About Excel Personnel

Founded in 1992 by Karen Watt, Excel Personnel is a full service recruitment firm providing executive search, permanent, contract and temporary staffing services to leading employers throughout British Columbia and Western Canada.

With over 45 years of combined recruiting experience we place qualified, high performance candidates
into exceptional companies in all industries and occupations and at all levels of experience:

Administrative
Finance 
Sales and Marketing
Operations
Certified Trades
Heavy Equipment and Industrial
Engineering
Mining and Exploration
Manufacturing
General Management

Your Excel Team

Karen Watt, CEO
Barbara Ashton, Manager Business Development & Permanent Recruitment
Lisa Mitchell, Temporary Staffing
Persis Tozer, Management Consultant

Karen Watt, CPC
Founder and CEO
Focus: Innovative leadership, superior customer relationships

Dynamic, entrepreneurial and driven to succeed, Karen opened the doors
to Excel Personnel in 1992, launching Kamloops' first independent
employment agency dedicated to providing client companies with qualified
temporary staff. Several years laterKaren expanded to launch Excel's permanent
recruitment division.

A long-time member and former President of the Kamloops Chamber
of Commerce, Karen is devoted to the local business community,
and spearheads Excel's annaul sponsorship of the Business Person
of the Year Award.

Committed to upholding the highest standards in recruitment excellence,
Karen is active on the Board of ACSESS (Association of Canadian Search
Employment and Staffing Services) representing Western Canada.

 

Barbara Ashton
Manager Business Development & Recruitment
Focus: Service, relationships, results.

Prior to joining Excel Barbara held the positions of Director of BC
Sales selling B2B software and services, as well as Online Marketing
and Communications consultant working with diversified BC based 
businesses. 

Energetic, analytical and process driven, Barbara is a natural to focus
on roles essential to corporate success. From international boardrooms
to BC startups, Barbara's experience brings a ‘big picture' recruitment
perspective to companies who create and sell locally and globally. 

Her track record in recruitment spans an impressive 22 years recruiting for
such industry leaders as AT&T, PMC-Sierra and Sun MicroSystems. Working
across Canada and internationally, Barbara is a seasoned  business
development and executive search professional at all levels of staffing
from B2B sales to mining engineering to senior level management.

Barbara is active in the community, has served on industry boards such
as Ethics in Action, Workplace Centre for Spiritual & Ethical Development
and Women in Technology, and has won numerous Awards for consulting excellence.

 

 

 

Lisa Mitchell 
Temporary Staffing 
Focus: Expert team builder, delivery against all odds (no i's left undotted!)

Lisa joined Excel Personnel in 2003 and has been leading Excel's
temporary division for the past six years. End result - extraordinary talent for Excel's client companies located throughout the Thompson Okanagan.

An avid Dragon Boat paddler and coach, Lisa has led and been an essential team member on numerous Dragon Boat championships throughout British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Her spirited team building and keen sense of finding the right person for the right job make her a great asset for both our valued clients and temporary employees alike.

Leading employers throughout the BC Interior count on Lisa to deliver the
right talent, on time and on budget.

Persis Tozer
Business Management Consultant

A consultant to Excel Personnel Inc. since 2000, Persis offers an extensive
background in corporate management, broadcasting and media relations.

As Management Consultant to various Excel clients, Persis develops and
implements policies and procedures that make business' day to day
operations run smoothly.