NAPEO Names New President and CEO

NAPEO Names New Leadership

After nearly a year of searching for a new president and CEO for NAPEO (the national association of professional employer organizations) Pat Cleary has been named to the position. The former NAPEO president and CEO with the organization resigned on December 31, 2011 after serving in that role for 15 years. Joe Cole served as the interim CEO.

NAPEO Press Release

Alexandria, Virginia-The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) today named Pat Cleary as its new President and CEO. Cleary will assume his new role on December 5, 2011.

“I am happy to welcome Pat Cleary to NAPEO,” said Arthur L. Geiger, President and CEO of Avitus Group, Billings, Montana and NAPEO’s 2012 chairman of the board. “He brings to this position years of experience in government, association management, lobbying, public affairs, and human resources policy. Pat’s background and experience will help us take advantage of the opportunities and steer us through the challenges facing the PEO industry.”

Cleary comes to NAPEO from Fleishman-Hillard, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Digital Public Affairs in their Washington, D.C. office. Prior to that, Pat held a series of senior policy, public affairs and communications posts at the National Association of Manufacturers. Cleary also served as Member and Chair of the National Mediation Board, the federal agency that governs labor relations in the airline and rail
industries and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the US Department of Labor. He was also named to a special Congressional Blue Ribbon panel on Amtrak. He is a member of the Corporate Advisory Board of So Others Might Eat (SOME), a Washington-area charity.

“This is a great time to be joining this organization, and this industry,” said Cleary. “The increasing complexity of workplace regulations makes the professional employer organization model very attractive to businesses of all sizes. This is an industry that is poised for great growth.”
“Pat joins NAPEO at a critical moment for the PEO industry,” said Geiger. “With our top federal legislative priority – H.R. 2466, the Small Business Efficiency Act – being considered by Congress, pending regulatory actions before the federal government, and several states considering legislation to provide statutory recognition for and a definition of the PEO industry, Pat’s background and expertise will prove very useful in assisting NAPEO in achieving its policy priorities. The NAPEO Board of Directors is confident that Pat can lead the industry and provide the guidance to enact the key priorities of the NAPEO membership.”

NAPEO Chairman Geiger also recognized the service of NAPEO interim CEO Joe Cole, who has served the association since February 2011. “We are extremely appreciative of Joe’s contributions to NAPEO over the past year as our interim CEO,” stated Geiger. “Joe has shown outstanding leadership, professionalism, and diligence in this role, and has laid the groundwork for the future success of NAPEO.”

NAPEO is the primary trade group representing the interests of PEOs in state and legislative affairs in the United States.