Cross Country Healthcare Inc. (NASD: CCRN) tapped longtime staffing veteran William Grubbs — who had served as chief operating officer at TrueBlue Inc. (NYSE: TBI) — to replace CEO Joseph Boshart when he retires in July. Grubbs will start on April 1 as president and chief operating officer of Cross Country before taking on the CEO role in July. Grubbs will also serve as a board member.

Grubbs had served at TrueBlue, a Tacoma, Wash.-based industrial staffing provider. His other roles include having served in various executive positions, including chief operating officer, with SFN Group Inc. SFN was a public company later acquired by Randstad Holding NV in 2011.

“Bill is a seasoned executive in the staffing industry and his operational experience will prove very valuable in Cross Country’s future development and the successful execution of our growth strategy,” Boshart said. “We are very glad to have him on board.”

Boshart has served as president and CEO of Cross Country since July 1999 and formerly served in similar capacities at predecessors of the company since 1994, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cross Country ranks as the fourth-largest healthcare staffing firm in the U.S. And earlier this year it announced the sale of its clinical trial services business to ICON plc.