Walk me through the succession plan.

We’ve gotten to the size now, around 35 employees, and we’ve just gotten to be so big that it’s just been a little much for one person to do. Austin’s still a pretty young guy, but as a business owner, he needs to prepare for the future of the company. He was looking for somebody to help run the business day-to-day, and that gives him more time to do what he needs to do – focus on strategic planning and how to help our company grow – and I can handle the day-to-day operations, and we can bounce ideas off each other.

What does it take to run the day-to-day operations?

We have four distinct divisions. We have our direct hire permanent placement division, we have our temporary staffing, we have consulting, and then we have our outplacement services. There’s four directors that run those divisions, as well as we have another director who runs our administrative operations group. It’s basically helping them do their jobs better and providing any assistance I can to make sure that their teams are running to full capacity, and everybody has what they need to stay plugged in and motivated and excited.

What attracted you to the position?

I started in 2004 on our program placement group doing engineering and manufacturing searches. So I built that part of the company up. Prior to coming here, I managed, in Chicago, a health-care staffing firm. We recruited pharmacists on a nationwide basis. I got promoted at a young age to manage 20 people, and I loved it. I love helping people and helping them get to where they need to go. When I came to Des Moines, Austin and I clicked and are really thinking the same way. So what attracted me is it’s just an exciting position for me to be leading the company. I wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t have such good people here.

What attracted you to the Palmer group originally?

I was living in Chicago, had a great job, and my wife and I were expecting our first child. We were thinking maybe we should move back closer to family. My wife is from western Iowa, and I’m from Des Moines. So I answered an ad online that they had running for a recruiter. I came in and had a chance to visit with Austin, and was immediately impressed by his style, his philosophy, the way he treats people. It’s a good small family atmosphere.

Why did you decide to raise your family in Des Moines?

I have a lot of family here. And my wife’s family is from western Iowa. It’s quite a hike from the Missouri River to visit Chicago. We wanted our kids to be around their grandparents, to be around their cousins, aunts and uncles, so we decided to make the move here. We’ve got a lot of friends that were here in Des Moines. So we decided to move back and raise our kids in a smaller community and somewhere that was a little more familiar to us.

What goals do you have as executive vice president?

My goal is to continue to brand our company as the premier employment firm in Des Moines. To do that, we need to make sure we’re taking care of our customers without question. We have been, and we are, but there’s always more we can do. We’re building our staff. We’re looking to take our group to the next level. My goal is to continue to grow the business, to get from the level of business we are right now and up it. One of my huge goals is our culture here. We have a phenomenal culture. We have very little to no turnover. I would say our retention rate is north of 95 percent, which is tough.

What do you do outside work for fun?

I have three young children. They keep me really busy. I coach most of my kids’ sports. I coach two soccer teams, a baseball team, football, and I’m coaching basketball this winter. I like to go out and have fun with friends and family and do that kind of stuff. I like to work on my house. I really like remodeling, finishing my basement myself, putting hardwood floors in, tile, that kind of stuff. I enjoy the work. I’m not sure I could make a living doing it, but it’s fun to do.