from staff
Delores Kesler, chairman and founder of ATS Services, a national provider of staffing and employment services, has announced new investors, a new management team and a new company name. Effective immediately, ATS Services and Dunhill Staffing Systems will operate as Talagy. Derek Mercer, Kesler’s nephew, will assume the role of chairman of Talagy and Amy McGeorge, a 20-year veteran of the human resources industry, will become president and CEO. Kesler will serve as chairman emeritus.
Mercer is no stranger to ATS Services or the staffing industry. He was the director of information technology for ATS Services nearly 20 years ago. In 1996, he founded Vurv Technology, a global provider of on-demand talent management software that grew to over $50 million in annual revenue, delivering software to more than 350 enterprise clients and nearly 2,000 small and medium businesses. The company was acquired by Taleo in 2008 for approximately $128.8 million, providing a return to Kesler who was the company’s first investor having provided a loan to Mercer to start the business.
McGeorge is a career human resources executive. As COO of Vurv, she reversed more than $12 million in annual losses to annual profit while increasing revenue by more than 20 percent and gross margins by 23 percent. Prior to that, she spent nearly a decade overseeing operations for CitiStreet, a global provider of employee benefits services where she was COO, and served as a managing consultant for Hewitt Associates, the world’s largest multi-service provider of HR consulting and outsourcing.
“This is an exciting time in the growth and evolution of ATS, and I’m pleased to allow the next generation of leadership to take the helm,” said Kesler. “Mercer and McGeorge are among the best in their field, and I can’t think of a better duo to take this company to the next level.”
While the products and services previously offered by ATS/Dunhill will remain the same, Talagy will offer a different delivery model. “ATS operated with multiple brands and business units. Talagy will consolidate products, services, processes and technology under the Talagy brand, offering clients better access to every type of staffing from one entity,” said McGeorge. “Our goal is to break through the noise to deliver high-quality candidates while making the recruiting process more efficient and user friendly.”