LEADERSHIP
MIKE MASEDA
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mike Maseda is an accomplished senior executive with 20+ year of experience in the HR outsourcing and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) space. Most recently, Mike served a short stint as Executive Chairman at Congruity HR leading the way on strategic growth initiatives. Prior to that, Mike was the President and CEO of CoAdvantage, where he grew the company from a small regional player to a top 10 national competitor. Through that process the company executed on 7 acquisitions, drove significant organic growth and improved profitability. Prior to that, Mike was the President & CEO at Avisena, technology company that enables revenue cycle management and served as COO at ADP TotalSource.
Mike has a track record for transforming businesses and scaling platform companies by building high performing teams, leveraging technology and meeting customer needs. He has a Bachelor’s from the University of Miami and an MBA from Harvard.
TANYA YAKHNIS
Chief Financial Officer
Tanya is an operationally agile, innovative thinker and problem solver that leverages a growth mindset and delivers creative, financially prudent solutions that propel growth, advance organizational objectives, enhance financial performance, and help business navigate market and economic challenges.
Prior to joining PEOPLEASE, Tanya Yakhnis was the CFO of Tandem HR, an outsourcing company that offers staffing, payroll and benefits administration. Yakhnis managed the finance department, IT department, marketing and several operational teams. In her 10+ years at Tandem HR, Yakhnis played a key role in the company’s growth from Chicago to the entire Midwest, while driving revenue from $200 million to more than $800 million.
Tanya is a CPA with a degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is an active member of the board and Chair of Academic Relations for FEI Chicago and in the past has served on the NAPEO Accounting Practices Committee and Kohl Children’s Museum Development Board. She has also been recognized as one of the Chicago Crain’s 2019 Notable Women in Finance.
STEVE CASPER
Executive Vice President, Strategic Development
Steve has 20 years of B2B marketing and sales experience focused on developing multi-channel marketing and sales strategies with a strong emphasis on the ROI. At PEOPLEASE, Steve takes a strategic approach to driving growth through new channel launch and product optimization.
Prior to joining PEOPLEASE, Steve was the Vice President – Marketing and Sales Operations for North America at FLEETCOR, a global provider of fuel and payment products and services. He was responsible for designing and implementing channel strategies with annual revenue targets exceeding $65M.
Steve is a graduate of the University of Illinois, with an MBA in Marketing and International Business.
STU CHURCHILL
General Manager, West
With a career spanning nearly 30 years, Stu has management experience in every sector of the
transportation industry including risk management, loss control, recruiting, safety, and human resources. As Senior Manager of Safety and Loss Control for PEOPLEASE, he previously led a cadre of Regional Safety Managers with over 125 years of safety experience.
Stu has designed, implemented, and managed recruiting, safety, and risk programs for nearly every situation faced by trucking and logistics companies. He successfully improves the overall compliance of companies within multiple industries through mock audits employing his unrivaled knowledge of Department of Transportation (DOT), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and OSHA audits.
Stu holds safety consultant licenses in AR, MO, NY, PA and TX with DOT, Corporate Compliance, and SHRM certifications. He received his BA and MAHR at Ottawa University in Kansas.
STEPHANIE CRAIG
Vice President, Risk Claims Management
Stephanie has over 35 years of risk and claim management experience working in the retail, healthcare, staffing, PEO and insurance broker industries. She is proficient at identifying complex issues and integrating various solutions to achieve positive results thus reducing the overall cost of risk.
At PEOPLEASE Stephanie and her team of experienced claim analysts work in partnership with our safety team, clients and carriers to deliver the most advantageous claim resolutions. She has brought to the team a proactive and aggressive yet fair approach to handling claims.
Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. She also holds an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation.
AARON JOHNSON
General Manager, Southeast
Aaron has over 30 years of DOT, OSHA, and safety compliance experience in high-risk industries such as transportation, logistics, operations, warehousing, food service distribution, and oil and gas refinery. He is passionate about assisting clients to achieve the highest safety standards and building an ongoing culture of safety and compliance.
At PEOPLEASE, Aaron leads the Safety and Loss Control department, a team of regional safety managers supporting 500+ clients and over 30,000 worksite employees across the United States. Under his leadership and in partnership with the Risk Management department, our safety team consistently mitigates clients’ risk exposure, saving PEOPLEASE clients millions of dollars in fines, fees, and claims. He also heads Diversity and Inclusion initiatives at PEOPLEASE.
Aaron holds a field safety representative designation for Arkansas as well as a valid commercial license.
MATT NUSEN
General Manager, Northeast
Matt has over 25 years of experience in the PEO and HR Outsourcing industry. Having served in various management roles for many large PEOs, he brings to PEOPLEASE expert knowledge of payroll, benefits, implementation, client services and treasury management.
His desire to share his expertise and help other companies within the PEO industry led him to consulting. Working with other consulting firms in and around the industry, Matt advised numerous companies, leading to increased operational efficiency, improved resource allocation and profit maximization.
Most recently, Matt served as founder and CEO of RVA Consulting, a consulting firm specializing in the HR Outsourcing or HRO industry. At PEOPLEASE, he oversees daily operations and client services.
SHARON NUSEN
Vice President, Implementation
Sharon has over 20 years working with some of the largest companies in the HR Outsourcing industry. Working for some of our industries largest companies in the areas of payroll, implementation and a centralized operations group has given her the ability to identify and prioritize issues and create solutions.
Her primary responsibility with PEOPLEASE is the oversight of successful client implementation. Sharon’s ability to seamlessly work with clients from the prospect phase through to their first payroll is extremely valuable as she leads her team to successfully manage and continuously find ways to improve first impressions with our clients.
Most recently working in the consulting arena, Sharon has previously served as Director of Implementation for CoAdvantage and held various leadership roles with ADP TotalSource.