Our Management Team
Ron Smith, Chairman & Chief Executive OfficerMark Schaul, President and Chief Financial Officer
Don Forrest, Executive Vice President of Operations
Laurie Knafo, Regional Vice President
Pete Langlois, Vice President of SNI Technology
Sally Mainquist, CPA, President and CEO, Certes Financial Pros
Tom Camp, Regional Vice President South Florida, Tampa/St. Pete, and Atlanta
Moe Harrison, Regional Vice President
Ron Smith, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Ron Smith, a seasoned staffing executive with over 30 years experience in the industry, co-founded SNI Companies in September of 1998. Smith’s career began at Massey Ferguson, where he was a financial analyst for two years. He then moved to Robert Half where he ultimately owned six Robert Half franchises. After selling his franchises to Robert Half in 1988, Smith was promoted to Regional Manager and integrated 20 locations for Robert Half.
Upon leaving Robert Half in 1992, Smith continued his entrepreneurial efforts by founding Staffing Edge, Inc., a specialty staffing firm focused on temporary and full-time placement in the fields of accounting, information technology, engineering, legal, sales, high-end office clerical, insurance and banking. Staffing Edge generated $36 million in annual revenue within its first six years of operations, earning recognition by Inc. Magazine as the 17th fastest growing private company in the United States. In 1998, Smith’s efforts with Staffing Edge also earned him recognition as Entrepreneur of the Year for the Nebraska/Iowa Regions from Ernst & Young. Smith sold Staffing Edge in 1998 to ACSYS, Inc. and shortly thereafter co-founded SNI Companies.
(Back to top)Mark Schaul, President and Chief Financial Officer
Mark Schaul co-founded SNI Companies in 1998 along with Ron Smith. Schaul has extensive experience in both the staffing industry as well as in public accounting. He oversees SNI Companies’ strategic and operational matters including finance, accounting, human resources, information technology, advertising and lease and vendor negotiations. Schaul began his career with Deloitte & Touche, where he was promoted to partner in 1995 before moving to Staffing Edge in November of 1997 to become Chief Financial Officer. After Staffing Edge’s sale to ACSYS, Inc., Schaul joined Smith to co-found SNI Companies in September of 1998. Schaul is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of the University of Iowa.
(Back to top)Don Forrest, Executive Vice President of Operations
Don has nearly 2 decades of staffing experience with organizations ranging from startup to those generating revenues in excess of over $4 billion. During his tenure with these companies he has been recognized in the top 5 in the world for leadership as a Director and top 25 in the world for personal production. Don served as a Regional Vice President with Robert Half International where he was responsible for the leadership of 6 different lines of business which included: Finance/Accounting, Marketing/Creative, Technology, Financial Services, Legal and Office/Administrative.
Don successfully helped create and launch a national platform in accounting and finance for a $300m staffing firm. Additionally he has developed and executed national training programs, led task force groups for technology implementations and successfully driven business development efforts for National accounts. Throughout his tenure he has hired, trained and advanced the careers of hundreds of staffing professionals in the temporary, consulting and permanent placement practices nationwide. Balancing the art and science of the business while always continuing to improve has been the cornerstone of his accomplishments.
(Back to top)Laurie Knafo, Regional Vice President
Laurie has been in the staffing industry for over 30 years. She started her career as a permanent placement recruiter for Dunhill Staffing and was consistently one of the organizations top producers. Laurie has mastered a variety of roles in the staffing industry including hands on production, business development and retention, staff training and motivation and area management. Her career success has been built on long term relationships with both clients and candidates, a laser focus on providing value and superior delivery of skills and service. She joined SNI Companies in 2001 and is responsible for 6 offices from Philadelphia, PA to Springfield, MA. Laurie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brooklyn College.
