Employee leasing firm promotes exec to CEO

MANATEE COUNTY — Clint Burgess, president and chief operating officer of Progressive Employer Management Co. since January, has been named CEO of the fast-growing employee leasing firm.

Burgess, according to a release, has more than 20 years of management experience in the employee leasing industry, formally called professional employer organizations, or PEOs. Burgess was the general manager and executive vice president at CoAdvantage for 13 years prior to Progressive, which goes by PEMCO and is run out of an office in southern Manatee County. Former CEO Michael Dris will have an advisory role on PEMCO's board.

“Clint's extensive experience in leading a PEO provides a strong foundation for our future goals as a company,” PEMCO board member Nate Ward says in the release. “He has been instrumental in making significant improvements thus far, and I'm confident he will continue to grow and expand PEMCO into the leader in the industry.”

Burgess' promotion is a part of a stream of growth-related news coming out of PEMCO. One of the largest employee leasing firms in the Sarasota-Bradenton region, the company secured a three-year loan with a Goldman Sachs affiliate earlier this year. PEMCO handles payroll, workers' compensation, employee benefits and human resource services for a variety of businesses, mostly companies with five to 25 employees. Sectors the firm focuses on include medical, home services, hospitality, industrial and nonprofits.

“I'm passionate about what we do as a company, and I'm ready to continue to build on PEMCO's success in my new role as CEO,” says Burgess in the release. “A great foundation was laid out for us by my predecessor, Michael Dris, and I want to continue building on those achievements to be the best in the industry.”

PEMCO had $74 million in revenues in 2013, up 8.8% from 2012, when it had $68 million. In addition to the Manatee County headquarters, PEMCO has offices in Tampa, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Punta Gorda, Pensacola and Dallas.