Andy Gilbert

“It’s fascinating to look at them as a challenge,” whether it’s an internal discussion or one with a client, Gilbert says. “I believe there is opportunity in every challenging conversation to seek and understand all perspectives and find valid points to take away.”

As a senior vice president, he oversees four production sales teams and one operational team, supporting each in whatever they need at that moment in the business. “It’s my job to figure out how we can do more with what we have as well as helping my employees bring their ’superpowers’ — their skill sets — to their jobs,” he says. 

In the past year, Addison Group entrusted Gilbert to lead the continued development of some existing teams. Gilbert takes pride in the trust he has established internally and with clients. He emphasizes the value he places on the relationships he has formed in the course of his work.

“I love helping improve both sides of a relationship and helping people find their right spot,” Gilbert says. “Everyone who reports to me has stuck to the process and I’ve stuck with them, and they’ve come out a better version of themselves.” 

It’s a valuable reward from an industry that Gilbert entered largely by a “trust fall” about 10 years ago. His first job after graduating from college with a degree in public relations was as a salesperson for a transportation company — which he quickly discovered wasn’t for him. Staffing, by contrast, “is essentially a public relations job,” he says. “It’s public relations for both employees and employers. I get to use my major every day.”