Networking Roundtables: TechServe Executive Summit 2024

Acquiring New Clients and Expanding Within Current Clients
Lawrence Hemley, President, S.J.Hemley Marketing
Join us for a great discussion on overcoming the challenges with client acquisition as well as expanding within existing clients. We will discuss some of the challenges we all face and various marketing efforts to increase your success in driving new business.

Best Practices and Pitfalls of Offshore RPO
Brian Hunt, Founder & CEO, KoreRPO
Have you considered or worked with offshore RPO vendors in the past? Drawing from our unique experience as a mid-sized staffing company that successfully developed an internal offshore RPO team, we offer valuable insights into effective offshore RPO implementation. After recently spinning off our RPO team into a standalone entity, we now serve growth-oriented boutique and mid-sized staffing firms worldwide. Our journey has equipped us with key lessons on executing best practices for sustainable growth, maintaining a competitive advantage, and enhancing profitability. We excel in helping firms expand into new industry specializations, accelerate speed to market, manage fluctuating job pipelines, attract top onshore talent while cultivating internal retention. Additionally, we focus on improving KPIs, effectively leveraging technology, overcoming language/cultural barriers and avoiding common pitfalls that often derail offshore RPO engagements.

Differentiate your firm by Leading your clients on implementing AI in their development teams.
Roger Kipe, VP of Staffing, capstone IT
Most teams using AI assisted development practices say it increases their productivity by 50%. Staffing firms could reposition themselves by leading their clients on how to implement AI in their development teams. This would accelerate their productivity and speed to market with software solutions. Such firms would be viewed not just as resource providers but as strategic partners and thought leaders.

Driving Revenue & ROI in Staffing
Paul DiVincenzo, US Enterprise Leader, Indeed
In this roundtable, we will explore best practices for driving top-line growth by expanding into new verticals and boosting bottom-line revenue through more efficient talent delivery. By shifting the focus from budget constraints to strategic growth, we’ll discuss how staffing firms can optimize their operations and deliver greater value to clients. Join us for an engaging discussion on how to achieve sustainable business impact through improved talent acquisition strategies and operational efficiency.

Global access to talent and RPO alternatives
Scott Aicher, President – Americas, CXC Global
This roundtable is designed to explore the world of global recruitment and IT/Engineering STEM talent, how to harness it for greater financial return for both client and staffing partner while providing a path to greater controls and success with different lower cost recruitment strategies.

How to drive scalable candidate and client leads through automation
Jack Copeland, CEO, Staffing Future
Automation and AI are increasing productivity at rate never before possible. What can agencies do to embrace and adapt at scale? Staffing companies need to drive leads from both candidates and clients and just peddling harder doesn't work any more. What can companies do to embrace tools and techniques that maintain the human value but leverage technology to attract quality passive and active, client and candidate leads.

IT Growth Themes: Data-Driven Insights into Opportunities
Amy Hovart, Research Analyst, SIA
In 2024, global investment in IT is expected to grow three times faster than the overall economy, and IT employment in the US is following suit. Even though the last year has been a difficult one for IT temporary staffing—with SIA predicting that IT staffing revenues will be down 7% in 2024—the data show there are opportunities for expansion. We will discuss opportunities for revenue growth from a wide range of perspectives—by occupation, industry vertical, geography, programming language, and more—in order to support and inspire strategic planning initiatives.

Leadership and Culture Integration: Navigating Pre- and Post-M&A Transitions
John McGraw, Senior Vice President, Access Capital
Join John McGraw from Access Capital as he leads an insightful roundtable on leadership's critical role in shaping culture through the complexities of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Whether you’re preparing for an upcoming M&A event or managing post-merger integration, this discussion will offer practical strategies for fostering an extraordinary company culture before, during, and after a transaction. We will explore how effective leadership can align teams, maintain morale, and drive long-term success through cultural synergy. This roundtable is an invaluable opportunity for executives to share experiences and gain actionable insights on navigating cultural shifts while maintaining organizational excellence. Access Capital brings years of expertise in supporting companies through these transformative periods, making this a must-attend session for anyone looking to strengthen their leadership approach in M&A scenarios.

