Carmen Watson joined Pertemps in 1976 as a secretary and by 1983 had progressed to the boardroom as commercial director. From 1983 to 2000, she was responsible for the formation of a corporate business team and turnover grew tenfold from £32m to £323m. In, 2000,Watson was named managing director and then became chairperson in 2012. A long-term supporter of diversity in the workplace, Watson is one of the foremost speakers on women in the boardroom.
Margriet Spijker is general manager of private Dutch staffing firm Timing, a part of the ADG services group. According to research from SIA, Timing is the sixth largest staffing firm in the Netherlands. She joined the company as a consultant in 1988 and held various management positions, including deputy manager, before being appointed general manager in 2012.
Christian Roulleau is founder and CEO of the French facility management group Samsic, which provides staffing services with the SamsicEmploi brand. Under Roulleau’s management SamsicEmploi rose to rank among the top 10 largest staffing firms in France, and is one of the largest privately owned firms in the market. Roulleau previously held a wide range of positions within the GSF group operating in the cleaning services industry, and founded Samsic in 1986.
Phil Sheridan is managing director, UK and South America, with Robert Half International Inc. He trained with Ernst & Young before he joined Robert Half in 1996, where he focused on accounting and finance recruitment, progressing to regional director in 2000 and managing director in 2005. His background in finance has been instrumental in developing and executing strategy, helping the business successfully navigate the challenges of recent years.
Robert Jan van de Kraats has been CFO of Randstad since 2001 and was appointed vice chairman of the executive board in 2006. He is responsible for control, strategy and M&A, finance and accounting, legal, tax, treasury, business risk and audit, IT, and investor relations for the Group for operations in Japan, India, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Austria. A qualified chartered accountant, van de Kraats started his career with one of the big four accountancy firms before joining Randstad in 1989. In May 2015, he became a board member of the supervisory board of Schiphol Group.
Alan Savage founded the Orion Group in 1987. As a mechanical technician, he worked his way through the engineering ranks. Following a stint as a sales and marketing consultant, he formed the Orion Group to provide personnel to the booming engineering sector. Based in Inverness, Orion Group employs 425 staff across its 44 worldwide offices and manages more than 4,000 contractors annually throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Savage is a former chairman of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club and a Manchester United supporter.
Frits Goldschmeding is the founder, former president and CEO of Randstad Holding. Under his leadership the company became one of the largest staffing firms in the world. In March 2011 he stepped down from the company but remains the largest shareholder. On his 80th birthday in 2013, Goldschmeding was awarded the Gold Medal of the City of Amsterdam, the highest honour the city can bestow. The Gold Medal is typically awarded to mayors at the end of their term in office; however, under exceptional circumstances, it is also presented to persons who have made outstanding contributions to Amsterdam. Notable recipients include Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Dwight Eisenhower.
Roland Gomez is CEO of the French staffing group Proman, which he founded in 1990. The family run company is the fifth-largest staffing firm in France and the largest privately held staffing firm operating in the French market. A rare feature for a top player in the staffing industry, the Gomez family are the sole shareholders of the company. In the last five years, the company achieved an average revenue growth rate between 15% and 20%. Prior to founding Proman, Gomez trained as an industrial steelworker, and later worked as a branch manager for an engineering services firm. Gomez recently passed the baton to his son Roland as managing director.
After working in recruitment for Accountancy Selection Ltd. and Badenoch & Clark Ltd., Giles Daubeney joined the Robert Walters plc in 1988. From 1990 to 1994, he was based in Amsterdam and was responsible for the Robert Walters’s Dutch and Belgian operations.Daubeney became COO in 1999, and was appointed to the board in July 2000.
Henrik Höjsgaard has been president and CEO of Swedish staffing firm Proffice since January 2014. Proffice reported improvement through Höjsgaard’s first year at the helm, returning to growth during the fourth quarter of 2014, following more than six quarters of year-on-year revenue declines. Höjsgaard has a long international career; prior to joining Proffice, he was CEO of PostNord Logistics for six years. He also worked as a ship broker in Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Hong Kong. He was CEO of Keolis Nordic AB and has held various managerial roles in Sweden and Denmark, including CEO of TNT International Express AB.
