Undaunted Entrepreneur - Harris starts recruiting firm during hiring dearth
Posted on Sun, Sep 14, 2003
Michael Harris smiles when he talks about how colleagues questioned his sanity when he launched an information technology consulting firm in the aftermath of the technology sector collapse. Now Harris has started an employee recruitment firm, Novo Recruiting Inc., at a time when many employers are cutting, not adding, jobs. Undaunted, Harris has big plans for the firm, including expansion into other states, maybe even other countries. Harris describes Novo Recruiting as a professional services firm with a primary focus on employee recruitment. Novo opened an office at 789 N. Water St. in downtown Milwaukee Oct. 1. "I always really liked the recruiting (business)," said Harris, who is the firm's president and chief executive officer.
The firm recruits executive, managerial, sales, technical and professional talent. Novo plans to open offices across the United States in the next five years, he said. Harris' partner at Novo Recruiting is Cindy Lu, who is serving as vice president and managing director of the Milwaukee office. Lu, 39, formerly owned J. Galt & Associates, a Milwaukee boutique recruiting firm, and was a senior manager for five years at Parson Group, a Chicago-based staffing and consulting firm. Harris, 43, was formerly chairman and chief executive officer of Brookfield-based Jefferson Wells International. He founded Jefferson Wells (originally known as AuditForce) in late 1995 and led its growth to 25 offices, 1,600 employees and $131 million in sales in five years. Jefferson Wells was sold to Glendale-based Manpower Inc. in 2001 for $174 million.
Growing novo
Although much of his attention is focused on growing Novo Recruiting, Harris continues to serve as chairman of SilverTrain, the IT consulting firm he co-founded in late 2001 with Bob Carlson. Harris also led a group that founded Capital H Inc., a Milwaukee human resources consulting firm, in April 2001. The company was purchased earlier this year by Dan Weinfurter and Greg Silich.