Robert Half Appoints New CEO, Announces Management Changes

November 11, 2019 – Robert Half International Inc. has appointed longtime company executive M. Keith Waddell as its new CEO, effective Dec. 15. He succeeds Harold M. Messmer Jr., who held the position for 33 years. Mr. Messmer, one of the longest serving recruitment chief executives, will continue as executive chairman.

Mr. Waddell is currently vice chairman, president and CFO, leading Robert Half’s finance department for more than 30 years. Paul F. Gentzkow, a 30-year veteran of the company who has served for many years as president and chief operating officer, staffing services, will become president and CEO, staffing services. Lastly, Michael Buckley, a 22-year veteran of the company, will be promoted from executive vice president, treasurer, to executive vice president, CFO. Joseph Tarantino, a veteran of 17 years, will continue as president and CEO of Protiviti, a Robert Half subsidiary.

“Robert Half is fortunate to have great management continuity among our top executives and the experienced leaders of our field operations worldwide, who together average more than 20 years with the company,” said Mr. Messmer. “When I assume my new role as executive chairman next month, I look forward to supporting this outstanding team in the future as it continues to grow the Robert Half business.”

Moving forward, Mr. Messmer will devote significant time to board matters as well as growth plans, business strategy and the professional development of the company’s employees throughout the organization.

“We are extraordinarily fortunate that Mr. Messmer will continue as executive chairman and will remain involved in areas that are most important to Robert Half’s continued growth,” said Frederick A. Richman, the company’s lead outside director. “We are equally fortunate that Mr. Waddell will serve as CEO and that we have the benefit of an outstanding team of other executives, most of whom have at least two decades of experience with the company.”

New Director & Product Launch

Robert Half recently elected Julia Coronado to its board of directors. Ms. Coronado is president and founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives, which provides economic research on monetary policy and global macroeconomic developments. A noted financial market commentator and labor expert, she previously served as chief economist for Graham Capital Management, chief economist for North America at BNP Paribas and senior U.S. economist at Barclays Capital in New York.


Robert Half Posts 5.9 Percent Revenue Gain

Robert Half International Inc./(NYSE:RHI) posted third quarter revenues of $1.55 billion, up 5.9 percent from the same period a year ago. On a constant currency basis, revenue was up 5.4 percent. The results beat Wall Street expectations by 0.3 percent.

 “Persistent talent shortages resulted in continued strong demand for our staffing services in the third quarter, particularly in the United States,” said Harold M. Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half. “Robert Half Management Resources was the standout among our staffing lines of business, and our Protiviti subsidiary also had a very strong quarter. We are pleased with the continued momentum we are seeing in our U.S. staffing and Protiviti operations,” he said.


The Menlo Park, CA-based recruiting company’s Protiviti division recently launched a cyber-risk quantification as a service offering in alliance with RiskLens, a provider of quantitative cyber risk management software. Through quantitative risk analysis using hard data, the offering enables CIOs and CISOs to answer their board of directors’ questions about the effectiveness of their cybersecurity program with confidence, make better decisions about budgets and technology investments, and assist in meeting regulatory requirements.

“Protiviti’s Cyber Risk Quantification service, powered by the RiskLens Platform, delivers a continual, data-driven assessment of an organization’s current state of cyber risk,” said Andy Retrum, a Protiviti managing director. “Armed with this data, cybersecurity teams are able to better manage risks in business terms, determine if they are investing their cybersecurity budgets in the right areas and if they have sufficient cyber insurance, evaluate ROI and provide meaningful insights to senior leadership and the board.”

In other company news, Robert Half’s board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $.31 per share. The cash dividend will be paid on Dec. 13, to all shareholders of record as of Nov. 25.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

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