(Back to top)Pete Langlois, Vice President of SNI Technology
Pete Langlois is the national practice director for the technology division of SNI Companies, bringing many years of experience in all aspects of technology staffing and consulting to his role. His mission is to keep the company ahead of trends for technology clients, enhance brand recognition, and to establish best practices and deliver consistent revenue growth for the division. Pete has a long history of hiring, training and retaining top talent while simultaneously delivering very positive business results. Many current staffing industry leaders recognize Pete as a mentor and his experience stretches beyond technology to include: accounting/finance, administrative/clerical, and legal staffing. Through the years, Pete has placed many qualified candidates in temporary and consulting engagements, temp-to-perm, contract-to-hire, and direct placement.
Pete comes to SNI Companies with a proven record of building successful technology consulting practices from the ground up. During his eight year tenure with Robert Half International, Pete took an underperforming IT consulting business in Florida to a perennial, world-wide Top 10 producing division. Pete earned the distinguished President's Club award for his performance and was also recognized as the number one, top performing Branch Manager and received the Chairman’s Club award. Pete was a multi-million dollar producer and held the titles of Division Director, Branch Manager of Professional Staffing Services, Branch Manager of Consulting Services, Vice President and Regional Manager, and Vice President of Major Accounts while at Robert Half.
Pete went on to launch a very successful technology practice for Solomon Page Technology Partners that achieved profitability within months of inception. Pete has also developed Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS); managed large Training & Development departments; and facilitated the Dale Carnegie courses in Human Relations and Sales.
(Back to top)Sally Mainquist, CPA, President and CEO, Certes Financial Pros
Sally Mainquist joined the staffing industry in 1999 after an 18-year career in the accounting, finance, and manufacturing industries. Her career progression began in the audit group of KPMG before moving into roles in finance and operations, culminating in VP of Manufacturing. She joined Certes in 1999 as a Director of Client Services and has held roles as VP of Client Services and Sr. VP of Client Services before becoming President and CEO in 2007.
Sally has played an influential role in growing Certes from a family owned business to a leader in senior level finance and accounting staffing in the Minnesota marketplace. In 2001, she founded Financial Executive Women Network (FEWnet), a networking community of 1,000+ women. She is a member of FEI, the MNCPA, and NAWBO, and actively volunteers with First Impressions, an organization dedicated to helping low-income women receive professional guidance on how to dress and prepare for success. Sally is an active CPA and received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa. Certes Financial Pros became a division of SNI Companies in 2007.
(Back to top)Tom Camp, Regional Vice President South Florida, Tampa/St. Pete, and Atlanta
Tom joined the staffing business in 2006 with Robert Half after successfully leading a $250 million division of Alcoa that was sold to a Japanese joint venture partner. He was promoted to Regional Vice President after exceeding individual production requirements during his first 6 months with the company. During his tenure with Robert Half, he managed both temporary and permanent lines of business including finance and accounting, technology, creative and administrative where he earned President Club honors with his Creative and Senior Financial consulting divisions ranked in #1 and #3 in the world.
Tom joined SNI in Atlanta opening the office in September 2010 where it quickly grew to profitability in only 90 days. Following success in Atlanta, Tom was promoted to lead the Tampa region where the temporary business grew by 40% in only 10 weeks. Being a Florida native, Tom was up for the challenge when asked to take a leadership role as Regional Vice President over the South Florida market as well as Tampa/St.Pete and Atlanta.
(Back to top)Moe Harrison, Regional Vice President
Moe graduated with a degree in Finance from Baylor University. He began his recruiting career with the Dallas office of The Lucas Group where he earned President's Club Honors as a producer and managed the direct hire division. He later joined Robert Half International in the accounting and finance search division and was a top producer in the Dallas office. Moe helped launch Q&A Recruiting in Texas as one of the three original partners in 1998, which was acquired by SNI Companies in 2007. In 2010, Moe began to head-up the Accounting Now and SNI Financial brands in the Minneapolis market. In addition, he oversees all operations for Dallas and Houston.
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