Nigel Heap joined Hays UK in 1988 as a trainee consultant. By 1997, he was managing director of Hays Australia, and consequently expanded operations to New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. In 2006, he was appointed managing director of Asia Pacific. He has been UK & Ireland managing director and chairman of the Asia Pacific business since 2012, and in 2017 also became managing director of Hays’ EMEA business.
Osborne Clarke Partner Kevin Barrow began his career in staffing and recruitment in 1990 and has spent 33 years advising major staffing groups on the digital transformation of their processes. Barrow recently advised two major gig economy platforms on how to work with tax and regulatory problems that might otherwise have ended their ability to trade competitively in the UK. Looking ahead, Barrow plans to help US and other international employer-of-record companies move to more legally compliant operating models internationally. Barrow also helps run a quarterly forum for major staffing companies to discuss forthcoming legislation and best industry responses.
A highly experienced global leader, Denis Machuel became CEO of The Adecco Group in July 2022. He was previously group CEO of Sodexo, a company with more than 400,000 employees in 56 countries. Before becoming group CEO, he held several global leadership positions at Sodexo. Prior to his 14-year career at Sodexo, he spent 16 years with Altran Group, including as CEO of Altran Technologies. He has been a member of the board of directors of Kyndryl since 2021. The company finished 2022 strongly, reporting third and fourth-quarter revenue growth to reach total 2022 revenue of €23.6 billion.
Jeffrey A. Joerres became executive chairman of ManpowerGroup in May 2014 after serving as CEO for 15 years. He joined the organisation in 1993 as VP of marketing and senior VP of European operations and global account management. He was named CEO in 1999 and chairman in 2001. ManpowerGroup is the third-largest staffing firm in the world as well as Europe. Joerres was Corporate Responsibility magazine’s inaugural “Lifetime Achievement Award” winner in2011 and was asked to co-chair the B20 Task Force on Employment in 2012. Joerres is the chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago board of directors, serves onthe boards of several companies and committees.
Tom Verhaegen has led Belgian HR firm Agilitas Group as CEO since 2017. Agilitas in 2020 was acquired by France-based Proman Group, with Verhaegan remaining as CEO. Agilitas was renamed Proman North Eastern Europe after Proman Group’s acquisition of Dutch staffing firm Timing in June 2022. Prior to this, he held leadership roles with SABMiller and Grolsch. Verhaegen says that for its employees, a larger group means more development opportunities and growth opportunities. So, in the short term, Proman North Eastern Europe will work with Timing to facilitate labour migration amid an ongoing talent shortage.
At the end of 2015, Federico Vione was appointed chief sales and innovation officer for Adecco. He originally joined Adecco in 1998 as a temp. In 2001 he became country manager of Ajilon Italy and then Switzerland in 2003. In 2005, Vione was appointed project leader, global account management, and subsequently head of Eastern Europe & Russia. In 2008, he was appointed country manager of Adecco Italy and in 2009 regional head of Italy, Eastern Europe & MENA. In 2011, he assumed responsibility of India & North Africa. Vione has been president and then VP of Assolavoro (Italian Association of Private Employment Agencies) till 2015.
Jonas Prising took the helm of ManpowerGroup Inc. in May 2014. Prior to that, Prising oversaw all aspects of ManpowerGroup’s €9 billion business in North, Central and South America and Southern Europe. Prisingjoined ManpowerGroup in 1999 and previously served as managing director of Manpower Italy; director of Manpower Global Accounts— Europe, Middle Eastand Africa; and president, North America. Before joining the company, Prising worked for Electrolux, a Swedish multinational. Prising also serves on the board of directors for Junior Achievement Worldwide and speaks five languages: English, French, German, Swedish and Italian.
Elite Leaders Chairman John O’Sullivan has worked in senior leadership roles within some of the top global recruitment firms in the market. In 1996 he founded Best International Group, based in London, which grew to £130 million in revenue in 18 months and was then sold to Spring Group in 2003. He now serves as non-executive director, strategic advisor and chairman for various recruitment firms. He specialises in achieving rapid and sustainable growth, both organic and by acquisition. In 2008, O’Sullivan bought the Elite Leaders Group, a peer-to-peer learning and personal development forum for the owners and directors of independent recruitment companies.
Chris Heutink started his career at Randstad as a consultant in the Netherlands in 1991. Various management positions followed until 2004, when he was promoted to managing director of Randstad Poland. After moving back to the Netherlands in 2007, he became director of operations. In 2009, he was appointed managing director of Randstad Netherlands. Heutink is responsible for all operations in the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Eastern Europe (Poland, Turkey, Greece, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Hungary), as well as for global client solutions. He was appointed to the executive board in 2014.
Robert Walters established staffing firm Robert Walters in 1985 in London; it specialises in junior-to middle-management professional positions and is one of the largest staffing firms globally. The company now operates across 30 countries, employs more than 4,200 people and had revenue of £1.2 billion in 2018. Walters began his career with Touche Ross, and in 1978 he joined the recruitment firm Michael Page as one of its very first employees. In 1982, he set up Michael Page’s New York office and managed it until 1984. Under his leadership, the Robert Walters company won numerous awards in 2018, including Great Place To Work 2018 and Workplace Transform – Best Workplace Launch Award.
