Bowmer held the CEO role at Adecco, the world's largest staffing firm, from 1996 to 2002. He left as chairman of Adecco in 2004.

Bowmer was also CEO of Adecco's predecessor, Adia, starting in 1992 before it combined with Ecco in 1996 to become Adecco. Bowmer also played a role in the development of WorkCard, a VMS platform that was funded in part by an Adecco subsidiary and later acquired by Adecco.

Provade CEO Edward Jackson said Bowmer "brings the insight of being in the largest staffing company in the world."

Bowmer's experience fits with Provade's aim of becoming the "most MSP-centric" VMS provider in the marketplace, Jackson said.

Jackson said he believes five major managed service providers will own 80% of the MSP market over the next 10 years. Having someone with experience at a major player on its board will help align Provade to best meet the needs of MSP providers, he said.

Two-thirds of Provade's revenue now comes through its MSP partners, Jackson said. Its key MSP partners include Adecco, Randstad, Allegis, Manpower and Kelly OCG.

Bowmer is also known as a hard-charging CEO, Jackson said. "He's someone who brings a high level of standards."

Bowmer is originally from England but now resides near San Francisco where he consults with several businesses and private equity firms.

"I am very bullish on the opportunities in the VMS space and in Provade's solution in particular," Bowmer said in a statement. "Provade has the people, technology and channel partners to truly shape the future of the VMS industry."