ManpowerGroup
A global workforce-solutions company providing staffing, recruitment, talent management, consulting, and workforce outsourcing services.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
ManpowerGroup is a Milwaukee-based multinational workforce-solutions and human-resources services company. It began in 1948 as Manpower, a temporary-help business founded by Elmer Winter and Aaron Scheinfeld, and developed from a provider of short-term clerical and industrial labor into a diversified organization serving employers, workers, and governments. Its services include contingent staffing, permanent recruitment, professional and technology resourcing, project-based workforce management, recruitment-process outsourcing, managed-service programs, career transition, outplacement, leadership development, and workforce consulting. The company expanded rapidly across the United States during the 1950s and entered international markets in Canada, the United Kingdom, and France later in that decade. It became publicly traded in 1962. Early marketing helped popularize temporary office work, although later historians and commentators have criticized the period's advertising for presenting temporary employment through narrowly gendered and racialized images of respectable white-collar women. During the 1970s, Manpower was acquired by Parker Pen. As Manpower grew to represent most of Parker's business, Parker divested the pen operation and adopted Manpower's name in 1985. In 1987, British services company Blue Arrow acquired Manpower after a contested takeover process. The transaction was followed by management conflict, a reversal of executive control, and controversy surrounding the financing and stock-market performance of Blue Arrow's acquisition. The group subsequently returned its corporate center to Milwaukee and was reorganized as Manpower Inc. in the early 1990s. During the 1990s and 2000s, it broadened its capabilities through acquisitions in information technology, accounting, tax, consulting, recruitment outsourcing, and career management. A major strategic shift took place in 2011, when the corporation adopted the name ManpowerGroup to position itself as a broader workforce-solutions provider rather than a traditional temporary-employment agency. The principal brand architecture became Manpower for contingent and permanent staffing, Experis for professional and technology talent, Right Management for career management and workforce consulting, and ManpowerGroup Solutions for managed services and outsourcing. The architecture has evolved, but these businesses represent the company's central service areas. ManpowerGroup's customers include multinational corporations, public-sector organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises, and job seekers. Its local operations recruit and place workers, while its enterprise offerings can manage categories of external labor, recruitment processes, workforce transitions, and specialized projects. The company has expanded its technology and professional-services footprint through transactions involving businesses such as COMSYS, Proservia, 7S Group, Ciber's European operations, and Ettain Group. It remains a publicly traded international staffing and workforce-services company, commonly discussed alongside Adecco and Randstad as one of the world's largest staffing firms.
History
Manpower was established in 1948 in Milwaukee by Elmer Winter and Aaron Scheinfeld. Accounts differ on the precise founding inspiration: one emphasizes the founders' urgent need for secretarial assistance while preparing a legal brief, while another traces Scheinfeld's idea to postwar work involving military equipment and his recognition of a market for temporary labor. The founders opened early offices in Milwaukee and Chicago and named the company Manpower. The business expanded through the United States in the early 1950s, began franchising in 1954, and entered Canada and the United Kingdom in 1956 before establishing operations in France in 1957. Its initial proposition was to supply workers who could cover absences and short-term administrative or industrial needs. Over time, the company promoted temporary labor as a flexible alternative to conventional employment. In the 1960s it became a major participant in the growth of the temporary-help industry and used highly visible advertising, including the White Glove Girl campaign, to associate its office workers with competence, cleanliness, and respectability. Later labor historians criticized those advertisements for their narrow presentation of gender, race, and class. Manpower went public in 1962 and continued to build an international branch network. It added technical staffing in 1968, extending beyond its original clerical and industrial focus. In 1975, Parker Pen acquired the company. Manpower subsequently became the larger and more economically important part of the combined business. In 1985, the pen operation was sold, and Parker Pen adopted the Manpower name. Blue Arrow, a British services company, made a takeover bid in 1987. After Manpower rejected the initial proposal, Blue