Corporate Leadership

Michael Lavington
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Designate
Michael Lavington was appointed Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer- Designate in October 2007, following his earlier appointment to Chief Operating Officer in the same month. Mr. Lavington's appointment to Chief Executive Officer- Designate is subject to the approval of a work authorization, as Mr. Lavington is a citizen of the United Kingdom. Mr. Lavington has been a director of Gevity since September 2006.

Prior to joining Gevity, Mr. Lavington worked in executive HR roles and at the Managing Director level for major UK and US corporations. He has also been a main Board Director of Mecca Leisure Group, a UK FTSE company. In the late 1980's, Mr. Lavington was the Divisional Managing Director of Mecca Leisure's Overseas Division, which included the Hard Rock Cafe Group. More recently, from 1997 to 1999, he was President and CEO of Resorts USA Inc., a subsidiary of the Rank Group where he also served as the Group HR Director from 1990 to 1997. From 2000 until 2002, he was Senior Vice President HR and Property for Global Telesystems (GTS). In 2003, he became an independent business consultant and has served clients in both the UK and the US.

 

Paul Benz
SVP and Chief Information Officer
Paul Benz joined Gevity in 2006 and is responsible for the company's information technology and shared services teams. Prior to joining Gevity, Mr. Benz held several information technology and finance executive positions with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, PepsiCo and Tropicana. He holds both an MBA and BA from Wake Forest University.

 

Jim Hardee
SVP and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer
Jim Hardee joined Gevity in 2007. Mr. Hardee has extensive experience in selling services to small and mid-size businesses in his career with IBM that spans nearly three decades. At IBM, he established world-class sales management best practices in the North American and European sales markets.

 

Clifford M. Sladnick
SVP and Chief Administrative Officer
Clifford Sladnick joined Gevity in 2005. Before joining Gevity, Mr. Sladnick held  executive management positions in strategy, corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, legal affairs and investor relations at the Dresner Companies, Brunswick Corporation, and St. Paul Bancorp, Inc. Mr. Sladnick is also a CPA and was a partner in the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery. He has an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.

 

Garry Welsh
SVP and Chief Financial Officer
Garry Welsh joined Gevity in 2007. As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Welsh also oversees Gevity’s insurance and risk management functions. Prior to joining Gevity, he was a partner in the Orlando practice of Tatum, LLC. Mr. Welsh has a strong track record of improving service performance and enhancing shareholder value. He has served in executive leadership roles at companies such as Barclays Private and International Bank, Barclays Private Investors and Norwich Union Insurance Group (now Aviva). Mr. Welsh has been a member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants since 1986.