They worked for nearly a dozen years finding jobs for other people, and now they’re stepping away from the world of work themselves in hopes of enjoying a bit of the quality of life in Michigan’s Great Southwest, by selling the business they’ve worked at since day one. Steve and Debra Murray are stepping away from their beloved Express Employment Professionals office in St. Joseph, having sold the business to a former HR Exec from Whirlpool Corporation.
After close to 12 years of serving more than 150 local businesses, the Murrays have decided to sell Express Employment Professionals and retire. The deal took effect last Monday, March 11th when they closed the sale to Ryan Howard who has taken the reins of leading a business that has impacted thousands of people in the community with thousands of jobs while touching many lives.
Ryan is a local businessman and a former Whirlpool HR executive who is very excited about the purchase of the business and plans to continue the Express vision of “Respecting People, Impacting Business” in the counties of Berrien, Cass and Van Buren.
Howard says, “I want this Express office to continue their excellence in employment services and recruiting.” He adds, “The company has a wonderful history of caring for its employees while effectively partnering with local businesses to help match great job opportunities with great people. I am excited to be able to lead the Express Team into the next chapter in providing an even broader array of HR services and solutions.”
Steve Murray says “We are very pleased to have found Ryan to sell the business to. Debra and I have the obvious bittersweet sentiments as we look toward even more quality of life together in the great southwest Michigan area.” He made a point of saying, “To our clients, we thank you for your support over the years. To our associates that have touched our heart in many ways, thank you and to our employees, we could not have been successful without you.”
Howard says that Express Employment Professionals will continue to operate at both both locations at 4070 Red Arrow Highway in St. Joseph as well as at 804 S. Kalamazoo Street in Paw Paw. During the transition, Steve will remain closely connected to the business to ensure a smooth transition period for clients and employees.
Express has a long-term goal to put a million people to work annually. Worldwide, Express Employment Professionals put more than 566,000 people to work in 2018 and has offices in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. Offices provide expertise in evaluation hire, temporary staffing, professional search and human resources, and providing service to a wide variety of industries.
