Mergers and Acquisitions Archives - The Future of Work Exchange

Korn Ferry Acquires AMS: The Age of Talent Architecture?

Contingent Workforce Recruitment Solution Providers by Christopher J. Dwyer on 06/30/2026

In our ongoing series of the most important moments in the contingent and extended workforce over the past two decades, one of the common themes that permeated throughout the industry over the past two decades is the power and overall impact of strategic mergers and acquisitions.

SAP and Fieldglass. IQNavigator and Beeline. PROUnlimited and the multitude of solutions the company acquired (WorkforceLogiq, GRI, WillHire, etc.). And now we can add another transformational acquisition to the global workforce solutions fold.

Yesterday, Korn Ferry announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire AMS, a move that sparks several key transformational implications for the global talent and extended workforce arena. Since its founding years as AlexanderMann and its rebrand to “AMS” just five years ago, AMS has driven excellence in RPO and MSP/contingent workforce solutions, skills-based hiring orchestration, and global talent advisory services. The organization has successfully traversed a post-pandemic talent landscape through an array of both services and solutions that are well-aligned to the needs of today’s evolved extended workforce and traditional HR/recruitment programs.

“This is an iconic brand that I’ve known for almost 20 years — high‑quality work, outstanding people and a culture and values that are very similar, identical to Korn Ferry,” said Gary Burnison, CEO of Korn Ferry, during an investor call yesterday afternoon. “The real catalyst for business is people… What we have here is incredible people, deep data, unique technology and capability that we currently don’t have in lockstep and overwhelming industry and geographic coverage.”

On the surface, the $1.1B acquisition makes sense: Korn Ferry naturally extends its global reach with an elegant, time-tested, and well-trusted solution that immediately expands its assessment, recruitment, and talent intelligence ecosystem. The combined organization, off the bat, becomes one of the most comprehensive end-to-end workforce solutions in the greater market.

Some quick Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange analysis:

Advisory? Advisory. “Talent advisory” was a, hmm, confusing phrase in the workforce arena just several years ago. From our perspective, it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that businesses truly understood the powerful value of talent advisory services, which features managed services blended with in-team representatives that guide and advise talent strategy, hiring process orientation, future-looking approaches, etc. In an age when hiring is wonky, AI is omnipresent, recruitment is evolving, and delivery needs to be differentiated, the AMS acquisition is a boon for the next age of talent advisory within Korn Ferry.
Diversification at center stage. Doubling down on the talent advisory piece: search-oriented services mesh with diversified talent advisory capabilities as part of the new end-to-end solution. AMS is known for its scale, innovative delivery models, and industry/sector specialization…all remarkable additions to KF’s existing advisory model, which includes Best-in-Class workforce planning, capability modeling, and candidate/talent intelligence.
AMS One and the solution’s skills-oriented frameworks bolster the Intelligence Cloud. Korn Ferry’s Intelligence Cloud platform gets a nice amplification of its already-robust ability to drive predictive talent/workforce insights, skills adjacency modeling, and deeper “role architecture” design advisory. The major value here? AMS will allow Korn Ferry to drive these market differentiators at enterprise scale.
Alignment across RPO models. Korn Ferry’s RPO-meets-upstream-advisory solution, bevvied with AMS market-leading RPO model, supercharges the company’s recruitment process outsourcing engine with not only a more global reach, but a symbiotic continuum from strategic, advisory-fueled talent design to true operational hiring and recruitment execution.
Vertical-specific nuances via AMS strengths. Much like any other acquisition in this industry (think Magnit’s acquisition of GRI and WorkforceLogiq), Korn Ferry’s AMS purchase bolsters those sectors where KF may lag from a true RPO or workforce design delivery standpoint, particularly life sciences, IT and technology, and financial services…all industries undergoing massive skills disruption.

“They have a skills business that will be extremely complementary to us,” Burnison added. “…a technology consulting offering, [talent services that include capabilities around] early careers and campus recruiting, [as well as] contingent workforce solutions.”

The Age of Talent Architecture?

