Casey Liakos was a founding team member of Madison-based Carex Consulting Group and as president has helped the company grow fast in just three years.
Prior to joining Carex, Liakos dedicated his career to the goal of improving health care via high-quality and cost-effective use of technology. Throughout his 15-plus years in health care IT, he saw the industry through a number of important lenses: software vendor, health care provider, insurance payer, and consulting services provider. That served to give Liakos a well-rounded view of the health care and business landscapes, which now he uses to assess and synthesize client partner needs.
Liakos brought his experience from the Epic consulting space to help reinvent staffing and recruiting with Carex, a philosophy on which the company walks the walk. Carex has had zero voluntary turnover since opening its doors, and Liakos has worked to develop subscription models, helping over 90 people last year alone find full-time careers, and built numerous community relationships.
“I’m very proud of the team we’ve built at Carex and the growth we’ve experienced in our first few years,” notes Liakos. “Talent acquisition is a very old industry and the successful players tend to be pretty entrenched. We have gone from being a relative unknown entity to being a trusted talent acquisition partner to over 120 organizations. That’s pretty amazing to think about.”
Liakos has led the company by helping to create new product offerings and been a pillar in the Madison community, helping to advise other startups and getting involved in community causes like Rotary.
Liakos has also gone out of his way to build a strong corporate culture at Carex, shepherding growth at the company to the tune of 50 employees by the end of 2019. Additionally, Liakos has been responsible for developing profitable new business lines, expanding Carex’s geographic markets, growing the number of partners the company works with to 100, and being integral in Carex receiving two Wisconsin Innovation Award nominations.
Liakos acknowledges being very happy with the way Carex has handled some specific adversity and kept its focus on becoming the best talent acquisition partner in Wisconsin over the past 12 months. “We had some big ideas that were very flashy and exciting, but ultimately weren’t right for the company as a whole,” he says. “As a leadership team, it took a fair amount of discipline to kill those ideas and get past our own pride of ownership.
“I am a big believer in thinking of things from a long-term perspective: Don’t let the lows bring you down too much, and don’t get complacent when things are good,” says Liakos. “Anybody can make decisions and give direction, but the way we handle success and failure as leaders ultimately spreads to those around us and sets the tone.
For example, Carex celebrates wins every day, and Liakos believes that’s a vital part of maintaining a high level of corporate energy. However, he acknowledges that those around him would probably agree that he’s not the most vocal hooter or hollerer in the room. “Conversely, when we lose a candidate we really like, or something with our partners goes awry, I try to bring some perspective and levity to the situation,” he says. “Losses are inevitable and there is always something to be learned — and a joke to be made. When we fall short, let’s learn from it and move on.”
With a background in project delivery, Liakos says he’s learned throughout the course of his career that a problem that you ignore or pretend isn’t there will rarely go away. In fact, it usually gets worse with time. Ten minutes saved in the short term by scrolling past a difficult email usually results in hours of work and headaches at some point in the future, contends Liakos.
Liakos also believes that challenging yourself is an absolute prerequisite for growth. “I’ve had a number of inflection points in my life where I could take a safe route or a more challenging or scary route,” he explains. “The times I chose the challenging routes always had a multiplying effect on my personal strengths, successes, and overall growth. If someone asks you to take on a daunting project or step out of your comfort zone to lead an initiative, say YES.”
Obviously, it’s flattering and feels good to be recognized by his colleagues and peers, but there is something particularly satisfying about receiving the Small Company Executive of the Year honor. “What strikes me is that our team collectively has built a machine that is laser focused on helping our partners build high-performing teams and cultures,” Liakos says. “The work that we do every day to connect top talent to our client partners is directly reflected in this recognition, and I see this very same concept at work at Carex. I credit my co-founders, leaders, and staff at Carex for the successes, growth, and strong brand we’ve built. I’m honored to serve this team every day.”
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