Senior Vice President & Chief Service Excellence Officer
Spherion Corporation

Loretta Penn is senior vice president and chief service excellence officer for Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN). Founded in 1946, Spherion^® is a leading recruiting and staffing company that provides integrated solutions to meet the evolving needs of companies and job candidates. Employing 275,000 people annually through its network of 700 offices, Spherion is one of North America’s largest employers. Penn was promoted to her current role in November 2007.

In her innovative role as chief service excellence officer, Penn is directly responsible to the CEO for advancing a culture of service excellence throughout the enterprise. Key elements include measuring and leading the drive to ensure high customer satisfaction; promoting best practices across the company; leading initiatives focused on candidate and client retention; ensuring Spherion’s position through effective marketing and public relations; and effectively communicating Spherion’s service excellence differentiation to clients and candidates. Penn is well-qualified for the role, having served in numerous capacities at Spherion and in the industry.

Previously, Penn was vice president of national accounts where she managed some of the largest client relationships in Spherion. In addition, during her 16 years with the organization, she has held leadership positions in the commercial staffing business group and was the executive in charge of Spherion’s legal staffing division.

Prior to joining Spherion, Penn spent nine years in the recruiting and staffing industry with Olsten Services and with Temporaries, Incorporated, where she served as vice president of East Coast operations. Penn was previously associated with the IBM Corporation for ten years in sales and marketing and regional executive management.

Penn holds a Bachelor of Science degree from North Texas University and a Certificate of Studies from Harvard University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for TECO Energy.

With 25 years of experience in the staffing industry and a keen understanding of the U.S. workforce and the issues that drive performance, Penn is a compelling and articulate speaker. She has shared the findings and implications of the Spherion Emerging Workforce^® Study with numerous business groups. Conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion and reflecting a decade of research, the Study provides a comprehensive look at changes in the American workforce in the context of ongoing social and economic events.