Robert A. Funk

Inducted 1990

Robert A. Funk is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Express Services, Inc., the parent company of Express Personnel Services, which operates over 400 franchises in three countries, including offices in 45 U.S. states.

Before founding Express in 1983, Funk gained extensive experience with ACME Personnel Services, starting as a personnel consultant in 1965 and rising in the company to the position of First Vice President in 1975. Upon the death of Acme’s founder, Funk acquired the Acme offices in Oklahoma. Funk, with partners William H. Stoller and James Gray, founded Express Personnel Services in 1983.

Funk presents a prominent profile on the national level. He is a member of the board of the International Franchising Association (IFA), and was honored with IFA’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the IFA’s Educational Foundation through 2003. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and a Charter Honoree of Sales & Marketing Executives International (SMEI). Funk is an inductee of both SMEI’s International Hall of Fame and the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) Hall of Fame. He is also a former board member of the American Staffing Association (ASA).

Funk is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University (SPU), with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Theology. He completed graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and received his master’s degree in Business Administration and Theology from SPU. He holds three honorary degrees: an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from SPU, awarded in June 1995; an honorary Doctor of Law presented by Oklahoma Baptist University in February 2000; and an honorary doctor of Law presented by Southern Nazarene University in December 2001.