Leadership Team

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Kevin Smith

Chairman

Kevin Smith brings over 25 years of experience in roles as operating partner, board director, interim executive management, management consulting, and operations management. Experience includes a broad range of industries and improvement areas, including strategic planning, marketing and sales, product development, operations, and foundational infrastructure, having worked with over 50 companies, ranging in size from $10M to $8B in revenue. Common focus across positions has been developing an integrated, cross-functional platform for growth and accelerated business performance, under lean resource availability. Kevin is currently Chairman and Operating Partner on Global HR Research and Republic Elite Interiors, and was most recently an Operating Partner and Board member for Formation Brands. Prior to these roles, Kevin was a founding partner of CRG Partners Group and previously with management consulting firm George Group (now Accenture). Kevin received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Texas A&M University.

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Brandon Phillips

President & CEO

Brandon Phillips developed the concept behind Global HR Research after he recognized the need for better security in corporate human resources. He is responsible for developing and implementing corporate growth strategies, managing the overall operations and resources of the company, overseeing sales and marketing strategy, and acts as the main point of communication between the chairman, investors, and the corporate operations. Mr. Phillips has guided the growth of numerous projects from planning and development to sustainability. He is a recipient of Gulfshore Business magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for entrepreneurial successes and has been featured in numerous publications on the subject matter of talent screening and selection. He has lead Global HR Research to a top ranking by HRO Today's Magazine of America's leading background screening and assessment providers. Mr. Phillips, a frequent guest speaker, has a proven track record of successfully maximizing cutting-edge business concepts in start-up ventures and possesses a strong understanding of consumer and investor needs. He has grown Global HR Research to host a client base that includes Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, governmental agencies, and health care among others. Mr. Phillips coaches youth basketball, donates time and expertise to nonprofit organizations and is an active member of multiple chambers and economic development organizations.

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Dorothy “Dottie” Acosta

Vice President of Client Success

Dottie Acosta brings over 20 years of international business, and client satisfaction experience to Global HR Research. Ms. Acosta lived in France for 8 years, as Worldwide Director of Account Management for IPC Communication, before spending 9 years as Director of Account Management at HireRight, a SaaS company providing pre-employment background screening services. Most recently, Ms. Acosta spent 2 years as Director of Customer Success for Kaltura, a video software provider. She is Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certified and graduated with a bachelor’s in communications from California State University, Fullerton. Ms. Acosta’s expertise includes: client and partner relations; advising clients on best practices; building teams from scratch; creative problem solving. She is fluent in English and French.

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Charlie Talbott

Vice President of Integrations and Infrastructure

Charlie Talbott brings over 25 years of Information Technology leadership to Global HR Research. Mr. Talbott holds a BBA in Management Information Systems from James Madison University and a MS in Management Information Systems from George Mason University. He started his career as an application developer and quickly worked his way up to leadership roles within companies such as Arthur Andersen, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and First Advantage. Throughout his career, Mr. Talbott has gained expertise in the design and delivery of cost-effective, high-performance technology solutions in support of rapid global growth. He is experienced in all phases of the project life cycle, from initial feasibility analysis and conceptual design through implementation and enhancement.

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Walter Sep

Executive Vice President of Finance

Walter Sep has been a leading member of the Global HR Research finance team since November 2015 and has over 15 years of professional finance and accounting experience. Mr. Sep has worked as an auditor for one of the big four auditing firms from 1998-2005. He made the switch from auditing to finance by joining General Electric in 2005, where he spent 10 years in finance, accounting and financial analysis roles. . Mr. Sep has vast experience in all phases of Accounting including General Accounting (GAAP), Cost Accounting, Financial Control implementation, Financial Statement preparation, analysis, and presentation (including Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and Annual reports. Mr. Sep graduated from Tilburg University, The Netherlands with a Masters in Accounting and a Doctorate in Auditing.

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Ashley Sykes

Vice President of Compliance and Government Relations

Ashley Sykes is an attorney who brings years of experience representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment law to Global HR Research. Prior to GHRR, Ms. Sykes was an attorney with the national law firm Quarles & Brady LLP where she specialized in compensation and benefits issues, termination and severance-related matters, and day-to-day HR compliance questions. Ms. Sykes has also represented employers in state and federal court and before various government agencies, defending against claims brought under Title VII and state equivalents, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act. Ms. Sykes is a graduate of Central Michigan University, the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and the Growing Associates in Naples (“GAIN”) leadership program. Her expertise includes: advising on hiring decisions, drafting and negotiating employment agreements, including covenants not to compete and non-disclosure agreements, and creating compliant human resources policies, procedures, and handbooks.

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Joseph Doyle

Senior Vice President of Sales

Joseph Doyle brings 18 years of experience driving revenue growth and enhancing brand awareness for SaaS technology companies to Global HR Research. A proven executive sales leader, Mr. Doyle helped usher background screening companies American Background and TalentWise from regional, obscure companies into Top 10 and Top 5 global providers respectively resulting in acquisitions by the same industry competitor. He also prepared and led corporatewide sales efforts for market growth and brand capitalizationwith startup GoodHire and veterans ESS and Applicant Insight. In addition to achieving FRCA and Advanced FCRA certifications, Mr. Doyle has held board positions with staffing associations and spoken at various conferences regarding compliance and best practices in background screening. His areas of expertise include major corporate transformations encompassing sales strategy, new client acquisition, sales process, and client relationship management.

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Global HR Research provides FCRA compliance information and online templates of all letters and forms necessary to maintain compliance with FCRA employment background screening requirements.

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We understand that there are a lot of choices when it comes to background screening, and for that reason, we continually strive to add smart technology and advanced solutions to our product portfolio combined with an industry leading client support team.

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