Senior Leadership Team
Our leadership team is comprised of industry-recognized experts, with a combined 140 years experience, all committed to leading the company in its quest to be the Superior Provider of skilled trades staffing, nationwide.
Frank Troppe, President
Frank Troppe leads the company’s relationships with new and existing clients. He also oversees CLP’s growth throughout the United States.
Previously, Troppe was CLP’s vice president of sales where he played a key role in building the company’s sales strategy, extending its business into new construction sectors, and reorganizing the sales function for improved productivity.
He has more than 20 years of broad-based staffing industry experience, and five years working with Miller Heiman to help introduce Strategic Selling, Large Account Management Process, Conceptual Selling and Channel Partner Management. He is author of Branching Out, a popular business book that profiles the best practices of high-performing branch-based businesses. He also is a frequent speaker on staffing and sales topics whose presentation resume includes the American Staffing Association, the Strategic Account Management Association and Staffing Industry Analysts’ Executive Forum.
Troppe is a graduate of Northwestern University and earned his Juris Doctor from Loyola University of Chicago Law School.
Howard Aronson, Director, Gulf Region
Howard Aronson serves as the Director of the Gulf Region, where he is responsible for existing operations and opening of new operations from Texas to Florida. Aronson has more than 10 years in the construction staffing industry, having opened new branches to growing operations for existing profit centers throughout the western states.
Originally from New York, Aronson and his family recently relocaed from the Pacific Northwest to the Austin, Texas area.
Aronson is an active member of both the ABC and the Master Builders Association.
Clint Bennett, Director, California Region
Clint Bennett joined CLP in June 1993, and currently serves as Director of the California Region, overseeing CLP offices across the state.
He was originally hired as a branch staffing supervisor, and progressed through branch, area and regional management ranks within the Northern California Region.
As regional manager from 1999 through 2003, he built the region into the company's largest profit center.
Coleman Brown, Director, HR Business Partner Group
As Director of the HR Business Partner Group, Coleman Brown acts as the liaison between CLP and parent company TrueBlue, Inc. to implement enterprise-wide HR strategies and help CLP achieve their human capital goals. He also works with the CLP Senior Leadership Team to help identify development opportunities for CLP employees to ensure they’re in the best position to succeed and grow as individuals.
Before joining TrueBlue in 2003, he worked in the industrial construction industry, as a human resources generalist for NEPCO’s Gila Bend Thermal Power Project, where he was responsible for managing recruiting, key employment initiatives, and training.
He holds a B.S. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Washington State University, and will soon earn his Master’s degree in Organization Leadership Development from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA.
He participates in the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) mentorship program, where he works with new graduates to introduce them to the human resources field. He also volunteers for People for the Sound as a kayak surveyor identifying non-native plant life detrimental to coastline on the Puget Sound.
Eric Feinberg, Vice President, Strategic Markets
Eric Feinberg joined CLP in January 2006, and currently serves as Vice President of Strategic Markets, with responsibility for ensuring strategic growth and development of CLP’s customer base within the industrial, government, energy and large commercial sectors throughout the United States.
Previously, Feinberg was CLP’s Regional Director for the Southwest and Intermountain Region. While in this role, his leadership, strategic planning and vertical market expansion initiatives proved instrumental in making his region become the top sales region within CLP.
He came to CLP with more than 15 years staffing experience, having been a Vice President of Sales with Manpower Technical and a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Professional Access. He is a former Marine Corps Officer, combat veteran and distinguished Bronze Star recipient.
Feinberg is a graduate of the Defense Intelligence College, Command and Staff College and the Defense Intelligence Agency Post Graduate Intelligence Program.
Joe Flannery, Director, East Region
Joe Flannery has been in the staffing industry since 1995, joining CLP in 2006, as New England Regional Director. In October 2008, he added the Mid-Atlantic region to his list. In 2009, his territory was expanded to include the entire Eastern Region.
