KLA recruiter Gary Boisen strikes a martial arts pose
Gary Boisen is a singular kind of guy; a top recruiter at Ken Leiner Associates (KLA) with the spunk of a champion. When he first walked through KLA’s doors in 2004, he knew nothing about the recruiting profession. After teaching high school he rode the booming technology sales wave for 25 years, simultaneously excelling in various martial arts disciplines and earning three black belts. It was during a search for another sales job that Gary met with Ken Leiner and Frank Munero. Instead of placing him with one of their clients, Ken and Frank were impressed enough to make Gary an offer to join KLA as a recruiter… and the rest is history.
“Gary’s tough,” says KLA’s president, Ken Leiner. “He has a heavy work ethic. He’s a go-getter. He doesn’t hesitate for a minute to make a call, and he’s great on follow-up. After all these years, I thought he might want to slow down by now, but no, he’s revving it up even more and ready to do it again in 2025!”
Gary’s first year with KLA wasn’t easy, but our resident gladiator craves a good challenge. He tripled his earnings in year two and by year three was doing very well. “There were times I felt like giving up. When Ken went out for his cancer treatment, I was left alone to either fail or succeed. Frank became my only backstop. Then things really started to gel and I was happy,” Gary recalled. “I excel at finding new candidates. That’s the part of the business I like the most – the hunt and the payoff. On the personal side I like being left alone with minimal structure to do my own thing.”
Gary has always credited KLA’s team members as one of the most important aspects of the job. “Working together on placements and supporting each other with different perspectives makes us all the more successful.” He has built a particularly strong bond with our colleague, Stuart Neuwelt, working heavily with him as their own mini-team within KLA.
On his “down” time, Gary still enjoys a good Thai Kickboxing workout, although after 40 years in the martial arts, it can take a toll. “I am slowly transitioning to the more internal arts of China, Tai Chi and Baqua. I practice and teach a particular flavor of Filipino Kali, Pekiti Tirsia Kali, which embodies Sword, Knife and empty-hand, and I’m developing my own brand of the art based on my experiences.”
Gary, congratulations to 20 years and still going strong! Thanks so much for the hard work you’ve done for the company, our clients and our candidates. We’re excited to see what you’ll be bringing to the table at KLA in the coming years!
Contact Gary at gary@ITsearch.com • (301) 933-8800 x 128 • Home office: (301) 916-1497 • Follow him on LinkedIn.
More about Gary Boisen:
Read Gary’s bio and what his clients say about him:
Read Gary’s 10th annniversary blog post: The Drive to Arrive: Gary Boisen Hits 10 Years At KLA