Talent Function

Elaine Orler, President & Co-Founder
Elaine Orler has been implementing recruitment software for large organizations since 1993. Her introduction to recruitment technology started as an employee of Qualcomm. She implemented an early version of Resumix and became the head of the regional user group for Resumix customers. She then joined Gateway Computers to define and lead a vendor selection process. She started her consulting career in 1999 for Watson Wyatt Consulting and has been instrumental at building recruitment software consulting practices for Talent Market Group, The Newman Group, and Knowledge Infusion. Elaine has taken an active role in over 75 recruitment software implementations across 15 different vendor platforms.
In her 16 years in the industry she has worked with both practitioners and solution providers to shape the way Talent Acquisition solutions are delivered.  A dyed-in-the-wool “early adopter,”  Elaine has guided her clients through the evolutionary shifts in the market including:

• The widespread adoption of enterprise-wide, client-server recruitment systems
• The dawn of Internet-based electronic recruiting (job boards)
• The emergence of SaaS recruitment solutions
• The move towards outsourced recruitment
• The proliferation of global recruitment implementations
• The emergence of the Talent Management paradigm
• The revolution of social media platforms

Elaine is respected as a recruitment functionality expert and she takes an active role in industry events and associations. Recent publications and presentations include:

• SHRM Special Expertise Panel – HR Technology, 2007 – 2010
• Publication of the ERE 2007 Buyers Guide (Project Manager)
• Article, “Industry Trends and Predictions for 2007″
• HR Technology Conference and Expo presentation, “Knowing When to Switch Your Vendor,” 2006
• IHRIM Global SIG, presentation, “Delivering a Global Talent Acquisition Foundation to Recruit Locally at Yahoo!” 2006
• HCI (Human Capital Institute), Talent Management Technology panel member (third year), 2006

What Elaine says About Her Work: “I can’t help but share my passion for technology. I love building relationships with clients. I love contributing to a client’s vision so that the project will be a success. I am always grateful for what my clients teach me.”

Elaine started her professional career as a teacher and she holds a B.S. from the University of Arizona. She is an avid baseball fan (San Diego Padres). She has two kids and is based in San Diego.

Mark McMillan, Executive Coach & Co-Founder

Mark McMillan combines Executive Coaching expertise with 10 years of recruitment software industry experience. Mark started his software career for the Oracle Corporation working with channel partners in North and South America. After a 2-year stint in Oracle Latin America, Mark transitioned to a sales engineering role. He spent two years selling Oracle applications to prospects in North America and Brazil and he participated in the introduction of Oracle’s first browser-based software release.

Convinced about the inherent value of the software-as-a-service delivery model, Mark joined BrassRing as a Director of Strategy and Business Development. During his tenure at BrassRing Mark was responsible for partnerships and strategic initiatives for the company. He was instrumental in BrassRing’s expansion to the recruitment outsourcing, public sector, and Asia-Pacific markets. Mark also made contributions to product strategy including the development of the “Talent Record” concept which remains as one of the primary organizing principles of Kenexa’s BrassRing-KRB software solutions.

Mark started his Executive Coaching career in 2007 with the California Leadership Center, a firm that has pioneered the “coaching” profession since 1989.  Mark focuses on individual and team development for leaders in the Talent Acquisition industry. In the context of software implementations, Mark works with Executive Sponsors and project teams to build clarity and communication that will support effective change management.

What Mark Says About his Work:

“HR professionals are called to be more strategic. I love working with my clients to project stronger leadership across the organization. Can you effectively influence those that don’t report to you?  When I am working well, I get to a very personal “frequency” with my clients. Then we can really collaborate and accomplish what was previously thought of as impossible.   That experience feeds me.”

Mark is formerly a CPA (Arthur Andersen) and holds an MS and BS from the University of Virginia. From the ages of 8 to 22, Mark was a part of 38 sports teams and attended college on a baseball scholarship. He loves to travel and has led business meetings in over 25 countries. Mark is based in San Francisco.