive years. He is a Certified Staffing Professional (CSP) and a Certified Temporary Staffing Specialist (CTS).
He retired from Peoplelink in 2019 and now brings his staffing background to the field of marketing communications. His primary objective is to help staffing firms become more effective at integrating marketing programs with their selling efforts, and to improve their recruiting results. Mattern firmly believes in the power of marketing to turn an average company into a dynamic one, and his mission is to share that passion with anyone who will listen. He’s also a fan of the “try it before you buy it” philosophy. Prior to taking ownership, Mattern was a client of the company he now leads and obviously liked what he saw.
Dustin Norwood
VP and Chief Learning Officer, American Staffing Association
Norwood is vice president and chief learning officer at the American Staffing Association, where he is charge of learning and accreditation programs for the development of the industry and its workers. Prior to joining the ASA, Dustin served as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Deputy Chief Learning Officer where he oversaw developmental programs including leadership development, coaching, mentoring, administrative professional development, tuition reimbursement, financial planning, and new employee onboarding as well as managed the agency’s learning management system. Before assuming his position at the USPTO, he served as a Senior HR Development Specialist at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) where he was responsible for leadership and legal professional development as well as instructional design and online programs.
Norwood also worked in Tokyo for many years as a learning consultant, trainer, and teacher for several private firms, including Itochu, one of Japan’s largest trading companies and a Fortune 500 firm. He has more than 10,000 hours of instructional experience and has designed more than 100 courses for both online and in-person delivery on a wide variety of topics from emotional intelligence to highly technical topics such as international tax law.
In addition to being a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), he has a Master of Education in Instructional Design and Technology from George Mason University and a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Nova Southeastern University.
Ashwarya Poddar
Founder and CEO, ConverzAI
Poddar is the founder and CEO at ConverzAI, where he has led the development and launch of a voice-based artificial intelligence (AI) platform for the staffing industry. Over the past three years, ConverzAI has developed a voice AI platform that creates transformational value for staffing organizations through easily deployable voice AI. Poddar developed a passion for voice AI during his 10 years at Microsoft as a product engineer and product manager.
Matt Rupprecht
Director, PMCF
Rupprecht is a director of PMCF and co-leads the firm’s Business Services & Technology team. He has more than 15 years of experience advising clients with their buy side and sell side M&A transactions, leveraged buyouts, and the placement of senior and subordinated debt. In addition, he has extensive experience across multiple segments, including human capital management, advertising, facilities management services, managed services, and business process outsourcing. Beyond services providers, he has represented electrical contractors, value-added resellers, and product manufacturers.
Prior to joining PMCF as an analyst, Rupprecht worked as a consultant at UHY Advisors, a middle-market focused accounting firm, providing litigation consulting and valuation services. Over his tenure at PMCF, he was promoted several times, advancing to his current role as Director. Additionally, he has authored numerous human capital management M&A industry publications, sharing his insight into various investment banking topics within the sector.
Kelli Ryan
Chief Customer Officer, Cartwheel
Ryan is a staffing industry veteran and results-driven executive sales leader with extensive experience in business development and customer retention. As the chief customer officer, Ryan works closely with the Cartwheel team to drive growth and deliver the best possible experience for their customers.
Jeff Silber
Senior Analyst, BMO Capital Markets
Silber is a senior analyst in BMO Capital Markets Equity Research, covering the business services, industrial services and education sectors, including the staffing, waste services, information services, payroll services and tax preparation industries. He publishes two periodic industry reports: an annual overview of the education and training industry (referred to in the industry as “The Bible”) and the Staffing Indicator, on staffing services. Silber serves as the host and moderator for the firm’s annual Back-to-School Education Conference, considered the premier investor event for the industry. His research has been recognized by many industry surveys, including the Refinitiv (formerly Thomson Reuters)/StarMine top analysts list, Institutional Investor’s All-American Research team, The Wall Street Journal’s “Best on the Street” Analysts Survey, the Reuters survey of small- and mid-cap fund managers, and the Zacks.com All-Star Analyst team. Prior to joining BMO Capital Markets, he 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.
Suky Sodhi
Founder, Elite Global Recruiters
A true revolutionary, Sodhi has been disrupting the staffing and recruiting industry for more than 25 years. She’s an award-winning industry coach and trainer who has helped recruitment leaders around the world build stronger businesses through her events, masterminds, programs, and courses. A serial entrepreneur, she has founded numerous businesses, and her clients include global staffing brands, start-ups, mid-sized agencies, and European recruitment businesses growing into the North American market. Her unique perspective comes from her own experience as a recruiter. She understands the challenges that business owners face and has a deep knowledge of what works well in the industry. This makes her an invaluable resource for anyone looking to take their recruiting business to the next level.
