| Aquent | |
| Type: | Private |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Key People: | John Chuang (co-founder and CEO) |
| Services: | Employment agencies |
| Operating Income: | $500 million (2006)[1] |
| Homepage: | aquent.com |
| Foundation: | 1986 |
| Location: | Boston |
Aquent is a staffing company specializing in placing temporary employees in marketing and creative industries. According to Staffing Industry Analysts, it is among the "largest marketing/creative staffing firms in the United States".[2] Aquent also operates internationally with offices in Japan, Canada, Australia, France, UK, and the Netherlands.[3]
Harvard College students John Chuang, Mia Wenjen and Steve Kapner in 1986 founded a typesetting business called Laser Designs from their Harvard dorm.[1] [4] [5] The business grew and they added temporary staffing related to Mac training as an offering and called it MacTemps.[1] MacTemps grew, adding non-Mac as well as permanent placements. With MacTemps no longer reflecting the business, they changed their name to Aquent, intended to mean "not a follower" in Latin.[6]
The company has grown substantially and entered into new business areas through acquisitions.
The company saw a drop in revenue in 2001 in the aftermath of the dot-com bubble with revenue dropping in 2001 compared to 2000.[7] To counter the drop off in business, Aquent purchased Renaissance Worldwide Inc., an IT consultancy and staffing firm, for $106 million.[7] Aquent at that time had been known for offering staffing of print and web designers.[7] The deal allowed Aquent to also offer back end support staffers, which was considered by the company to complement well as a package solution.[7] The acquisition of Renaissance also included a municipal and state government IT consulting subsidiary, which as initially planned was sold months later in 2002 to EOne Global for $45 million.[8]
In 2003, Aquent Studios was launched as a marketing division within Aquent that provides companies with an on/off site studio, which produces creative and marketing content. Aquent Studios also operates internationally.[3] [9]
In 2003 the company made a hostile takeover offer for Computer Horizons Corporation, a computer network services company with a staffing business segment.[10] Aquent through its investment banker Robert W. Baird & Co. had initially approached Computer Horizon's management on April 3, 2003 with an invitation to have dinner, which was rejected by Bill Murphy, the President and CEO of Computer Horizons.[11] Aquent then proceeded to launch a cash tender offer on April 14, 2003 that valued Computer Horizons at $154 million.[11] This proposal was opposed by management and in May the offer was rejected.[11]
Aquent acquired Corporate Project Resources Inc. (CPRi), a staffing agency for marketing jobs, in 2005 for $25 million and renamed it Aquent Marketing Staffing while keeping its operations in Chicago.[12]
In 2006, Aquent acquired Seattle-based Sakson & Taylor, a content design and development consulting and staffing firm with a significant presence at Microsoft, along with offices in several cities. The Sakson & Taylor brand (with "an Aquent company" appended) was retained for some years, but is no longer used. The former Sakson & Taylor headquarters are now Aquent's Seattle offices.[13]
In 2011, Aquent launched a new division, Vitamin T, which focuses on placing "digital creatives" with marketing departments and advertising agencies for contract assignments.[14]
In 2012, Aquent launched Gymnasium offering free online courses for creative talent.[15]
In November 2022, Aquent announced that its talent and recruiting business and its Vitamin T brand will together become Aquent Talent. [16]
In November 2022, Aquent announced a restructuring.[17] The restructuring positions Aquent LLC as the parent brand of these global work solutions products:
Aquent announced a goal to erase its entire carbon footprint of 35 years. From 2019 to 2021 the company reported a 90% reduction of its carbon footprint.[18]
Aquent launched a diversity recruiting solution for hiring managers called Diversity+. This solution provides diversity recruiting strategies to clients.[19]
Aquent releases a yearly Salary Guide for marketing, creative, and design talent. The 2023 Salary Guide revealed that despite inflation peaking at 9.1% in 2022, salaries across these positions increased by just 1.1%, and gender and ethnicity wage disparities are still prevalent. [20]