Buck CEO: We Can Triple In Size In Next Five To Seven Years

A former Convergys executive is promising growth as he takes the reins of the rebranded Buck, which was formerly known as Conduent HR Consulting. Conduent Monday completed the sale of the company, which was part of Conduent HR Services, to private equity firm H.I.G. Capital as part of a planned divestiture.

Buck CEO Jack Freker told CRN that the sale to H.I.G. Capital marks a new era for the 102-year-old company, which was previously owned by Xerox and then Xerox spin-off Conduent.

“We’re dealing with real professionals here who have incredible client relationships and stickiness,” he told CRN. “We’ve done great things and we’re a premier name in the space.”

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Freker previously was CEO of First Advantage, a talent acquisition company in Florida, and prior to that was president of Convergys’ customer management group. Freker said he came to Buck as a consultant to the H.I.G. Capital team that was asked to do due diligence prior to the deal with Conduent, and he liked what he saw.

“It’s a mix of a strong thread of technology [and] value-added services all coming together with a really high-end employee base,” he said. “It’s the blend of all those three that really make the magic here.”

Conduent unveiled its deal to sell Conduent HR Consulting to H.I.G. Capital in April. The Miami-based global private equity company also purchased U.S. government solution provider NCI in July 2017. The firm holds stakes in several other solution providers as well, including CXtec, Milestone Technologies, Teracai and Trace3.

Buck traces its history to 1916 when it was founded by New York actuary George B. Buck Sr. Through sales and acquisitions, it was eventually owned by Xerox and then Conduent, which renamed it Conduent HR Consulting, before putting it up for sale.

Through the process of being acquired and then sold, the company “has been able to retain most of their corporate clients, most of their key clients because they just do great work,” Freker said.

The CEO also told CRN he expects huge growth from the new Buck, better compensation packages for employees, and more robust services for customers.

“The vision that I see on a forward basis ... is a much more rapidly growing organization,” he said. “I see this organically and inorganically. I don’t see any reason we can’t triple the size of the company in the next five to seven years. It may seem pretty bold. If you take half of that through organic growth, through existing and new clients, and half of that through acquisitions that’s a pretty doable task.”