Meet the passionate people leading Talent Tree and the evolution of staffing.

“When our troops in the field effectively champion the new Talent Tree, it becomes apparent how we truly differ from the former competition. I say "former" because our evolutionary product offerings and consultative approach to selling all of our services puts us into a unique niche that belongs to us alone.”

Samuel Crocker has served as Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Talent Tree since July 2000. He is responsible for providing legal counsel to Talent Tree executives and management. From January 1997 to June 2000, he was a Partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell & Riggs, LLP, a law firm in Houston, Texas, and from 1984 through 1996 he served as Vice President for Legal Affairs of Baylor College of Medicine.

Ray Culver, SPHR
Executive Vice President, Workforce Solutions

“One of the things I love most about working for Talent Tree is our entrepreneurial spirit. With this perspective, the sky’s the limit for employees who want to come on board and help us to grow while growing in their own career.”

Ray Culver joined Talent Tree in July 2002 as a Market Manager, bringing with him over 10 years of staffing industry experience. Prior to joining Talent Tree, Ray owned his own direct hire recruiting firm, based in Atlanta, GA. In September 2004, Ray moved to Birmingham to assume the role of District Manager with Talent Tree and recently was promoted to Region Vice President of the Southeast Region where he oversees the operations, sales and client development for Talent Tree's location in the Southeastern US.

Ray is currently involved with both local and national SHRM chapters and holds the Senior Human Resources Professional designation.

Mark Dermott
Senior Vice President, Franchise & Strategic Alliances

“I want Talent Tree to continue to evolve to the human capital solutions company that works with our clients, as partners, in providing services that have measurable impact on the single largest expense item on our client's income statement, people. I'm most excited about our approach to the business, the cultural transformation we've gone through in recent years and how that's gotten the attention of the industry.”

Mark Dermott has held various executive positions in the staffing industry for over 20 years. Mark joined Talent Tree as Senior Vice President of the Franchise Division in June 2003, but was with Talent Tree from 1989-1993 where he held the positions of VP of Training and Development, Northeast Regional VP and Area VP. Prior to joining Talent Tree, Mark was with Spherion, a multi-billion dollar staffing company, for 10 years and held various executive assignments, including VP Franchise/License Division and VP of Southern Healthcare Region. Mark started his career in the staffing industry with TRC in 1984 and moved through the ranks from sales to area management in the Dallas and Orlando market. Mark has been a member of various organizations, including the International Franchise Association and the American Staffing Association.

Mark Gregory, CPA
Executive Vice President, Professional Services

“ Being in the staffing industry for the last 20 years, I knew of Talent Tree’s excellent nationwide reputation. So, I didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity to evolve its newest division into one of the best in the industry. What closed the deal for me was the combination of its outstanding leadership team along with some of the best state-of-the-art tools that offer real solutions to our clients. I could see from the start that this is a cutting-edge organization dedicated to constantly evolving and improving how it serves its clients’ needs.”

Mark Gregory brings over 19 years of professional business development expertise to Talent Tree. His strategic focus in the financial/accounting and professional/clerical industries along with his reputation as a solid leader and innovative manager made him the ideal choice to head up Talent Tree’s professional services division. His talent for hiring outstanding people while maintaining an exceptionally low turnover rate is a testament to his long-term success in the staffing industry. Prior to joining Talent Tree, Mark served as a senior regional vice president covering the southeast region.

Betsy Kippenhan
Vice President, Field Solutions Group

“Talent Tree is truly evolutionary, we are not a conventional staffing company and never intended on being one. This philosophy allows us the flexibility and imagination to develop the most innovative solutions. It is such a great feeling to be able to work with our clients and field operations and to create solutions that are unique to only them.”

Betsy joined Talent Tree in 1997 bringing on board her extensive experience in building strong competitive advantage within field operations to the Field Solutions Group and strategy processes. In 2002, she headed up the development of Talent Tree’s Field Solutions, which ultimately became the central force for field operations, strategy processes, technology design and training initiatives.

David Lemoine
Executive Vice President, SkillMaster

“Having the ability to provide our clients with a large company program while they receive the small business owner customer services is what I love about working at Talent Tree. Our company really CARES, not only about our client, but also about their employees.”