Arrow increased the offer and secured approval. The acquisition created substantial governance and financial tensions. Mitchell Fromstein, who had led Manpower, was removed and then returned to a senior leadership position at Blue Arrow. The transaction was also connected to the Blue Arrow Affair, a British investigation into alleged stock-price support activity involving the flotation and financing of the acquisition. Blue Arrow later shifted its corporate identity toward Manpower, and the group moved its headquarters back to Milwaukee. A new American holding-company structure was completed in 1991. During the 1990s and 2000s, the company pursued a broader human-capital strategy. Under Jeffrey Joerres, it acquired or developed businesses in information-technology staffing, professional accounting and tax services, consulting, career management, managed services, and recruitment-process outsourcing. Acquisitions included Elan Group, Jefferson Wells International, and Right Management Consultants. The company also introduced Manpower Business Solutions for outsourcing and managed-services work. In 2006, Manpower began a global identity program intended to simplify its brand architecture. The 2011 rebrand to ManpowerGroup was a more fundamental repositioning: the corporation sought recognition as a workforce-solutions provider rather than only a temporary staffing agency. Experis combined professional and technology activities, Right Management represented career management and workforce consulting, and ManpowerGroup Solutions covered managed services and outsourcing. Subsequent acquisitions in France, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Germany, and several European technology markets broadened the group's geographic and specialist capabilities. In 2014, Jonas Prising became chief executive officer and later also became chairman. The acquisition of Ettain Group in 2021 further emphasized information technology and digital talent services. ManpowerGroup remains an active, publicly traded global provider of staffing and workforce services.
- 2021
Ettain Group acquisition
[1]ManpowerGroup acquires Ettain Group to expand IT resourcing and services.
- 2015
7S Group acquisition
[1]The company acquires German HR-services business 7S Group.
- 2014
Jonas Prising becomes CEO
[1]Prising succeeds Jeffrey Joerres as chief executive officer.
- 2011
Corporate rebrand to ManpowerGroup
[1]The company adopts ManpowerGroup and organizes its principal activities around Manpower, Experis, Right Management, and ManpowerGroup Solutions.
- 2011
Proservia acquisition
[1]ManpowerGroup acquires French IT and systems-engineering company Proservia in stages.
- 2010
COMSYS acquisition completed
[1]COMSYS is integrated with Manpower's professional IT operations, while Tapfin strengthens managed-service and recruitment-outsourcing capabilities.
- 2006
Global brand identity introduced
[1]The company simplifies its international brand architecture and introduces a redesigned identity.
- 2003
Right Management acquisition announced
[1]Manpower agrees to acquire Right Management Consultants and combines it with the Empower consulting operation.
- 2001
Jefferson Wells acquisition
[1]The company acquires a professional accounting and tax-services provider in the United States and Canada.
- 2000
Elan Group acquisition
[1]Manpower acquires a United Kingdom-based information-technology staffing provider with operations in several international markets.
Products and positioning
A global, multi-brand workforce-solutions provider spanning high-volume contingent labor, professional and technology staffing, enterprise outsourcing, and career management.
Contingent staffing and recruitment · 1948
Manpower
The core Manpower brand supplies temporary, contingent, and contract workers and also supports permanent recruitment. Its market coverage includes administrative, industrial, operational, and other high-volume roles. Local offices match candidates with short-term assignments, recurring workforce requirements, and direct-hire opportunities.
Professional and technology talent · 2011
Experis
Experis brings together professional and technology staffing capabilities, including IT resourcing, project teams, systems expertise, and specialized talent delivery. It serves employers that need scarce technical skills, flexible project capacity, or support for technology transformation.
Career management and workforce consulting · 2003
Right Management
Right Management provides career transition and outplacement services, leadership development, talent assessment, and workforce consulting. Its work addresses organizational change, employee mobility, redeployment, and the development of leadership and workforce capabilities.
Managed services and outsourcing · 2007
ManpowerGroup Solutions
ManpowerGroup Solutions supports enterprise workforce programs through managed-service-provider arrangements, recruitment-process outsourcing, vendor management, onsite human-resources services, and other forms of labor procurement and workforce administration. Tapfin has been associated with the group's MSP and RPO capabilities.