Managing your staffing business through an economic turmoil by utilizing 13-week cash flow projections tool and taking advantage of the SECURE Act 2.0
Matt Munn, Managing Director, UHY Advisors, Inc.

Ok, but what is agentic AI?
Aaron Wang, CEO, Apriora
Learn from an ex-Facebook AI researcher on what autonomous AI actually is, how it works on the inside, and how your company can actually benefit from what the newest in agentic AI has to offer. In this discussion, we'll break down the basics of AI and answer your questions so you're better prepared to leverage it correctly for your company. Presented by Apriora.

People-First AI: Elevating Human Talent by Automating the Mundane
Dennis Farkos, President & Chief Financial Officer, Ceipal
In this roundtable, we’ll explore how AI can revolutionize staffing and recruiting by automating repetitive tasks, freeing up recruiters to focus on what truly matters—building authentic human connections and making better placements. Discover how people-first AI not only enhances productivity and efficiency but also empowers recruiters to tap into their full potential, driving more meaningful engagements with candidates and clients. We’ll share practical examples of how AI supports human talent, enabling stronger relationships and better business outcomes.

Selling Your Business in Today's Environment
John Larson, M&A Consultant, TechServe Alliance
What does it take to sell your business today? Why might you decide to wait? What are the short-term and longer-term factors? Do you understand the true value of your company? Do you have a well-defined exit or transition strategy? Join our roundtable for an open discussion on a topic that affects all owners, maybe today but definitely in the future.

Socially responsible automation – Our role as leaders
Sagar Pelaprolu, CEO, Sage IT
Socially responsible automation – Our role as leaders

Staffing Strategies for the Impending AI Revolution
Vaibhv Poddar, Chief Operating Officer, ConverzAI
This roundtable will delve into the transformational value AI promises to deliver to the staffing industry. We are standing on the brink of a technological revolution, one that will redefine the way we conduct business and interact with the world.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just a buzzword; it's a set of tools that promise to bring transformative value to the staffing industry. Let's focus our conversation on demystifying AI and its potential impacts on the staffing industry. We'll share real-life use cases illustrating how staffing companies have leveraged AI to drive success and efficiency. You will gather concrete advice and actionable strategies to help you make the most of these revolutionary technologies. We'll discuss how to integrate AI into your existing processes, train your team, and position your business for future success.

Starting a Company Book Club
Tom Nunn, President, Tom Nunn Consulting, LLC
There can be a lot of value to starting a book club in your company for all staff and for established or budding leaders. We’ll spend our time together going over some good books that participants have read and recommend. Tom Nunn will facilitate and has many good books to consider

The Balancing Act: How AI-Powered Personalization and Relevance Drive Candidate & Client Engagement
Scott Littrell, VP Sales - US, SourceWhale
This roundtable will explore the critical balance between personalization and relevance in recruitment outreach, with a focus on how AI and automation are reshaping the landscape. We’ll dive into how personalization grabs attention, but relevance is what truly builds credibility and books meetings. With AI-driven tools, recruiters can personalize at scale, delivering relevant, tailored messages that engage candidates and clients while automation takes care of repetitive tasks.

The Economy and M&A Trends
Jim Janesky, Principal, Forest Hills Advisory LLC
To examine the effects of the economic cycle on M&A trends in the IT & Engineering sectors. We will discuss how economic cycles impact the M&A market as well as the multiple and deal term expectations.

The importance of personal brands throughout your organization.
Dave Cox, VP Sales, Paiger
Applying the compound interest model to personal branding. Encourage everyone to adopt a daily investment mindset in their brand to build networks that repay in multiples.

Thoughtful AI
Gus Samra, Chief Revenue Officer, JobDiva
Join Gus Samra, Chief Revenue Officer of JobDiva, for a thought-provoking roundtable on the importance of careful AI implementation in staffing. As AI increasingly transforms industries, including staffing, the key to success lies not just in adopting the latest tools but in harmonizing them with existing automated workflows and the unique human capital and expertise of each agency.

