Alumnus/Alumna of the Month

Harold M. “Max” Messmer, Jr. ’70

Read an Interview with Max Messmer, Jr. ’70

Harold M. “Max” Messmer, Jr. is chairman and chief executive officer of Robert Half International Inc. (RHI), the world’s largest specialized staffing firm, and the first to provide placement services for accounting, finance and information technology professionals. RHI also is the parent company of Protiviti, a leading internal audit and business risk consulting firm.

During his 21-year tenure as CEO,
Mr. Messmer has led the growth of RHI from
a small franchisor with revenues of $7 million in 1986 to a global company with revenues surpassing $4 billion today. Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI) is a member of Standard & Poor’s widely tracked S&P 500 index.

In 2007, RHI was listed on the Forbes Platinum 400 list of the best big companies in America for the sixth time, ranking as one of the top U.S. business services firms for investor returns and growth. Forbes also named RHI to its Global 2000 list of the world’s largest public companies, highlighting the firm as one of just 130 “Global High Performers.” RHI appeared on Fortune magazine’s list of “America’s Most Admired Companies” in 2007, ranking number one in its industry. In addition, BusinessWeek featured RHI in its 2007 “BusinessWeek 50,” a list of best-performing companies, and in a September 2002 cover story as one of several companies with a history of ethics and integrity in business. In 2007, Mr. Messmer was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year national award winner in the services category, and he was named one of America’s top CEOs by Institutional Investor magazine the previous year. In 2003, he was selected by Morningstar, an independent research firm, as its CEO of the Year.

Before joining Robert Half International, Mr. Messmer was president of Pacific Holding Corporation, a diversified company with operations in agribusiness, textiles and other product areas. From 1982 to 1985, he served as president and chief executive officer of Pacific Holding’s largest subsidiary, Cannon Mills Company, and subsequently served from 1985 to 1986 as a member of the Office of the Chairman of Castle & Cooke, Inc., another affiliate of Pacific Holding.

From 1970 to 1981, Mr. Messmer specialized in mergers and acquisitions with the Los Angeles
law firm O’Melveny & Myers as an associate and then partner. He was an adjunct professor in the Executive Management program at Claremont Graduate School of Business from 1979 to 1981 and a frequent lecturer to business and legal groups.

Mr. Messmer graduated summa cum laude and was valedictorian at Loyola University in New Orleans, and is a cum laude graduate of the New York University School of Law. In 2000,
he received the prestigious Alumni Achievement Award from New York University’s Law
Alumni Association.

Currently a member of the board of directors of Health Care Property Investors, Inc., Mr. Messmer previously served on the boards of Airborne Freight Corporation, First Interstate Bancorp, NationsBank (of North Carolina), Pacific Enterprises, Southern California Gas Company and Spieker Properties, Inc., among others. During the administration of President Ronald Reagan, he served for two years on the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations.

A frequent author, Mr. Messmer’s books include Job Hunting For Dummies and Human Resources Kit For Dummies, both in their second editions; Managing Your Career For Dummies; and Motivating Employees For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons).

Mr. Messmer’s community involvement includes service on the UCSF Medical Center Executive Council, the board of overseers of the Hoover Institution and the board of directors of Bay
Area Council.

Mr. Messmer resides in Woodside, California, with his wife, Marcia. They have two sons, Michael and Matthew.