JAY STARKMAN

CEO, ENGAGE PEO, HOLLYWOOD

Serving more than 100,000 employees and their employers with its team of 500 corporate employees, Engage PEO is a professional employer organization that provides a broad array of HR outsourcing solutions. Those services include payroll and tax administration, HR compliance, insurance products, HR technology and risk management. Starkman says the company has also “set a standard for respectful, relationship-driven M&A in a space where that hasn’t always been the norm.”

EDUCATION: Florida International University (BS), University of Miami (JD)

FIRST JOB: I’ve worked continuously since I was 16. My first job was having a paper route and then more odd jobs than I can remember until I graduated law school. After law school, I practiced law and owned my law firm until I became a CEO.

SOMETHING SURPRISING: In 1999, at the height of my legal career, I had the good fortune of being able to argue a case in front of the United States Supreme Court.

PASSION PROJECT: I enjoy cooking. I am currently trying to learn how to make the best possible pizza in a pizza oven I purchased.