Neil Lebovits, CPA, CPC, CTS
I graduated from Penn State in 1985
with a degree in accounting. After joining the accounting firm of Ernst
& Young, I worked hard to gain my CPA certification. Soon after, I realized that being an accountant
wasn't in my cards. Nothing against all of the accountants out there, but I
just HATED IT! I then landed a job as a Permanent Placement Consulting
for the world's largest firm. Stars that had been there for years
surrounded me. I studied everything that they did right (and wrong) and read as
many books and took as many sales seminars as I could to try to understand the
methods to the madness.
I quickly skyrocketed to the top of
the company, producing more than just about any rookie in the world. I
was then promoted to running this division in New York City. My success
continued and opportunity came knocking when I was offered a Branch Manager
position in New Jersey. Well, New Jersey isn't quite Manhattan, but I
couldn't pass it up. I was actually quoted in the company newsletter that
we had developed a "science" and a "system" that will put
the New Jersey office on the map. In less than a year, our office went
from one of the lowest producing offices to one of the top! I was
promoted again to Area Manager and that is when I knew I was onto something
substantial.
After a few years, in 1991, I was
recruited by a great competitor that was taking the industry by storm (or
hoping to). At the time they were a 50 million dollar business with approximately
thirty business lines across the globe. I was brought in with the promise
that if I did half of what I did at my previous firm, and if I helped show them
how I did it that I could literally write my own ticket. The idea excited
me, but to be honest, never in my wildest dreams did I think that ten years
later, the company would have grown to 200 business lines and over $300 Million
and that I would have become its President! Through the years, I was
instrumental in launching their permanent placement business and training &
development areas. I was promoted to Area VP then to Regional VP then to SR VP
then to Chief Operating Officer and then to President! I took over the
company in October 2001 as Chief Operating Officer and acting President.
For those of you who recall, this was in the height of the recession!
Morale was AWFUL and sales were virtually non existent. Except for getting creative with
excessive cost cutting, we were close to losing money! Turnover was
through the roof and the company just seemed to have lost its soul. I was
confident that I could lead these people to greatness and restore our position
in the both the marketplace & our global company ranking (the world's
LARGEST staffing & recruiting firm). Well, suffice to say, we took
our company from one of the lowest ranked business units in the world to THE
VERY TOP! The success was so astounding that the global executives all
started sending people to the USA and to New Jersey to see what the heck we
were doing. To say they were impressed was an understatement. So, after more
than 5 years leading the helm, I was promoted yet again to the Global President
of the business lines! After the company had changed their focus and
decided to eliminate the global lines, we had decided it was best for all of us
to move on. This is when I decided (even before we had the discussion)
that the next phase of my career could only be what I am most passionate
about..and that is training & helping people in this industry grow far more
than they ever thought they could.
Training has always been my number
one passion, and as I told you, understanding the WHY & HOW about success.
Throughout my career, I have been a sought after expert for national
publications (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, just to name a few)
and for major television shows (Bloomberg, CNN, ABC news, etc) Just Google my
name if you want to see more. I also became an inspirational and
motivational speaker. I impacted thousands of colleagues and spoke at many industry
related national conventions. My seminars and sessions were so well
received and rated (usually rated number one), that I was asked to Keynote at
the National AICPA conference.
I am confident that the next part
of my career will allow me to tap into my great experiences and help you!
Carpe Diem!
Neil