Executive Spotlight: Bob Funk Jr., CEO, President & Chairman of Express Employment International (2027)

Current role and company

Express's own pages and its 2026 releases describe Funk as chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of Express Employment International and its affiliated brands: Express Employment Professionals, Specialized Recruiting Group, Express Healthcare Staffing and Frontline Recruiting Group. Express says it was founded in 1983, is headquartered in Oklahoma City, and operates in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

• CompanyExpress Employment International, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
• TitleCEO, president and chairman of the board.
• Company founded1983; franchising began two years later, per Express.
• BrandsExpress Employment Professionals, Specialized Recruiting Group, Express Healthcare Staffing, Frontline Recruiting Group.
• Franchise roleManaging Partner of Oklahoma Temporary Services, which oversees 58 Express-affiliated locations.

Career path

• Education. Express's March 2025 release says he holds a bachelor's degree in international business from Oklahoma Baptist University.
• Franchise level, 1996. He began with Express Employment Professionals at the franchise level in 1996 and remains managing partner of Oklahoma Temporary Services.
• Joined the franchisor, 2013. He joined Express Employment International in 2013 and held the titles Vice President of Sales and Corporate Development and Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development.
• President, March 2025. Promoted to president effective March 27, 2025, leading the Sales and Marketing teams while keeping his duties over international efforts and business intelligence.
• CEO and chairman, May 2025. Became CEO while remaining president, and also took the chairman role, following the death of CEO Bill Stoller. Express described the move as following a succession plan developed by Stoller and company co-founder Bob Funk Sr.

What he is known for

• Leading a large private staffing firm. Express describes itself as one of the largest privately held staffing companies in the world, and its flagship brand as the fourth-largest staffing firm in the U.S. and 13th-largest globally, according to Staffing Industry Analysts.
• Franchise-owner background. He leads the franchisor while still operating a franchise group, a path from franchise level to the top role.
• Franchise growth. Express reported 54 new and resale franchise agreements in 2025, per its January 2026 release.
• Community and business roles. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, is a Leadership Oklahoma City Class XXXI graduate and a member of Downtown Rotary Club 29, and is involved with the Association of Career Tech Educators, according to Express and the Rotary club.

Leadership style and philosophy

From Express's own releases, Funk emphasizes planning, franchise owners and relationships. On the 2025 leadership change he said, "This leadership transition reflects the thoughtful planning and shared vision that Bill and Bob built together." In Express's March 2026 year-end release he thanked franchise owners and teams for continuing to lead in staffing innovation, and said, "Technology should never replace relationships. It should strengthen them."

Key numbers

Company-reported figures for Express, with the period shown. They describe the company, not Funk personally, and counts differ between Express pages.

• 2024$3.7 billion in sales, 427,000 people employed and 870 offices, per Express (February 2025). Express called it its fourth-best sales year in more than four decades.
• 2025$3.67 billion in revenue, 406,000 people employed and more than 850 franchise locations worldwide, per Express (March 2026).
• 2025 franchising54 new and resale franchise agreements and nearly 900 locations, per Express (January 2026).
• Headquarters staffMore than 500 professionals in Oklahoma City, per Express (2025).

What to watch next

Worth tracking: whether Express returns to its 2024 sales level after the 2025 dip, how it keeps adding franchise locations, and how Funk applies his stated view that technology should support, not replace, relationships.

Questions people ask

Sources

• Express Employment Professionals: Bob Funk, Jr. promoted to president (Mar 27, 2025) · Career, education, affiliations, hero photo source
• Franchise Dictionary Magazine: Leadership transition after the passing of CEO Bill Stoller (May 2025) · CEO and chairman appointment, quote, company background
• Express Employment Professionals: record sales in 2024 (Feb 2025) · 2024 sales, people employed, offices
• Franchise Dictionary Magazine: Express opens 54 units in 2025 (Jan 2026) · 2025 franchise agreements, nearly 900 locations
• Franchise.org: Express year-end momentum release (Mar 4, 2026) · 2025 revenue, people employed, locations, Funk quotes
• Express Franchising: About Express · Company history and CEO title
• Downtown Rotary Club 29: Bob Funk, Jr. speaker bio · Roles and civic involvement

Facts were read from the linked pages on November 1, 2026, partly through a fetch tool that returns summaries, so confirm details on the original pages. Company figures are as reported by Express and differ between releases. The hero photo is Express's official headshot of Bob Funk Jr. from its newsroom, shown on a blurred background card; the photographer is not named. This page covers public professional information only.

Top photo: Express Employment International (expresspros.com newsroom)