In 1998, Stefano Colli-Lanzi—at that time a consultant—saw new regulations in the Italian market as an opportunity to enter the HR world by launching the first Italian staffing company.
Twenty-five years later, he is at the helm of one of the leading global HR services and consulting companies, Gi Group Holding, with more than 8,000 employees (having grown by 1,500+ in 2022) and a presence in 34 countries worldwide. The Gi Group Holding family of brands includes a range of HR service providers covering temporary and permanent staffing, executive search, business process outsourcing, and more, including INTOO, the career development and transition flagship, with offices in the U.S., Italy, UK and Ireland, Brazil and Argentina.
Its steady growth, through even the most turbulent periods of this quarter century, like the pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, has led to an increase in revenue from €1,581 million in 2015 to over €3.6 billion in 2022*.
Throughout the company’s history, strategic investments and M&A operations have advanced its capacity for growth and resilience: in this regard, last autumn Gi Group Holding announced its 50th acquisition (The Bridge, an HR technology consultancy focused on building and scaling up digital capabilities for multinational businesses).
Stefano Colli-Lanzi, CEO of Gi Group Holding says, “This anniversary is certainly an appropriate time to celebrate what has been done, so I would first like to address all the people who have contributed and continue to contribute every day to this project, which aims to seize the opportunity—and the responsibility—of contributing to the positive evolution of society, through work. But on occasions like these it is also important to lay foundations for the future. Over the coming years, the Group intends to continue on our current trajectory, increasing revenue from our international business from 50% to 70%. On the offer side, we will increasingly focus on verticalization, diversification of solutions and progressive improvement of margins. Therefore, we planned an annual investment of 100 mil/€ in acquisitions for the next two years. We have a very clear goal on the horizon: €6 billion by 2024.“
Besides its growth trajectory, the Group has been guided by a clear purpose for 25 years: to contribute to the evolution of the labor market and to embrace the ambitious opportunity—and responsibility—to change people’s lives for the better. Stefano Colli-Lanzi continued, “Work has the power to generate priceless personal and social value, as reflected in the Fondazione Gi Group for Sustainable Work. Sustainable Work means achieving living and working conditions that support people so they can find and stay at work throughout their active lives, without compromising the ability of future generations to enter or remain in the workforce.”
Colli-Lanzi also believes that addressing the current worldwide skills shortage with training and reskilling as well as internal mobility are key to overcoming the candidate shortage, making the labor market more sustainable. One way Gi Group Holding is doing so is through INTOO, which is well-equipped to deliver career development solutions that answer such employer dilemmas.
“INTOO is proud to be a part of this important milestone for Gi Group Holding. This celebration comes on the heels of many other pivotal milestones including Gi Group Holding’s 50th acquisition this year, and its expansion into the U.S. three years ago,” said Mira Greenland, CRO at INTOO.
In order to address the changing labor market, Colli-Lanzi has drawn on his experience with the younger generation—both as a father and a university professor—to highlight three drivers to attract younger workers, which remains a key challenge. They are: 1) Focus on practice rather than theory; 2) Give them the opportunity to have a positive impact on society; and 3) Provide them with the work-life balance they need.
With a 25-year history of responding to the constantly evolving labor market with solutions to meet varied regional needs worldwide, Gi Group Holding’s planned investments and acquisitions will allow the company to continue to advance their global ecosystem of HR services to support clients in business growth and change.
*Preliminary results, awaiting validation by auditorsINTOO helps employers of all sizes with cost-effective solutions for every stage of the employee lifecycle, including candidate experience, career development, and outplacement services. Contact us to learn how we can make a difference for you and your employees.
Robyn Kern is a seasoned business writer who has written in the HR, education, technology, and nonprofit spaces. She writes about topics including outplacement, layoffs, career development, internal mobility, candidate experience, succession planning, talent acquisition, and more, with the goal of surfacing workforce trends and educating the HR community on these key topics. Her work has been featured on hrforhr.org and trainingindustry.com.
