Harold M. Messmer, Jr. holds an AB from Loyola University Chicago and is currently the chief executive officer of Robert Half International, the Menlo Park, California-based professional staffing and consulting firm that operates over 400 locations worldwide. Messmer was featured in a 2002 BusinessWeek cover story “The Good CEO” that highlighted ethical CEOs who ran strong companies without bending the rules. The article noted Messmer’s insistence on building up the company from within and resisting the pressure from Wall Street to buy up other firms through risky mergers and acquisitions. In addition to Robert Half, Messmer has been a partner at the law firm of OMelveny & Myers, and is affiliated with the boards of First Interstate Bancorp, Spieker Properties, Inc., Airborne, Inc., and Accountemps Inc., a branch of Robert Half.