2019

Rosario Rasizza

Rosario Rasizza

Openjobmetis S.p.A.
CEO

Rosario Rasizza, CEO of Openjobmetis SpA, started his career in 1997 when he opened Temporary S.p.A. of Milan in Varese. In 2001, he guided the launch of a new employment agency and contributed toward the creation of Openjob SpA. Between 2003 and 2011, he guided Openjob through a series of acquisitions. In 2008, he was appointed Knight of the Italian Republic as well as chairman of Assosomm, the Italian Association of Employment Agencies, and in 2018 he became Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. In 2018, Openjobmetis reported revenue of €594.3 million.

Chris Pullen

Chris Pullen

Staffline
CEO

Chris Pullen was appointed group chief executive of Staffline in January 2018. He joined the company in 2015 and was initially responsible for group mergers and acquisitions. He was designated as group CFO and an executive member of the board in 2016. He is also a member of the nominations committee. The company went on an acquisition spree last year — including, most recently, Grafton Recruitment’s Irish business Passionate about People — all the while undergoing a transformation plan during the fiscal year. The past fiscal year also saw the company face numerous challenges, but Pullen is confident in the company’s plans to return to growth in 2019.

Jurriën Koops

Jurriën Koops

ABU (Dutch Federation of Employment Agencies)
Director

J.H. (Jurriën) Koops, managing director at ABU — the Dutch Federation of Employment Agencies — since 2014, is responsible for the daily management of the bureau. In 2018, ABU introduced a social agenda to enhance public support for temporary work in the Netherlands. The agenda also guides the members of ABU in their daily business. Koops joined ABU in 2002 as head of its Labour Conditions and Legal Affairs team. He was appointed assistant director in 2009 and named director of social affairs in 2012. Koops is also a member of several boards, including the Foundation for Training and Development in the Staffing Industry (Doorzaam) and SNCU.

Robert Walters

Robert Walters

Robert Walters plc
Chief Executive

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.

Jan Gupta

Jan Gupta

The Adecco Group
Global President, Modis

Jan Gupta this year assumed the newly created role of global head of Modis, The Adecco Group’s IT, engineering and life science staffing and solutions division. He also joined Adecco’s executive committee. A German national, Gupta’s experience includes managing global teams in engineering and technology businesses and an academic background in mechanical engineering and economics. His career spans more than 20 years in the technology industry, most recently as COO and board member of Schunk Group, a German advanced engineering company. He previously held various senior leadership roles at the Freudenberg Group, including leading several of its global divisions.

Matt Weston

Matt Weston

Robert Half International
UK Managing Director

Matt Weston is the UK managing director for Robert Half. Prior to his current role, Weston was the director for professional staffing across the UK South region, encompassing finance and accounting, financial services, human resources and administration recruitment. Weston started his career with Robert Half in 1999 as a recruitment consultant for finance and accounting; he quickly excelled, earning several prestigious awards including being recognised four times as Robert Half’s worldwide number one consultant. He is a familiar industry figure and is often called on by the media to discuss the current trends affecting the world of work, recruitment trends and advice.

Yvon Drouet

Yvon Drouet

Synergie
Deputy General Manager & CFO

Yvon Drouet is the deputy general manager and CFO of Synergie, the sixth-largest staffing firm in France. Drouet oversees group finance and investments and plays a key role in Synergie’s international expansion. He announced this year that the company is looking at possible acquisitions in Eastern Europe as well as the Nordic countries. In 2018, Synergie recorded excellent performances in countries where it has a particularly large presence, such as those of Southern Europe and Austria. In January 2019, Synergie signed an agreement to acquire Australia-based Entire Recruitment, becoming a national player in the country.

Viktor Calabrò

Viktor Calabrò

Coople
Founder and Executive Chairman

Viktor Calabrò launched Staff Finder, the on-demand staffing platform now known as Coople, in 2009. With 350,000 registered “Cooplers” and 18,000 registered companies, Coople operates in Switzerland and the UK. Together with the social welfare office in Bern, Switzerland, Calabrò in 2018 spearheaded an initiative to reintroduce welfare recipients and the socially disadvantaged back into the workforce through Coople’s platform. Calabrò and his team are also working with GastroGraubünden, a Swiss hospitality and gastronomy association, to build a single directory of flexible staff for the eastern region. Calabrò is the author of Flexible Workforce, which explores the challenges of the modern workplace.

James Saoulli

James Saoulli

Rullion
CEO

James Saoulli is CEO of Rullion, a role he took in 2017. Over the past two years he has overseen the transformation of Rullion, which has included launching several programmes to modernise and help to enable continued business growth. Saoulli has previously held leadership roles in Rullion Management Services and Rullion Solutions, a managed service and technology arm that he helped launch. Prior to his current role as CEO, Saoulli was group board director of the company where he coordinated strategy, sales and marketing. In 2018, the company launched a new specialist Talent Consultancy division. Rullion ranked fourth on SIA’s list of the largest engineering staffing firms in the UK.

Patrick Tiessen

Patrick Tiessen

Nétive
CEO

Patrick Tiessen is co-founder and CEO of VMS provider Nétive. Founded in 2003, with offices in Rijswijk, the Netherlands and in London, Nétive started with two customers and has grown to more than 200 customers across Europe. The privately funded company focuses on creating the best possible cloud software to manage contingent workforces and recruit permanent staff within one single solution. Before Nétive, Tiessen held senior roles at The Next Flex and HR Puzzle; he also was an international IT manager at Kelly Services for eight years. In recent years, Nétive’s focus has been on international expansion.