The core reasoning behind this major acquisition boils down to a central theme, at least from the perspective of the Future of Work Exchange: this is more about Korn Ferry “owning” the realm of talent strategy solutions rather than just expanding market share or boosting existing RPO capabilities. Korn Ferry is a household name in leadership advisory and workforce planning, expertise long heralded from its decades as an executive search firm.

There has always been a distinct disconnect between the multifaceted layers of offerings within the greater workforce solutions arena; think about the many, many disparate services, products, solutions, and platforms that are often in play within the enterprise infrastructure, like time and attendance, contingent workforce management, analytics and reporting, candidate experience, recruitment, talent search, etc.

Korn Ferry, as anticipated by Ardent and FOWX, aims to connect true executive leadership advisory, workforce planning, skills intelligence, and recruitment execution into a single, unified banner of talent strategy-oriented offerings. Thus, the AMS acquisition is so much more than just a “scale play.” The power of the broad AMS solution (AMS One, skills-centric recruitment, Best-in-Class RPO, wide-scoping contingent workforce/MSP solutions, etc.), surged into Korn Ferry’s long-trusted credibility and workforce planning practices, strengthens the powerful connectivity between the company’s world-class search, talent, and organizational offerings and its workforce solutions layers.

Is this a new age of “talent architecture”? If so, the combined Korn Ferry-AMS solution may may stand as one of the first fully realized blueprints for how global enterprises design, align, and execute workforce strategy in an era defined by AI acceleration, skills volatility, and relentless labor market complexity.

Beeline’s Acquisition of MBO Partners Sparks a New Era for Extended Workforce Solutions

Contingent Workforce Solution Providers Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 06/12/2025

There are many differences between talent technology and workforce solutions than the rest of the enterprise market. Many industries, such as finance and operations, rely on a single system-of-record solution that serves as a lone, siloed engine for corporate processes. The world of talent, however, drives at a much faster clip and requires a deeper, more elegant network of solutions that address, enhance, and optimize the many facets of talent acquisition, workforce management, and candidate engagement.

When the Future of Work movement crosses lanes with the extended workforce, one “type” of solution just won’t cut it. Simply put: the world of talent moves differently. It operates at a faster velocity, requiring a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem of solutions that don’t just manage workflows but actively enhance, optimize, and amplify the many facets of workforce and hiring strategies that converge artificial intelligence, direct sourcing, talent communities, skills-based hiring, and, a long-growing segment of the extended workforce that is often mismanaged and unoptimized: independent contractors.

Today, global Vendor Management System (VMS) and extended workforce platform Beeline announced that it acquired MBO Partners, a leading provider of independent workforce solutions that, for nearly 30 years, has helped enterprises compliantly engage, manage, and retain high-value independent contractors and professional services talent.

“Managing independent contractors outside the VMS has long created fragmentation, inefficiency, and risk,” said Doug Leeby, Beeline CEO. “Enterprises have asked for a better way—a cohesive, global solution that delivers structure, compliance, and a seamless experience. We listened.”

Analysis of the acquisition:

Beeline has long provided solutions for managing independent contractors (ICs) within its extended workforce platform, but this acquisition takes that capability to the next level. By integrating MBO Partners’ expertise, services, and functionality, Beeline can now fully deliver on its promise to provide deeper support for this critical segment of the workforce—both for the talent itself and the businesses that rely on it.
As Beeline’s President of MBO, Teresa Creech (who will oversee the solution in a new role), told us, this acquisition is not simply an expansion of capabilities but an extension of Beeline’s firm commitment to drive flexibility, strategic control, and greater access to talent across all aspects of the extended workforce.
The integration of MBO’s core functionality will ensure, in typical independent contractor-enterprise relationships, that the skills and talent that normally exit the organization post-project will be maintained within the Beeline system…a boon for businesses that aim to retain and redeploy that expertise across the organization for future endeavors.

Within the talent technology ecosystem, this is a major acquisition from a powerful, mature player that will surely have ripple effects across the industry. From a Beeline perspective, this enables the platform to expand its strategic control over external talent beyond staffing, contingent labor, and professional services and into an IC market that has desperately required more cohesion and efficiency.

