Kevin Wong

Kevin Wong knew little about the staffing industry when he joined back in 2014, but he had a gut feeling that there was something special happening at Phaidon International. Wong said he bought into the vision and felt inspired by the leadership of CEO Harry Youtan, who was managing director of the Americas at the time, and that still holds true eight years later. Today, Wong serves as Phaidon International’s COO — North America.

Wong has had countless professional successes over the past year. However, he takes the most pride in a personal life transition: After nearly a decade as an army officer in the National Guard, Wong left this post to pursue his MBA at Columbia University, a massive accomplishment for him and for Phaidon International as a whole. “It marks a milestone and a really significant investment in our leadership team,” Wong says. “I’m really honored and humbled to be at such an amazing institution and bring those lessons back into the organization.”

It requires a great deal of focus and discipline on Wong’s part to juggle his professional and academic endeavors, but he says he is motivated day in and day out by the team he has around him and the ambitious mission they share. “My hope is that in a couple of years, we’re at a place where Phaidon International is the No. 1 talent partner in the world,” Wong says. “I hope that I can put my name on at least some of that.”