Robert A. Funk Sr
Company: Express Employment Professionals
Title: Co-Founder, President, Board Member
As Co-Founder, President, and Board Member of Express Employment Professionals, Bob Funk and the Express team reached record sales of $3.5 Billion and employed a record 560,000 people.
Since awarding its first Express franchise in 1985, the staffing company has grown to more than 800 franchises with nearly 7,500 staff members in the U.S., Canada and South Africa.
Bob is a true entrepreneur and owns 43 Express offices in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas and stays active with Express affiliated companies–Express Ranches, Express Clydesdales, Express Sports, Funk Companies, Express UU Bar Ranches.
Funk‘s accomplishments in the staffing industry earned him induction into the International Franchise Association (IFA) Hall of Fame in 2010. He was recognized in 2013 as Most Admired CEO by The Journal Record and in 2014 by Oklahoma State University Division of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources with their Champion Award. In 2015 he was recognized as Man of the Year by IMPACT OKC Magazine.
Due to his vast achievements and contributions, Funk was one of eight inductees into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2017 and presented by actor Tom Selleck.
Funk has helped brand the re-birth of Oklahoma City through a variety of investments including the popular Clydesdale Barn open to the public with free admission and as the entrepreneurial owner (or co-owner) of Texas Rangers' Triple-A franchise Redhawks Baseball, Oklahoma City Barons Hockey and IFC Energy FC Soccer teams.
Having a pulse on the national economy, Funk served as Chairman of the Chairmen of The Federal Reserve in 2007. He is frequently interviewed about employment trends by the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fox Business News and CNN and is a contributor on the Sean Hannity Radio Show.
Funk is actively involved in the community and gives back in a big way. He currently serves on several committees and previously served as chairman of the board of directors for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum where he personally contributed $5 million. He is a Board member of the American Staffing Association, former chairman of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and current chairman of the Oklahoma Youth Expo. He named the Rodeo Gallery at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and has personally contributed $6.5 million to the Oklahoma Youth Expo; Express Ranches has contributed more than $4 million in scholarships to OYE.
In the last 13 years, the Express Employment Professionals Philanthropic Fund has contributed more than $11 million to charitable organizations throughout Oklahoma.
In December, 2015, Bob Funk was the featured CEO/sponsor of the State Chamber of Commerce Public Affairs forum. In a video address to 750 of the state‘s top business leaders, Bob humanized the business side of Oklahoma‘s education issue and encouraged fellow organizations to get involved, explore solutions relative to current workforce issues, development and the future of Oklahoma.
Funk graduated from Seattle Pacific University (SPU) with a bachelor‘s degree in business administration and theology. He completed his graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and received his master‘s degrees in business administration and theology from SPU. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from SPU, Oklahoma Baptist University and Southern Nazarene University.
Bob‘s favorite quote: “You are only as successful as the last person you helped.”
