Manpower Inc. President of EMEA Barbara Beck Appointed to Women's Leadership Board at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WEF Annual Meeting -- Manpower Inc. today announced the appointment of Barbara Beck, Manpower's President of EMEA, to the Women's Leadership Board at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The Women's Leadership Board is one of the most influential and prestigious volunteer women's bodies in the world. Its members are drawn from the most senior levels of government, business, medicine, and the non-profit sectors in over 25 countries, with the aim to advance issues related to women globally through leadership, advocacy and dialogue on public policy.

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Beck said, "It is a privilege to have been selected to join the Women's Leadership Board and I look forward to continuing to contribute to the advancement of opportunities for women around the world through my involvement in this elite organization. Manpower has always been a leader in helping women gain access to, and succeed in, the world of work, and my new role with the Women's Leadership Board will provide another means for me to contribute toward that legacy and to work toward opening more doors for women in the future," she added.

Beck is responsible for overseeing operations in Europe (excluding France), the Middle East and Africa, which includes 32 countries and generates approximately $6 billion in revenues. Beck was the first woman to lead a major region for Manpower when she was named to her former role as President of the company's U.S. and Canada region. Currently, 11 of the 32 countries under Beck in the EMEA region are led by women.

As evidence of Manpower's commitment and support of women in leadership, high-ranking female executives can be found throughout the company's network of 73 countries and territories: 41 percent of all country managers responsible for Manpower's business worldwide are women and 20 percent of Manpower's Board of Directors are women.

Beck's nomination to the Women's Leadership Board recognizes her active involvement in women's issues globally. In her previous role as Manpower President of US & Canada, she was active in a number of women's organizations, and was recognized as a 2003 Women of Influence recipient from the Milwaukee Business Journal for her outstanding corporate executive leadership. Beck was also appointed by the Lt. Governor of Wisconsin to the statewide initiative dedicated to advancing the status of women in the public and private sectors.

Holly Taylor Sargent, Senior Director for University Women's Initiatives at the Harvard University Kennedy School comments, "We look forward to the knowledge and expertise that Barbara will bring to the Board. We believe Barbara will play a valuable role in helping us further strengthen the leadership positions of women at all levels of society, provide groundwork for better understanding of issues related to women's empowerment, and foster the next generation of women leaders."

Prior to joining Manpower, Beck was an area vice president and general manager of United States -- West for Sprint, a global communications company. Her 15-year tenure at Sprint included leadership of technical sales and applications engineering, business development, customer service, operations, technical support and program management.

About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. is a world leader in the employment services industry; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. The $16 billion company offers employers a range of services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of 4,400 offices in 73 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information on Manpower Inc. is available at http://www.manpower.com/.