From an industry perspective, the acquisition translates into a new era for the extended workforce solutions market. It’s a bold move that doesn’t just expand capabilities—it reshapes how businesses control, sustain, and optimize their independent workforce.

Beeline to Acquire Utmost: Extended Workforce Tech as a Future of Work Nexus

Solution Providers Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 10/19/2022

When Stone Point Capital acquired Vendor Management System (VMS) giant and extended workforce platform Beeline back in the spring, CEO Doug Leeby alluded to the fact that the transaction and new ownership would allow the most mature independent provider of VMS technology to be more active and more aggressive in the software acquisition market.

Today, that first domino fell for Beeline, as they have announced plans to acquire fellow extended workforce solution provider, Utmost.

Utmost, founded in 2018, became a growing force in the VMS solutions market over the past couple of years due to its progressive and strategic approach towards extended workforce management and the convergence of HR- and procurement-led functionality, buoyed by its dynamic technology architecture. The Utmost platform boasts a wealth of innovative modules, including an omni-channel talent sourcing solution (“Front Door”), Global Workforce Intelligence (enabling true total talent intelligence), a reimagined services procurement tool, and a burgeoning talent technology ecosystem. For Beeline, this represents a robust opportunity to capture small- and mid-sized extended and contingent workforce programs by tapping into the unique nature of Utmost’s progressive functionality.

“The Future of Work is built on the technology that delivers on the evolution of talent engagement, talent acquisition, and talent management,” said Doug Leeby, CEO of Beeline. “Bringing Utmost’s innovative offerings into the Beeline umbrella of solutions will complement our extended workforce technology and provide our clients with even more value as they optimize they ways they get work done.”

Utmost’s hallmarks, including its ease-of-use automation, frictionless integrations, and quick implementations, will enable Beeline with the ability to tap into the small- and mid-sized markets by offering a nimble foundation of offerings that link directly with these organizations’ key pain points. “Companies in the mid-market require more agile solutions at a lower cost with enhanced access points,” said Leeby. “Beeline is a fantastic “work engine” with massive functionality; Utmost will help us meet the evolving needs of this specific market while keeping our main vision in scope with the ways talent and work are evolving.”

At the center of this major market acquisition are the core constituents of the new world of work: the HR, procurement, and talent acquisition executives that run extended and contingent workforce programs, the suppliers and partners that fulfill their needs for skillsets and expertise, and the talent that drives it all.

“Acquiring Utmost is a representation of the future of extended workforce management technology,” said Colleen Tiner, Beeline’s SVP Strategy. “The transformation of both platforms has been highly complementary from business and functionality perspectives. Combining our market experience with Utmost’s solutions will help Beeline to provide Future of Work-oriented and talent-centric technology to our clients and the market.”

Tiner added that one major result of the acquisition is harnessing the power of Utmost’s strong onboarding and provisioning workflows, as well as the solution’s unique services, and bringing those into Beeline’s extended workforce platform.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange analysis of the acquisition:

While there are several redundancies in functionality, the Utmost acquisition represents a way for Beeline to continue doing what is best known for: innovating. There were many logical acquisition targets for Beeline in the wake of Stone Point Capital’s purchase of the company earlier this year, including direct sourcing platforms and specialist solutions (such as AI-fueled software), however, the company chose to go big with the Utmost move. The core of this acquisition is actually quite simple: it will allow Beeline to continue its long track record of being a pioneer and innovator while expanding its existing scope of Best-in-Class extended workforce management technology.
“Total Talent Intelligence” becomes “Global Workforce Intelligence.” In the 2022 VMS Technology Advisor, we wrote: “Utmost offers the market’s deepest total talent intelligence through agile and dynamic dashboards that present users with the ability to pinpoint (with regional- and location-specific accuracy) the makeup of FTEs, contingent workers, professional services, independent contractors, etc. and make decisions and take action in real-time (i.e., anomalies regarding compliance, etc.).” Beeline will expand the realm of total talent intelligence through its powerful analytics, AI, and machine learning capabilities to bring its clients “Global Workforce Intelligence,” taking TTI a step or two further.
Beeline will have a clear pathway into the HR and talent acquisition markets. Contingent workforce management has never been a pure procurement play, but there was a time when the function dominated how the extended workforce was ultimately managed. Today, as the world of work and talent becomes more candidate-centric, technology platforms must place workers at the center of their models. The Utmost acquisition enables Beeline with crucial HR intellectual property and functionality, not to mention Utmost’s expected influence on Beeline’s greater product roadmap. The infusion of HR-oriented functionality into Beeline’s array of offerings, combined with a global workforce intelligence play that will surely draw the attention of C-suite leaders, make this deal a groundbreaking one for the industry.

