Founded in 1989, Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) is the global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions. Our proprietary research covers all categories of employed and non-employed work including temporary staffing, independent contracting and other types of contingent labor. SIA’s independent and objective analysis provides insights into the services and suppliers operating in the workforce solutions ecosystem, including staffing firms, managed service providers, recruitment process outsourcers, payrolling/compliance firms and talent acquisition technology specialists such as vendor management systems, online staffing platforms, crowdsourcing and online work services. We also provide training and accreditation with our unique Certified Contingent Workforce Professional (CCWP) program.

Known for our award-winning content, data, support tools, publications, executive conferences and events, we help both suppliers and buyers of workforce solutions make better-informed decisions that improve business results and minimize risk. SIA was founded by staffing pioneer Peter Yessne and as a division of the international business media company, Crain Communications Inc., SIA is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in London, England.

Leadership

Ursula Williams
Ursula WilliamsPresident
Appointed president of SIA in 2024, Ursula Williams has overall responsibility for the company’s strategy, operations, and growth on a global basis. From 2019 to 2024 Williams was chief operating officer (COO), overseeing all of SIA’s commercial operations, including all memberships and councils, strategic solutions, conferences, marketing, communications, and technology operations. Williams is also part of the Executive Leadership Team for SIA’s parent company, Crain Communications.

Prior to her COO role, Williams served as executive vice president focusing on superior and innovative products and services for the staffing and workforce solutions ecosystem. She led the creation and development of SIA’s award-winning Collaboration in the Gig Economy conference as well as a rebrand to reflect SIA’s global growth and ongoing role in providing business intelligence, research, and insights across an increasingly dynamic and complex landscape.

Williams joined SIA in 2015 as senior vice president of global strategy and marketing. She has over 25 years of industry leadership with extensive prior experience such as senior executive positions at Randstad Professionals and Vedior, overseeing strategy, sales, and delivery for the largest contingent labor buyers in the division. Williams has also been responsible for field and corporate level operations, new product development, branding, web strategies, and talent recruitment programs.

Williams is a member of the US Staffing Leadership Council, part of the Women’s Business Collaborative (WBC). The council is committed to the acceleration of equitable and inclusive workplace environment in the staffing industry. She is also co-author of Together We Rise, a collection of stories from women who came together during the COVID-19 pandemic to exemplify the power of women supporting women.

Barry Asin
Barry AsinChief Analyst
A leading authority on workforce solutions worldwide, Barry Asin is renowned for his expertise on staffing and contingent labor. He served as president of Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) from 2010 through 2024, with overall responsibility for the company’s strategy, operations and growth on a global basis. He has been with the company since 2003, where he previously led the team responsible for SIA’s award-winning research and content. As chief analyst he continues to focus on developing SIA’s thought leadership, conference content, long term strategy and product development.

Asin is the co-author of Breaking Through: Leadership Disciplines from Top Performing Staffing Firms and is a frequent speaker at industry events, sharing essential insights on leadership and the challenges, opportunities and rapid transformations around work today. He is often quoted in major business and industry publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Inc. Magazine, The Atlantic, Bloomberg Business, CNBC, Marketplace, and MarketWatch among others.

Prior to joining SIA, Asin spent nearly 12 years as a senior executive at global staffing leader Adecco SA. Before Adecco, he held operations management positions with PepsiCo, and he began his professional career with Andersen Consulting, the predecessor of Accenture. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a B.S. in engineering from Princeton University.

Barry is a native of Buffalo, New York. He can be found frequently biking and hiking in the hills, and along the coast near his home in Palo Alto, California.

John Nurthen
John NurthenExecutive Director, Global Research
John Nurthen manages the team that delivers Staffing Industry Analysts’ international research content. He has over 25 years’ experience in the staffing industry, having previously worked in senior managerial roles for three of the world’s largest staffing companies: Select Appointments, Vedior and Randstad. He played an active role in major equity offerings and mergers.

Nurthen was a founder of the International Review of Employment, published in four languages, and DOVA, one of the largest global databases of online vacancies. He played a leading role in the development of common data standards with the creation of HR-XML SIDES.

He has held responsibility for internal and external communications, e-Business, technology matters, marketing, research, procurement and corporate social responsibility. Nurthen’s experience makes him an authority on global recruitment and contingent workforce issues.

John Schroeder
John SchroederManaging Director, Custom Research
John is the Managing Director of Custom Research at Staffing Industry Analysts. In this newly created position, he helps clients raise awareness of new and often ground-breaking approaches and technologies that represent the future of contingent work. Recent examples of this include The Future of Diversity and Inclusion in the Contingent Workforce and Achieving Excellence in Direct Sourcing for the Contingent Workforce, both of which are available under “free resources” on this website.

Prior to joining SIA, John led marketing consulting firm Nova Foresight, creating growth strategies for technology, B2B, and consumer companies. Before Nova, he founded and led a global innovation group at market research firm Nielsen. Throughout his career, he has contributed to over $1.4 billion in new revenue for his clients. John holds an MBA in marketing, strategy and finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and teaches marketing as an adjunct professor at Loyola University.