Viktor Calabrò is founder and executive chairman of Coople, an on-demand platform for flexible work. Calabrò actively mentors startups in Switzerland on a variety of topics as board member, advisor, coach or investor. An advocate for the Swiss startup ecosystem, his stated goal is to make flexible work a rewarding experience for workers as well as companies optimizing their flexible workforce management.
As managing director EMEA and ANZ for Hays, the sixth-largest staffing firm in the world with global revenue of €6.5 billion, Nigel Heap is responsible for 14 of the 33 countries in the organisation. In 2012, Heap was appointed UK & Ireland managing director, and in 2017 he was appointed managing director of a further 12 countries in the EMEA region. Over the following 15 years, as managing director of Hays in Australia, he oversaw a tenfold increase in revenue and expanded into New Zealand. He was further appointed managing director of APAC in 2005, leading Hays’ expansion into Asia.
As managing director, J.H. “Jurriën” Koops is responsible for the daily management of ABU. He entered staffing in 1999 as a senior consultant in business development at the Start employment agency. He’s been with ABU since 2002 and has been managing director since 2014. He is a member of several boards, including the Foundation for Training and Development in the Flexible Staffing Industry (Doorzaam), VNO-NCW (the national employers’ organisation in the Netherlands) and UWV Werkbedrijf, which offers employers information and facilities to find personnel and helps job seekers to find work.
Johnathan Johnson became the executive director of NES Fircroft in 2020 after Fircroft, of which he was CEO, merged with NES Global Talent. The integration of these two UK-based engineering staffing firms has made them the leading human capital solutions business for engineering and technical talent globally. With over 90 years of combined experience, the group has operations in 45 countries, offering clients a global solution to their requirements, and thrives on securing a brighter future for generations to come. Johnson’s extensive knowledge in the global workforce solutions industry has helped him develop relationships to ensure excellent service and experience for all candidates and clients.
Albert Ellis is CEO of Staffline, which supplies approximately 40,000 staff per day to around 450 client sites across industries such as agriculture, supermarkets, drinks, driving, food processing, logistics and manufacturing. With extensive experience in developing successful growth strategies, Ellis joined the group as the non-executive director and attained his current position in October 2020. He previously served as CEO of recruitment firm Harvey Nash Group before its sale in 2018 and has held senior finance roles at Hays plc. Ellis is a popular speaker at news programmes and is a trustee and advisor to Asia House.
Kelly Morton was appointed as CEO of Impellam Group’s portfolio of STEM businesses in the UK and Europe in October 2020 and has since embedded a culture of collaboration within STEM and unified best practices across three brands to drive mutual growth. She joined SRG, Impellam’s clinical and life sciences brand, in 2000, and became managing director in 2009, where she took SRG from a niche UK science recruitment company to a global STEM recruitment network. Morton is passionate about creating a culture of empowerment and radical candour. By always asking “Is there a better way?” she champions a growth mindset, where ideas can come from anywhere.
The Orion Group was established by chairman Alan Savage in 1987 to provide personnel to rig construction yards at Nigg. By achieving consistent growth over the years, the group now places more than 4,000 contractors every year via its worldwide network of offices throughout Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. It also provides specialist recruitment services across several sectors, including life sciences, new energies, oil and gas, construction and infrastructure, mining, nuclear, power and utilities, marine, rail, IT, finance and office. Savage is the former chairman of SPFL’s Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club.
Lord Michael Ashcroft is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. He has varied and substantial business interests around the world in public and private companies, including serving as non-executive chairman of Impellam Group, a £2.25 billion UK-based staffing firm. He is a former treasurer and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party in the UK, the honourary chairman and former treasurer of the International Democrat Union and a Privy Council member. In the UK, he is the founder and chair of trustees of both Crimestoppers and the Ashcroft Technology Academy and chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University.
Francesco Baroni was named country manager of Gi Group Italy in 2019. In addition to coordinating the activities of Gi Group’s various brands, he leads the strategic development of an integrated value proposition to meet the increasingly complex needs of companies and candidates. He joined Gi Group in 2014 as a business innovation and technology management senior executive. Baroni previously worked for consulting firms and public institutions, including IBM and the Regione Lombardia Government. Gi Group ranks among the world’s largest staffing providers, operating directly in 31 countries with a partner network in 58 additional countries.
Étienne Colella is chairman of Pixid Group, a France-headquartered VMS provider he founded in 2004. With more than 14 years of experience in the IT sector, Colella previously held several senior positions before entering his current role. Pixid provides a complete SaaS application, compliant with European regulation, for providing and using temporary staff and has developed its growth through acquisitions. After acquiring Amris (UK) in 2016, it bought The Internet Corp. (UK) in 2017 and Carerix (Netherlands) in 2018. Currently, Colella and his team are building a central online platform designed to connect a wide range of HR features.