David Lemoine has brought his insight and experience to SkillMaster/Talent Tree for more than 10 years, starting his career as an Account Executive then excelling his way through various positions, including Sales Manager, District Manager and Region Vice President.

Since joining SkillMaster, David has led his team in answering the Houston region’s tremendous growth, going from two Houston locations to seven business units. When Talent Tree acquired SkillMaster in May 2004, David moved from District Manager to Region Vice President. With his consultative approach David takes the time to understand his clients’ needs and then develops staffing plans to increase fill ratios and production, and decrease turnover. This has allowed his clients to focus on their core business while SkillMaster takes care of their staffing.

Michael Manser
Vice President, Human Capital Solutions

“Although we have many marketable differentiators, the one I hear our clients applaud the most is our creativity and flexibility. Bottom line —we’re a great business partner. Pair that with our continued dedication and focus on building programs and services tailored to meet our clients’ needs and you have a very exciting vision driving us forward with very few boundaries.”

Michael is a seasoned veteran in the staffing industry, starting with a degree in HR as a technical recruiter in 1987, progressing through the branch and regional ranks to eventually hold the titles of VP Operations and VP of Global Recruiting, and now VP of Human Capital Solutions. Michael's background brings a balance of solution sales and delivery capability that covers the broad spectrum of our client needs. These needs include project staffing, direct placement services and recruiting process outsourcing. As a recognized speaker in the HR industry, he is known as the "metrics guy," for his reputation in connecting processes and measures to both goal setting and performance management. By developing proprietary HR tools and programs, several patent pending, Michael brings fresh concepts to a company strong in values and culture.

Michael Reyes
Vice President, Enterprise Accounts

“As a team member of Talent Tree, I hope to see this innovative staffing solutions company continue its focus on developing productivity for both our clients and our employees, while continuing to expand our presence across the United States.”

A nine-year Talent Tree veteran, Michael Reyes has brought his enthusiasm and drive to numerous positions over the years including: Staffing Consultant, Service Manager, Regional Operations Manager and Major Account Manager. Currently he leads our enterprise accounts division developing and driving client initiatives from the top down. While mentoring his direct branch out of Dallas TX, Michael also oversees field/branch level initiatives by helping to ensure customer satisfaction and growth of sales.

Jim Scholes, SPHR, MA
Vice President, Human Resources

“For me, coming to Talent Tree was like coming home after a long journey. The atmosphere is one of family. For clients, Talent Tree is everything you ever dreamed of and more for handling your staffing needs. Caring, talented and committed partners ready to assist clients and surpass their goals, not to mention the multitude of tools and offerings to aid in management and reporting, customized just for you. Our tree continues to grow as ongoing improvement is part of the culture here. Welcome to the family tree. Simply put — we get it!”

From skillfully navigating United Parcel Service’s HR to heading up a city government’s human resources initiatives to teaching HR Management and Development classes at the graduate level as an adjunct professor, Jim brings over 15 years experience in the Human Resources/Training and Development/Labor Relations fields to Talent Tree along with an infectious optimism and excitement for Talent Tree’s forward-thinking direction. When not inspiring the troops here at Talent Tree, you will likely find him spending his time as a motivational speaker, president of his local SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Chapter, and volunteering for the American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity and the United Way, among others.

Sherol Zuniga
Vice President, SkillMaster Southern California

“I’m excited to see our organization continue to move forward as an industry leader by developing and implementing state of the art resources for our clients that go above and beyond staffing solutions. Staying at the forefront of technology, ensuring that we are operating at the highest level of performance brings an added edge to our competitiveness and success as a company.”

Sherol Zuniga began her career in the staffing industry as a temporary in 1988. She has held various positions throughout her career, including Staffing Consultant, Account Manager, Branch Manager, Director of Training and Development, Area Manager, and Region Vice President. Her scope of business has included clerical, technical and industrial placement.

In 1996, Sherol joined the SkillMaster team to spearhead the firm’s new product development of a technical division. She played an integral part in the growth of SkillMaster, especially in the areas of sales, training, and management. In July 2001, Sherol relocated from Texas to California to become Region Vice President of SkillMaster’s Southwest Operations. Sherol’s responsibilities include overseeing operations, sales and client development.