Controversies
1989
Blue Arrow Affair
The takeover of Manpower by Blue Arrow was followed by a British investigation into alleged stock-price support activity connected with the acquisition's financing and share flotation. The affair also involved leadership upheaval at Blue Arrow and later criminal charges.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011ManpowerGroup rebrand
Global
The corporation changed its name to ManpowerGroup and presented four principal brands to communicate a broader offer covering staffing, professional talent, career management, and outsourcing.
Outcome. The rebrand established the current corporate positioning around workforce solutions rather than temporary staffing alone.
- 2006Global brand identity program
Global
Manpower introduced a redesigned corporate identity and consolidated numerous local identities into a smaller global architecture. The work was developed with Wolff Olins, Grey Worldwide, and MediaCom.
Outcome. The program prepared the organization for its later positioning as a diversified workforce-solutions group.
- 1961White Glove Girl
United States · Canada · Europe
Manpower used Sunday-newspaper advertising featuring the White Glove Girl to promote temporary office workers as trained, polished, and dependable. The campaign helped make temporary clerical work visible to a mass audience, but later scholarship criticized its idealized and exclusionary depiction of the temporary workforce.
Outcome. The campaign became one of the most recognizable examples of early temporary-help advertising and influenced public perceptions of office staffing.
Brand decisions
2021
Acquire Ettain GroupM&ABackground
ManpowerGroup continued expanding its technology resourcing and digital-services capabilities.
Action taken
The company acquired IT resourcing and services provider Ettain Group.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded the group's technology talent and services portfolio.
Announced transaction value. $925 million (2021)
2011
Rebrand as ManpowerGroupStrategyBackground
Management sought to move the company beyond its historical association with temporary employment and present a wider workforce-services proposition.
Action taken
The company adopted ManpowerGroup as its corporate name and organized its offer under Manpower, Experis, Right Management, and ManpowerGroup Solutions.
Aftermath
The new architecture aligned staffing, professional talent, career management, and enterprise outsourcing under one global group.
2010
Acquire COMSYS IT PartnersM&ABackground
Demand for technology staffing and managed workforce programs was expanding.
Action taken
Manpower acquired COMSYS and integrated its technology operations with Manpower Professional IT, including Tapfin-related managed-service and RPO activities.
Aftermath
The transaction strengthened the group's professional IT, managed-services, and recruitment-outsourcing platform.
Announced transaction value. $431 million (2010)
2006
Simplify global brand architectureStrategyBackground
The company operated through a large number of local and specialist brands while expanding beyond temporary staffing.
Action taken
Manpower introduced a new identity and reduced its international architecture to a smaller set of global brands.
Aftermath
The effort created the platform for the ManpowerGroup corporate rebrand and later brand consolidation.
1987
Accept Blue Arrow's increased takeover offerM&ABackground
Blue Arrow initially proposed to buy Manpower for cash, but Manpower's board rejected the first proposal.
Action taken
The board accepted a higher offer after Blue Arrow agreed to preserve the Manpower name in the United States, keep the Milwaukee office, and retain Mitchell Fromstein.
Aftermath
The transaction produced management conflict and became associated with the Blue Arrow Affair before the group was reorganized and returned to Milwaukee.
Recent events
ManpowerGroup completes acquisition of ettain group[4]
Reported:
ManpowerGroup completed its acquisition of ettain group, a North American IT resourcing and services provider. ettain will become part of ManpowerGroup's Experis business.
Talent announces acquisition of Experis New Zealand IT business[5]
Talent announced the acquisition of ManpowerGroup’s New Zealand IT business, Experis.
ManpowerGroup appoints Sandeep Gulati as India managing director[6]
Reported:
ManpowerGroup announced Sandeep Gulati's appointment as managing director of India Operations, replacing AG Rao.
Sources6 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/manpowergroup · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled