Cross Country Healthcare Inc. (NASD: CCRN) announced William Grubbs intends to retire as president, CEO and board member when his contract expires at the end of March 2019; he will step down earlier if the board appoints a new CEO before then.

Meanwhile, Grubbs will remain in his current roles and assist the board in its search for his successor. Cross Country has retained executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (NASD: HSII) to lead the search and will consider both internal and external candidates. The process is expected to take about six months.

“After almost six years as president and chief executive officer of Cross Country Healthcare, I am confident that now is the right time to transition to new leadership to drive the company into its next phase of growth and improved profitability,” Grubbs said. 

Grubb is included on Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2018 Staffing 100 list of the most influential people in the staffing industry. He took over as president and CEO of Cross Country in July 2013, replacing Joseph Boshart, who had held the role since 1994. Previously, Grubbs served as executive VP and COO of TrueBlue Inc. and COO at SFN Group. He also sits of the board at Volt Information Sciences Inc. (NYSE MKT: VISI).

“Bill has led Cross Country through a period of tremendous growth and financial improvement, and Cross Country is much stronger today than when he joined us almost six years ago,” Chairman Thomas Dircks said. “We are grateful that Bill plans to assist the Cross Country board of directors with the leadership transition and we would like to take this opportunity to thank Bill for his many significant contributions to the Company during his tenure.”  

Cross Country also reaffirmed its third-quarter guidance ranges of $195 million to $205 million of revenue; gross profit margin of 25.5% to 26.0%; adjusted EBITDA of $8 million to $9 million; and adjusted EPS of 2 cents to 4 cents. 

Cross Country ranks third on SIA’s 2018 list of largest healthcare staffing firms in the US.