Instant Analysis: Beelines Receives Major Investment From Stone Point Capital

Solution Providers by Christopher J. Dwyer on 05/03/2022

Earlier this morning, global Vendor Management System (VMS) and Extended Workforce Management Platform Beeline announced that the company received a majority investment from funds managed by Stone Point Capital, a leading private equity firm based in Greenwich, CT. New Mountain Capital, existing investor, will remain a minority investor in the solution, and will maintain representation on the company’s board of directors.

The acquisition represents an ideal scenario for the industry’s largest independent provider of workforce management technology, as the move will allow Beeline and its team to execute on a progressive roadmap and introduce new and innovative solutions in a market dominated by Future of Work accelerants.

“New Mountain was a great home for us and we appreciate the opportunity to continue to partner with them,” said Beeline’s CEO, Doug Leeby. “We are thrilled to be part of the Stone Point Capital family; I’m confident that their support will allow us to follow through on our long track record of innovation and growth in this exciting industry.”

The move will allow Beeline to continue operating as the largest independent extended workforce/VMS technology solution, as well as serving as a catalyst for the company to enhance the way its customers find, engage, source, and managing the growing and evolving non-employee workforce.

The Future of Work Exchange highlights the following in its instant analysis:

Extended workforce management technology is a must-have in a “Great Resettling”-fueled business world. Ardent Partners and FOWX research have found that 47% of the average company’s workforce is considered non-employee, a figure that is expected to grow in 2022. Beeline already has a long track record of success, however, the strategic investment will enable them with even more support to continue the platform’s global scalability, especially considering the new influx of extended talent that will be entering the market as “The Great Resignation” continues.
Beeline will become a major player in the acquisitions market. The workforce solutions ecosystem has never been more robust: talent marketplaces, digital staffing outlets, direct sourcing platforms, and progressive point tools (i.e., candidate assessment and skills validation) are all critical pieces of the Future of Work puzzle. Beeline will have the capabilities to increase its acquisition activity, perhaps by building on moves such as what they did last year with the JoinedUp acquisition.
A major strategic investment = more runway to build on the role of VMS in the Future of Work. We know the story by now: VMS was once considered “eProcurement for staffing” until the contingent workforce grew in size and strategic prominence. Today, it’s a vaunted enterprise solution that serves as the nexus of all things related to independent talent. Beeline’s VMS and extended workforce platform is well-positioned to help its clients thrive in a Future of Work-led world with this investment, as it can build on its unique functionality in a way that supports progressive ideas, such as remote talent acquisition and hybrid work augmentation.
Data-centric enterprise technology computing will be enhanced across Beeline’s product offerings. The Stone Point investment means that Beeline can devote more R&D to intelligence-fueled functionality and enable its user base to make more data-oriented talent decisions. Data sits at the center of talent engagement and talent acquisition today, and in response, FOWX believes Beeline will continue to invest in its intelligence capabilities to bring more insights into all pieces of the end-to-end workforce spectrum.

“The extended workforce is a critical facet of the Future of Work movement,” said Leeby. “As this workforce grows and evolves, Beeline will continue to do so in parallel. With Stone Point behind us, we have an opportunity to innovate around the unique needs of today’s workforce and provide solutions that can help our customers succeed in a transformative world of work and talent.”