In this roundtable, we will explore together the nuanced challenges and risks of overly relying on AI without enough human oversight, as well as the potential for AI to truly elevate the experiences of both recruiters and candidates when tailored thoughtfully to each agency’s specific processes and ethical standards.

Unlocking Competitive Advantage: Elevate your placement agency by delivering added value to your independent contractors.
Éric Chevrette, President and Founder, IT360 Financial
In today’s competitive landscape, placement agencies must go beyond traditional recruitment methods to truly stand out. This roundtable will focus on strategies to enhance your agency’s value proposition by offering exceptional benefits and support to independent contractors.

What now?
Anthony Zarate, Senior Attorney, CIP
Now that President Trump has been elected, what can employers of international workers including H-1b workers expect in his 2nd term?

007: AI Agents for IT and Engineering Staffing
Aaron Wang, CEO, Apriora
How does agentic AI increase my profit next quarter? Why do technical candidates enjoy interviewing with AI? How is my AI catching cheaters? What data supports the ROI? Learn the answer to all of these questions and more with an in-depth discussion focused on how agentic AI can make meaningful impact to technical staffing. Presented by Apriora.

AI and Gen AI – Exciting or Scary? Your thoughts as a leader
Sagar Pelaprolu, CEO, Sage IT
AI and Gen AI – Exciting or Scary? Your thoughts as a leader

AI and Staffing - Be prepared for a new way of working
Kevin Flowers, Sales Manager, Mercury
Join Mercury for the pivotal roundtable discussion to discover how AI streamlines, personalizes and automates talent acquisition and candidate engagement. This session will equip you with actionable insights on integrating AI into your staffing firm, ensuring you stay ahead in a tech-driven market. Learn about data considerations, security implications, and the necessary upskilling for your team to harness AI's full potential. Embrace innovation, foster competitive advantage, and future-proof your agency in the evolving world of work.

Best Practices and Pitfalls of Offshore RPO
Brian Hunt, Founder & CEO, KoreRPO
Have you considered or worked with offshore RPO vendors in the past? Drawing from our unique experience as a mid-sized staffing company that successfully developed an internal offshore RPO team, we offer valuable insights into effective offshore RPO implementation. After recently spinning off our RPO team into a standalone entity, we now serve growth-oriented boutique and mid-sized staffing firms worldwide. Our journey has equipped us with key lessons on executing best practices for sustainable growth, maintaining a competitive advantage, and enhancing profitability. We excel in helping firms expand into new industry specializations, accelerate speed to market, manage fluctuating job pipelines, attract top onshore talent while cultivating internal retention. Additionally, we focus on improving KPIs, effectively leveraging technology, overcoming language/cultural barriers and avoiding common pitfalls that often derail offshore RPO engagements.

Building the Future of the Talent Tech Stack - A Roadmap for 2025
Laura Bumby, Senior Manager, Sales & Strategy, Bullhorn
As the recruitment industry evolves, building a flexible and scalable tech stack is critical for future success.

We will discuss emerging trends and technologies shaping the future of talent acquisition, including AI, automation, and analytics., and explore how to strategically integrate these tools to streamline workflows, improve data accuracy, and drive better decision-making

How are you creating a tech stack that can adapt to the changing talent landscape?

Client Engagement and Retention in the Age of Digital Transformation
Barb Bruno, President, Good As Gold Training

From Tech Leader to Sales Leadership - What's in your tool kit
Anna Frazzetto, CEO, AFM Strategic Partners LLC
What skills do you need to excel in sales leadership? Key areas include communication, delegation, and problem-solving. But how do you acquire these skills while leveraging your technical foundation? Demonstrating leadership involves volunteering for project leader roles, mentoring junior colleagues, and participating in cross-functional teams. Managing change is crucial; seek mentorship, take leadership development courses, and actively learn from successful leaders around you. Building your sales leadership toolkit is essential—focus on continual learning and skill development to navigate the challenges of leadership effectively.

