Hamlin Harkins, Ltd., Talent

Mike Froncek has a long association with Hamlin Harkins Ltd. alternating his work as a senior associate with his highly successful roles as senior HR executive for several Silicon Valley firms over the past 22 years. These include large established firms like FMC, TRW, Weyerhaeuser Company, and mid-sized companies like Network Equipment Technologies and Siliconix to pre-IPO start-ups TekEdge and Neptune Technologies. Long term consulting customers include Texaco and Teradyne.

Mike's approach is to always appreciate the lessons learned from collective past experiences but to recognize fully that each organization at any given moment is a completely unique instance for examination, evaluation, test and improvement. Creativity seeks to leap-frog best practices in favor of creating new best practices for others to envy and follow. Taking a leadership position is the obvious way to address today's problems and to prepare for a much more successful future.

Projects of particular note include the establishment of a nationwide recruiting infrastructure and processes producing over 1000 new technical hires in one year, the establishment of a unique company culture initiative with overwhelming improvements in hiring and retention, the creation of a radically new improvement process to replace a non-effective performance assessment process, and a special "blue ribbon" committee to assess and improve management competencies.

Mike is an engineering graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served as an airborne ranger infantry officer for 7 years. He has chosen Human Resources Management as his vocation, knowing that for all the planning and technology, in the end, it's the people who make the difference and make things happen.