Results-Driven in the Future of Work: PRO Unlimited Acquires MSP Leader GRI

Solution Providers Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 03/29/2022

For nearly the past two years, PRO Unlimited has revolutionized the way the contingent workforce solutions market operates. Through its mix of proprietary software, Wand Vendor Management System (VMS), longstanding Managed Service Provider (MSP) solutions, and a mix of exclusive partnerships and key acquisitions, the integrated workforce management platform provider has been perhaps the most aggressive in the industry since mid-2020. Through its unique “platform approach” (as an “Integrated Workforce Management” platform) towards extended workforce management, HR, and talent acquisition technology markets, PRO Unlimited continues to deliver on its ultimate vision.

This morning, the company announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire fellow MSP offering Geometrics Results, Inc. (GRI). GRI has long been an innovative and powerful solution in the MSP landscape (most recently evaluated as a “Market Leader” in the Ardent Partners/Future of Work Exchange MSP Solution Advisor report) through its robust Managed Direct Sourcing (MDS) offering, coupled with one of the industry’s deepest intelligence engines (Envision Analytics) and a dedication to a variety of key market verticals.

GRI is currently owned by MSX International, a technology-enabled business process outsourcing firm, which is a portfolio company of funds managed by Bain Capital Europe. GRI has 150 customers across the world, representing over $4 billion in spend under management (particularly concentrated in the United States, the UK, and India).

The GRI acquisition, according to PRO Unlimited CEO Kevin Akeroyd, is a multi-faceted move that will help the solution expand on many of its forward-thinking goals for the greater industry.

“Our mission is to be the centralized system of record and a truly holistic platform for the extended workforce,” said Akeroyd. “M&A activity is a key piece of our mission, and when we think about satisfying the many “flavors” of how work gets done, including managed services, end-to-end software, data and intelligence, payrolling, and the worker experience, this acquisition firmly supports that vision, allowing us to deliver something very special for the marketplace.”

The GRI acquisition will allow PRO Unlimited to continue expanding its growing market, particular within additional industries that GRI has long specialized and served, including automotive and light industrial. In addition, GRI’s long list of large and mid-market clients will be a nice addition to PRO’s Global 2000 portfolio of customers.

From a solutions perspective, the Future of Work Exchange believes that PRO’s acquisition of GRI is an ideal and complementary piece to key areas within several of the solution’s Best-in-Class offerings, particularly direct sourcing (DirectSource PRO) and data and intelligence. GRI’s Envision analytics tool is one of the industry’s deepest and most powerful, a “gold standard” for total talent data and insights across the workforce management solutions industry. PRO’s agile reporting functionality will benefit from GRI’s on-demand, Envision-driven data and intelligence, which helps users better understand the impact of the extended workforce and how to maximize it by using predictive modeling and scenario-building.

“GRI will harmonize PRO’s analytics and intelligence capabilities, which are already the largest data-led offerings in our space,” said Akeroyd. Pointing to its recent acquisition of PeopleTicker, its stout RatePoint offering, and the “jewel” of the Workforce Logiq acquisition (ENGAGE AI), Akeroyd said, “Envision fits really nicely into all of that and what we’re offering from a total talent intelligence perspective and will be a nice boost to that critical aspect of our solution.”

With the GRI acquisition, the PRO umbrella of solutions will account for over $22 billion in spend under management, a figure which would make them one of the three or four largest MSPs in the workforce solutions marketplace.

“This acquisition will continue to enhance our overall vision, with GRI serving as yet another extension of the end-to-end platform,” said Akeroyd. “Many of the best brands in the world rely on GRI as a world-class MSP; we now have the opportunity to help enable these household-name organizations with world-class workforce management services, worker experience solutions, technology, and total talent intelligence.”

Digital Workspace Leader Citrix Acquired for $16.5B in Private Equity Deal

Solution Providers Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 02/01/2022

If there’s anything the business world has learned over the past two years, it’s this: the very concept of “work” is an evolving, organic idea. It’s a living, breathing entity that is actively founded on the principles of market progression, the dynamics of talent and the workforce, and, most importantly, the very way “work” itself is optimized for better business outcomes.