Leadership and Culture Integration: Navigating Pre- and Post-M&A Transitions
John McGraw, Senior Vice President, Access Capital
Join John McGraw from Access Capital as he leads an insightful roundtable on leadership's critical role in shaping culture through the complexities of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Whether you’re preparing for an upcoming M&A event or managing post-merger integration, this discussion will offer practical strategies for fostering an extraordinary company culture before, during, and after a transaction. We will explore how effective leadership can align teams, maintain morale, and drive long-term success through cultural synergy. This roundtable is an invaluable opportunity for executives to share experiences and gain actionable insights on navigating cultural shifts while maintaining organizational excellence. Access Capital brings years of expertise in supporting companies through these transformative periods, making this a must-attend session for anyone looking to strengthen their leadership approach in M&A scenarios.

Leveraging Veteran Talent: Elevating Workforce Potential through SSi People's ServiceStrong Program
Chris Stone, VP Client Engagement, SSi People
Join us for an engaging and insightful roundtable discussion, where we will discuss the unique opportunities offered by SSi People’s ServiceStrong Veteran Program.

Recognizing that veterans represent a diverse and dedicated talent pool characterized by their adaptability and strong work ethic, this discussion will explore strategies for effectively integrating these skilled individuals into your organization. By doing so, you can build successful, cohesive teams while honoring and giving back to those who have selflessly served our country.

This will be very informative for executives and hiring managers eager to enhance their workforce with the unmatched dedication and skills that veterans bring to the table.

Navigating misclassification risks: safeguarding independent contractors and agencies, a strategic approach.
Éric Chevrette, President and Founder, IT360 Financial
This roundtable will delve into the critical issue of misclassification risks faced by independent contractors and agencies. Misclassification can lead to significant legal and financial repercussions, including potential fines, back taxes, and legal disputes.

Selling Your Business in Today's Environment
John Larson, M&A Consultant, TechServe Alliance
What does it take to sell your business today? Why might you decide to wait? What are the short-term and longer-term factors? Do you understand the true value of your company? Do you have a well-defined exit or transition strategy? Join our roundtable for an open discussion on a topic that affects all owners, maybe today but definitely in the future.

Starting a Company Book Club
Tom Nunn, President, Tom Nunn Consulting, LLC
There can be a lot of value to starting a book club in your company for all staff and for established or budding leaders. We’ll spend our time together going over some good books that participants have read and recommend. Tom Nunn will facilitate and has many good books to consider

The Balancing Act: How AI-Powered Personalization and Relevance Drive Candidate & Client Engagement
Scott Littrell, VP Sales - US, SourceWhale
This roundtable will explore the critical balance between personalization and relevance in recruitment outreach, with a focus on how AI and automation are reshaping the landscape. We’ll dive into how personalization grabs attention, but relevance is what truly builds credibility and books meetings. With AI-driven tools, recruiters can personalize at scale, delivering relevant, tailored messages that engage candidates and clients while automation takes care of repetitive tasks.

The Power of Marketing: Sales Accelerator, Revenue Generator, Success Builder
Alison Richmond, Senior Vice President of Marketing Services, ClearEdge
For modern staffing companies, the quality of the relationship built with target buyers—today and over the long term—is a significant driver of sales success.

But how can you form powerful and lasting relationships in the face of today’s shifting landscape? Especially when 95% of potential buyers aren’t immediately ready to buy staffing services? One word: Marketing. OK, maybe four words: Sales and Marketing Alignment.

Aligning sales with marketing is your key to creating “stickier” brand recognition across all touchpoints and buyer stages. It supports more effective sales outreach. It drives recognition for future inbound inquiries. It creates an impression that lingers in the minds and memory of your audience.

In this roundtable, we’ll discuss how marketing can be used to align brand credibility with sales efforts to secure new clients and grow existing accounts—all to generate greater revenue!

Executive Summit and TechExec Networking Roundtables