After acquiring the controlling stake in Swiss staffing market leader Adia in 1991, Klaus J. Jacobs grew the company continuously, through organic and inorganic growth initiatives; ultimately it became the world’s largest HR services company. The merger with Ecco in 1996 – France’s largest supplier of temporary personnel at the time of the transaction – was fundamental and provided the basis for subsequent acquisitions. Since then, Adecco has put increased emphasis on becoming a leader not only in the General Staffing (“blue collar”) sector, but also in the Professional Staffing (“white collar”) business. In recent years, the company has successfully streamlined its processes and thus reinforced its position as partner of choice for HR services across the globe. At the time of the exit, Adecco employed over 31,000 employees in more than 5,000 branches across over 60 countries.