Before joining CLP, Flannery was the Northeast Regional Vice President of Sales for Veritude, the staffing division of Fidelity Investments. Before that, he served as President for Venturi Technology Partners and Regional Vice President for Renaissance Worldwide.
Before entering staffing, he served as a branch manager for Digital Equipment Corporation, a $14 billion computer equipment & services company.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northeastern University; and his MBA from Suffolk University, both in Boston.
He is a past president of the Catholic Memorial High School Alumni Association in Boston.
Dotti Gallagher, Senior Director of Marketing
Dotti Gallagher joined CLP in 2003, where she currently serves as Senior Director of Marketing, with responsibility for overall marketing strategy as well as brand management and website presence.
Gallagher has more than 25 years experience in marketing, advertising, public relations and sales management in both corporate and agency settings including U.S. Bank, First Interstate Bank and British Petroleum.
She is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with a master's degree in communications, and she has received her APR accreditation from PRSA. She is an active leader in many community organizations, and is a past president of both A2N2 and PRSA.
Shannon Kahn, Director, West Region
Shannon Kahn joined CLP in 2003 as the Regional Director for the Pacific Northwest, where she was responsible for overseeing CLP operations for Washington, Idaho and Oregon. She was promoted to Director, West Region in 2009 and is now responsible for overseeing offices throughout the West. Before joining CLP, Kahn owned Aeon Strategies, a consulting company specializing in recruitment, development, performance management and other human resources services. She also worked for Talent Tree Staffing out of Los Angeles for fourteen years, ultimately serving as Vice President of West Coast Operations before moving back home to the Pacific Northwest and striking out on her own.
Kahn serves on the board of directors for a local youth sports program, Island Thunder Volleyball Club. She also volunteers for other education and youth programs. She holds a B.S. in biology from the University of Oregon.
Wade States, Director, Planning & Analysis
As Director of Planning and Analysis, Wade States acts as a liaison between parent company TrueBlue and CLP Resources. He oversees all of CLP's financial analysis and long range planning, including sales and profit forecasting, acquisition analytics and scenario building. He began working as a contractor for CLP in 2001, and was hired full time as Senior Financial Analyst in 2003.
Before coming to CLP, States began his career as a Controller for a national restaurant group, and then worked as a Financial Analyst for a regional start-up company in Seattle, supporting senior management in short and long term planning, what-if analysis and investor presentations.
He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Merirae Tackett, Director of Sales & Operations Support
Merirae Tackett joined CLP in 2000, and has held a variety of roles providing oversight of strategic programs, special projects and expansion, as well as providing overall support to the CLP operations team. In her role as Director of Sales & Operations Support she serves as a liaison between CLP and its parent company, TrueBlue Inc., ensuring operations run smoothly between the two. Her department provides full support to sales and operations, ensuring they have the tools they need to effectively service CLP customers and field employees.
She entered the staffing industry in 1996 in Reno, NV with quick success in all areas of sales, operations, and management. She then became the owner/managing partner of a national accounting and finance staffing company, based in Orlando.
Prior to staffing, she spent nearly 20 years in sales and operations management within the automotive and wholesale distribution industries.
Vince Vargas, National Director of Service
Vince Vargas joined CLP in 1997 as a job coordinator. He was promoted to assistant branch manager of the San Francisco office in 1999, and moved in the East Bay Branch Manager position shortly after that. In 2004, he was named Regional Service Director for Northern California, where he was responsible for ensuring CLP standards were being implemented throughout the region.
In 2005, he was promoted to Regional Director for Northern California, which led TrueBlue (CLP’s parent company) in the highest number of customers served in 2007.
Vargas was promoted to his current role in 2009, where he’ll be responsible for ensuring CLP’s customer and worker experiences are consistent with CLP’s standards. He’s also responsible for overall safety performance throughout the company.
Vargas is a former board member for the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. He holds a B.A. in psychology from Sacramento State.
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