Kelly Services Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) announced Deb Thorpe will retire in January from her role as president of Kelly’s professional and industrial business unit. Taking over from Thorpe will be Tim Dupree.

“I’ve worked with Deb for 13 years and have never seen her back down from a professional challenge,” Kelly President and CEO Peter Quigley said. “Her passion for Kelly’s mission and her unshakeable faith in people has been the driving force behind her long and successful career, and we’ve all benefited from her leadership.”

Thorpe had a 20-year career in the staffing industry with the last 13 at Kelly Services. Prior to that, she was in the automotive industry.

Dupree, Thorpe’s successor, has more than 20 years of experience at Kelly and previously served as chief growth officer.

“Tim’s work over the past year and a half has been critical in accelerating our transition to a specialty talent company,” Quigley said. “Now he’ll take his obsession with growth — and his first-hand experience in sales and operations — to Kelly Professional & Industrial, where growth will be critical coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Kelly Services ranks eighth on SIA’s list of largest industrial staffing firms in the US.