The Nelson Family of Companies, an independent staffing firm based in Northern California, is promoting Joe Madigan to CEO, effective Jan. 1. Madigan currently serves as executive VP.

He will take over from Jack Unroe, who has served as interim CEO for the past 27 months. Unroe will return to his previous position on the Nelson Family of Companies board of directors and assist with Madigan’s transition to CEO.

Madigan has more than 20 years of recruiting and networking experience in the Bay Area. He joined Nelson in 2004 as a branch manager of Nelson & Associates, the company’s finance and accounting specialty division, and advanced in the division’s leadership ranks to VP before his promotion in 2016 to his current role as executive VP.

“I can’t think of anyone more qualified to lead the future of Nelson,” said Craig Nelson, board chairman. “Joe’s extensive experience in the staffing industry and with Nelson, combined with his passion for our business, clients, and community, exemplifies our core values. He also understands how to foster collaborative business relationships, which will continue to strengthen the company’s growth and brand awareness.”

Nelson has 17 branch offices throughout California and about 250 internal employees. It has three business units: General staffing; accounting, finance and legal; and technology.

The firm is headquartered in the town of Sonoma, Calif., in the vicinity of this month’s firestorm that has destroyed thousands of homes and structures and claimed 42 lives so far. The San Francisco Business Times detailed Nelson’s work during the fires. Nelson also announced a commitment of $80,000 to the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund’s North Bay Fire Relief efforts.

“Over the past two weeks, we at Nelson have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for our North Bay team members, families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues,” the company wrote in a blog post. “While we’ve witnessed a tremendous amount of devastation and loss, we’ve also been lucky to be a part of communities pulling together to help one another.”