Management Team
Nooruddin (Rudy) S. Karsan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Karsan is the Chief Executive Officer of Kenexa. He has also served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1997. Before co-founding Kenexa’s predecessor company in 1987, Mr. Karsan had extensive experience leading Marketing Actuarial for the Mercantile & General Insurance Company in Toronto. Mr. Karsan is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and holds a Bachelor of Mathematics degree in actuarial science from the University of Waterloo.
Troy A. Kanter President and Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Kanter is the President and Chief Operating Officer at Kenexa. Mr. Kanter also serves on Kenexa’s Board of Directors. From 1997 to 2003, Mr. Kanter served as Kenexa’s President of Human Capital Management and Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Kanter previously served as President and Co-founder of Human Resource Innovations, Inc. (HRI), which was acquired by Kenexa in 1997. Prior to HRI, Mr. Kanter worked for The Gallup Organization serving as the company’s Vice President of client services from 1990 to 1994. Mr. Kanter is a graduate of Doane College where he now serves on its Board of Trustees, and also serves on the Board of a number of private companies.
Donald F. Volk Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Volk serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Kenexa. Before joining Kenexa in 1996, Mr. Volk was a Partner in Brinker, Simpson, Nicastro and Volk. He has been a Certified Public Accountant for more than 30 years. Mr. Volk holds a Master of Science in Taxation from Villanova University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Villanova University.
Timothy L. Geisert Chief Marketing Officer
Mr. Geisert is a Kenexa Principal and serves as the Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to this role, he was the Vice President of Sales for Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Employment Branding Practices from 2007 to 2010. Before joining Kenexa, Geisert was the Chief Marketing Officer from 2000 to 2007 at Bailey Lauerman, a nationally recognized, independent marketing communications firm. Mr. Geisert also served as Vice President, Account Management from 1995 to 2000 at The Martin Agency, consistently ranked as one of the top ten most-awarded creative agencies in the country. During his storied career, he has worked with a variety of global organizations in the Fortune 500, including Disney, Bayer AG and Union Pacific Railroad.
Mr. Geisert has published numerous articles on employment branding, cultural insight, organizational discovery and effective recruitment practices. He holds a degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he has also taught communications research and strategy courses as an adjunct professor.
James P. Restivo Chief Knowledge Officer
Mr. Restivo has served as the Chief Knowledge Officer of Kenexa since 2006. Mr. Restivo has more than 20 years of experience in implementing innovative business solutions at the organizational level. Before joining Kenexa, Restivo was the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Angel Technologies. Between 1993 and 1997, he also served as the Vice President of development for Vertex Inc., the leading provider of corporate tax software. Mr. Restivo holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics and Statistics.
Archie L. Jones, Jr. Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions
Mr. Jones serves as Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions at Kenexa. Prior to joining Kenexa in 2005, Mr. Jones served as managing director of Maplegate Holdings, a private equity investment firm he co-founded that focuses on small-cap buyouts. From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Jones was a principal and charter member with Parthenon Capital, Inc., a private equity investment firm formed in 1998 and an affiliate of two of our shareholders, Parthenon Investors, L.P. and PCIP Investors. Mr. Jones served on Kenexa’s Board of Directors from 1999 until 2002. He also served on the Board of Directors of Franco Apparel Group from 1998 until 2004 and held the role of the organization's interim CFO in 1999. Mr. Jones holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Morehouse College.
Zahir A. Ladhani President, Compensation, Kenexa
Mr. Ladhani has served as President of Kenexa’s Compensation Business Unit since the acquisition of Salary.com in late 2010. Prior to this role, Mr. Ladhani led the sales organization of Kenexa’s Recruitment Process Outsourcing Business Unit. Mr. Ladhani joined Kenexa after 20 years in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Before joining Kenexa, he worked with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals based in Wilmington, Delaware.
At AstraZeneca, Mr. Ladhani was the National Sales Director for the Primary Care and Respiratory Sales Teams. In this role, he led 2,000 selling specialists in promoting three of AstraZeneca’s leading products. Prior to this position, he was the Executive Director of the RHINOCORT AQUA and PULMICORT RESPULES brands within the Commercial Operations organization. In this capacity, he co-led the marketing and development of both brands. He also held the leadership position of Marketing Director for the Gastrointestinal Therapeutic Area, where he worked on the launch of NEXIUM® and the ongoing marketing of PRILOSEC®. Mr. Ladhani has also managed the development and review of AstraZeneca’s Managed Care Strategy. He worked with the company for over 20 years and held a number of leadership positions. Mr. Ladhani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and is a Certified Management Accountant.
Phillip R. Stewart President, Recruitment Solutions, Kenexa
Mr. Stewart is a Principal and has served as the President of Kenexa Recruitment Solutions since 2008. Mr. Stewart joined Kenexa in 2007 as the Chief People Officer to lead the company’s global expansion efforts. Before joining Kenexa, Mr. Stewart was the area human resources director of DENTSPLY International for four divisions in the Americas. He also worked for the Sara Lee Corporation for nine years, where he served as the human resources director for Sara Lee Underwear’s global manufacturing division of over 10,000 employees in eight countries. Mr. Stewart is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Western Carolina University.
Russ Becker Global Assessment and Global Talent Management Sales
Mr. Becker oversees Global Assessment and Global Talent Management Business Development at Kenexa. He is also a Kenexa Principal. Based on his extensive experience, Mr. Becker has helped Kenexa clients create innovative solutions for attracting, motivating and retaining a high-performing workforce. Mr. Becker has guided successful projects in the U.S. and internationally, presenting clients with positive financial returns through the utilization of multiple employee data points from the employee life-cycle and business metrics.
He has worked extensively with several high profile global organizations, such as Sears, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, JC Penney, FirstEnergy, Limited Brands, Hallmark, ITT Industries, KPMG, CVS, T-Mobile, John Deere and Ingersoll Rand. Mr. Becker has helped organizations gain an understanding of employee engagement, discretionary work behavior, factors that impact effective action planning and organizational behavior change, and leading indicators for retaining high-performing individuals. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and an MBA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate degree in organizational behavior.
Kimberly M. Staud Director of Human Resources
Ms. Staud is a Principal and serves as the Director of Human Resources at Kenexa. She joined Kenexa in August 2006. Prior to joining Kenexa, Ms. Staud led Human Resources for a rapidly expanding government and commercial organization, Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. based in Hampton, Va. She also worked for The Personnel Department, Inc. a Colorado-based Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for five years, where she was the Human Resources Manager and Director of Client Services for over 50 mid-sized companies up and down the front range. Ms. Staud holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from The Ohio State University, and attended the Executive Management program at Wharton.