The Future of Work has been defined as many things, but its core definition is as follows: modern business can be transformed for the sake of efficiency and effectiveness through the evolution of new talent-based strategies (particularly the extended workforce), the advent of disruptive technology and innovative tools, and the overall reimagination of business thinking and mindsets.

The COVID-19 pandemic had many, many ramifications on the world of work, however, none greater than the remote work awakening. Future of Work Exchange research has found that, during pre-pandemic times, nearly 21% of the average enterprise’s total talent base (FTEs and extended talent) was operating in a remote or hybrid environment. Going into 2022, that number has more than doubled; 43% of all enterprise talent are currently working remotely or in a hybrid work infrastructure.

Citrix has long been a forerunner of the “digital workspace” industry since its founding in 1989. Today, the tech behemoth is a staple of unified communications and automation, providing virtual desktop technology to nearly 400,000 customers across the world, including 98% of the Fortune 500.

Yesterday, news broke that private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital had acquired Citrix for $16.5 billion in an all-cash deal. The plan is to match and merge Citrix’s wide range of digital workspace and unified communications tech with TIBCO, a Vista portfolio company that seamlessly integrates applications and data across the enterprise technology infrastructure.

“The combination of TIBCO with Citrix will be a game changer. Over the past three decades, Citrix has established itself as the leader in remote work, providing secure and reliable access to all the applications and information employees need to get work done, wherever it needs to get done,” said Tim Minahan, Executive Vice President of Business Strategy, Citrix. “With the addition of TIBCO’s connected intelligence capabilities and solutions, we can enhance our digital workspace platform and the results we help our customers to achieve.”

The essence of this acquisition is a straight Future of Work play: Citrix will have additional technological support to expand its virtual desktop platform with the necessary arsenal to provide real-time intelligence, seamless integrations, and enterprise-grade security in a digital working environment.

A source close to the deal confirmed this vision. “[The acquisition] is certainly a testament to the overall strengths of the [Citrix] platform and the executive team’s long-term vision of where the product can go during these evolving times,” the source said, adding that “this is a “proof of delivery” of the remote work work model.”

This is a Future of Work gamechanger, for sure. The acquisition, and subsequent merger, means that Citrix’s incredible breadth of workspace technology can be buoyed by TIBCO’s cloud-fueled integrations and real-time data and intelligence. These two facets, in a convergence unseen in the enterprise solutions market, is a transformative shift towards a more secure, more flexible, and, most importantly, a more agile, hybrid cloud infrastructure for businesses across the world.

Additional Future of Work Exchange analysis:

One of the biggest “knocks” on the digital workspace/remote work environment is its lack of enterprise-level data security. TIBCO’s robust strengths in this critical attribute will help Citrix expand its overall reach to include those organizations that were once trigger-shy when it came to a hybrid workplace due to concerns over security of financial data, intellectual property, etc.
The concept of “better business outcomes” has long been a core Future of Work mindset. The Citrix/TIBCO merger translates into the ability to “blend” virtual workspace technology with agile analytics and intelligence….meaning that, no matter where a professional is located, they can make more educated business decisions by tapping into the same stout data that is available when tethered to an in-person IT infrastructure.
With the extended workforce expected to comprise half of the average company’s total talent pool by the end of the year, this deal reinforces another Future of Work shift, one that relies heavily on non-employee remote workers that require access to enterprise systems, IP, data, and other critical assets in order to get work done effectively.
This deal, which taking into account the combined Citrix/TIBCO solution, is the largest ($25 billion) private equity deal in enterprise tech history. The move displays a level of utmost confidence in Citrix’s current and future ability to deliver on its greater Future of Work vision.

Unlimited to the Core: PRO Unlimited Bolsters Direct Sourcing Technology With WillHire Acquisition

Direct Sourcing Solution Providers Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 10/01/2021

Just a few years ago, many business leaders were aware of the benefits of direct sourcing but had not yet fully embraced its value. In 2019, direct sourcing as an extension of non-employee workforce management caught steam when enterprises realized that they could drive both hard and soft benefits through direct relationships with known and vetted candidates; by bringing these workers into curated pools and internal talent communities, enterprises had a cost-effective and on-demand way of injecting new, top-tier talent into their projects and initiatives.

