Bob Funk Sr. has been in the staffing industry since 1965, beginning his career at a national firm in Seattle before moving to Oklahoma, where he founded Express Employment Professionals in 1971. As Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Funk led Express on a trajectory of success that grew the business into one of the nation’s largest privately held staffing companies. Today, Express puts more than a half million people to work each year and records more than $3 billion in annual sales. As president and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals – Oklahoma, Funk also operates one of the largest and most productive Express franchises with more than 50 offices in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Kansas.
Funk’s talent for excellence in business extends beyond the staffing industry. As owner of Express Ranches, he produces some of the nation’s finest stock of Angus and Hereford cattle and is the largest Angus genetic seedstock producer in America. Express Ranches is also home to Funk’s collection of championship-winning Clydesdales and Percherons, which compete in horse shows across the U.S. and Canada each year.
He has served nationally as chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, and he also has served on the boards of several local banks as well as the American Staffing Association and Future Farmers of America. He’s been chairman of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, and the Oklahoma Youth Expo.
Funk has been named Most Admired CEO by the Journal Record newspaper, Man of the Year by Impact OKC Magazine, and he’s been inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the International Franchise Association Hall of Fame and the Sales and Marketing Executives International Hall of Fame.