Going into 2020, direct sourcing and talent pools were, respectively, the top two priorities for businesses entering a new decade. Although the early months of the pandemic may have put a damper on many talent acquisition and contingent workforce program initiatives, the truth is that direct sourcing (and its many unique attributes) emerged as an ideal means of both keeping top-tier candidates engaged and positioning the greater organization with workforce agility. And today, direct sourcing has become one of the preeminent means of driving higher talent quality and supporting true workforce scalability. Nearly 55% of businesses across the globe, according to Future of Work Exchange research, have a proper direct sourcing initiative in place today (compared to only half this figure just two years ago).

MSP and VMS provider PRO Unlimited has long demonstrated its direct sourcing efficacy, with its DirectSource PRO offering one of the market’s strongest solutions for direct sourcing. While the provider’s end-to-end power is industry-leading, achieving the “platform” vision that CEO Kevin Akeroyd laid out last year would not be possible without both organic growth and aggressive market activity to bolster the solution’s already-impressive range of innovative functionality.

“Direct sourcing is no longer a “hype cycle” topic, it is a mission-critical priority for enterprises and one that is finally being invested heavily in and adopted. The historical problem has been the utter fragmentation and immaturity of solutions,” said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of PRO Unlimited. “Large global brands have needed MSP services, curation Services, direct sourcing SaaS, VMS SaaS, analytics SaaS, market rate data, and payroll just to get off the ground. So, they’ve gone out and hired seven small vendors that each do their own little piece, and that large brand spends the next several years doing nothing but managing people/process/systems integration and vendor management instead of driving business outcomes, winning the war for talent, and driving hundreds of millions of savings out of their organizations every year. DirectSource PRO has solved that; it’s the one holistic platform that does everything, at scale, globally, and provides that single platform and system of record for direct sourcing…Hence the adoption of over 40 Fortune 1000 clients adopting it just in the last five months (with that number expected to be over 80 by the end of the year).”

Yesterday, PRO Unlimited announced that it had acquired WillHire, one of the industry’s leading direct sourcing technology offerings. The acquisition allows PRO to reinforce the strength of its DirectSource PRO solution and tap into additional functionality; this acquisition also enables PRO to leverage WillHire’s comprehensive end-to-end campaign management technology for recruitment marketing, as well as its “marketing automation-like” self-scheduling and communication with talent. Other highlights of this acquisition include:

PRO Unlimited, WillHire, and Eightfold are a winning trifecta for direct sourcing. PRO’s direct sourcing technology was already a leading solution due its innovative stack and partnership with Eightfold. The addition of WillHire not only bolsters the total power of the DirectSource PRO offering from a pure functionality perspective.
WillHire brings an added layer of repeatable “Direct Sourcing 2.0” technology to PRO’s existing functionality. One of WillHire’s core strengths (as written about in Ardent’s 2021 Digital Staffing Platforms Technology Advisor) is its ability to enable “Direct Sourcing 2.0” capabilities, such as recruitment marketing, automated referral management, and deeper candidate matching algorithms. This acquisition will surely increase the overall power and impact of Direct Source PRO.
WillHire’s relationships and integrations with major job boards and career sites will deepen the overall talent reach of DirectSource PRO. The very crux of direct sourcing is building a repository of known, vetted, and top-shelf talent; WillHire’s existing integrations with leading industry job boards translates into a more robust swath of high-quality candidates. This will fortify DirectSource PRO’s talent engagement reach.

“Adding WillHire enables us to add large-scale digital talent board/network/FMS integrations, deeper AI/MBL matching, candidate/worker recruitment marketing and ongoing engagement, and skills assessment to the platform,” Akeroyd added. “And, as importantly, it is robust across ALL job types – including shift workers, light industrial, not just white collar, so it allows us to enable direct sourcing for an enterprise’s ENTIRE contingent worker population.”