KENT BURNS

FOUNDER & CEO

Kent Burns is the Founder and CEO of Simply Driven, a recruiting firm at the forefront of Workforce Optimization 2.0—a strategic response to the internal workforce breakdowns that traditional staffing models fail to address. These include slow hiring, process dysfunction, weak retention infrastructure, and a misalignment between business needs and talent decisions.

Simply Driven partners with manufacturing and industrial companies to improve hiring speed, precision, and execution—because in a world shaped by digital transformation, workforce strategy is no longer an HR function. It’s a survival function.

Key performance metrics:

  • 4:1 Interview-to-Hire Ratio
  • 10-day average to deliver the winning candidate
  • 95% offer acceptance rate
  • 99%+ retention at 12 months
  • 34% of placements promoted within 24 months
  • 41% of placements are diverse hires

    Simply Driven has grown over 300% in the past five years and is a Top 10 Producing Office within the 180+ firm Sanford Rose Associates network. The firm was named one of Indiana’s Best Places to Work by the Indiana Chamber in both 2023 and 2024.

    A former Big Four CPA and corporate CFO, Burns has spent more than two decades delivering high-impact talent to organizations nationwide. His unique combination of financial expertise and recruiting acumen positions him as one of the few search leaders who deeply understands the connection between talent, systems, and business performance.

    He is the author of What’s Your Why? and The Why Guide to Your First Job – College Edition, and has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, CFO Magazine, HR Magazine, The Journal of Accountancy, among others.

    Today, Burns is working in partnership with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Manufacturers Association, and select business leaders across the state to lead a bold, employer-driven movement to transform how companies approach workforce planning, hiring, and operational readiness.

4to1

INTERVIEW
TO HIRE RATIO

10day

AVERAGE TO DELIVER
WINNING CANDIDATE

(RETAINED SEARCHES)

99+%

PLACEMENT RETENTION
12 MONTHS AFTER HIRE

41%

OF PLACEMENTS HAVE
BEEN DIVERSE HIRES

31%

OF PLACEMENTS PROMOTED
WITHIN 24 MONTHS

  • Cate Bray
    Practice Lead

    Cate Bray leads the Human Resources Practice at Simply Driven.  In 2023, she was ranked #22 in total production within the Sanford Rose Associates Network, which comprises over 180 recruiting firms worldwide.

    Her HR recruiting team fills role across the human resources spectrum from Talent Acquisition to CHRO.

    Prior to Simply Driven, Cate was a top performer with two of the largest recruiting firms in the United States.

  • Garrett Butcher
    Practice Lead & Managing Partner

    Garrett Butcher leads the Automation, Robotics & Engineering Practice at Simple Driven. He is one of America’s leading recruiting experts in this space and his performance ranks him nationally among the Top 9 recruiting firms in the United States. A former elite athlete, he played on both Butler University’s NCAA Final Four Men’s Basketball teams.

4to1

INTERVIEW
TO HIRE RATIO

10days

AVERAGE TO DELIVER
WINNING CANDIDATE

(RETAINED SEARCHES)

99+%

PLACEMENT RETENTION
12 MONTHS AFTER HIRE

41%

OF PLACEMENTS HAVE
BEEN DIVERSE HIRES

31%

OF PLACEMENTS
PROMOTED WITHIN
24 MONTHS

A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Talent acquisition doesn’t focus on “why” first; it focuses on “what” and “how” – and all parties are guilty: employers, employees, job candidates and search firms.  Not us.  We start with “why”.  And by doing that, we improve lives.

Human capital is an economic variable.  How do you attract and acquire great talent when both marketplace noise and marketplace skepticism are at all-time highs?  We start with “why”.

Attracting great talent starts with the message and the messenger.  We deliver your message – your story – better than your competitor delivers theirs.  Great talent doesn’t need you; they have no shortage of opportunity.  We get through to the people you can’t, because we know how to identify, engage and gently awaken in them curiosity about your opportunity.  And, we start with “why”.

Success depends more on those you don’t hire than those you do. Bad hires are toxic, creating fissures in your enterprise that fracture over time.  Bad hires result in cascading, painful consequences that impact short-term performance and long-term outcomes.  We are experts in discernment; specially attuned to avoiding the wrong hire – it rarely happens on our watch.  Because we know the “why”.

I’ve spent thousands of hours perfecting our process. Corporate internal recruiting teams rarely demonstrate such proficiency. We act as an agent, brokering the angst-ridden space of the job change. Further, we evaluate candidate fitness every step of the way, including formal psychometric assessment for clients desiring that additional step of talent review.

We are valued as an essential ally organizations looking to separate themselves from their competitors. NFL owners don’t travel to college games to watch recruits; they depend on seasoned scouts to assess and recommend the best prospects. We act in much the same way; experts in the field making detailed and exhaustive assessments of a skilled pool of players.

Don’t settle. Insist on people with integrity, drive, mental and social acuity, and verifiable histories of outstanding achievement. Our thesis is that we are better than you at doing this. If we are right about that, can you really afford to continue business as usual?

At Simply Driven, we improve lives.
Because people matter And talent wins®.

At Simply Driven,
we improve lives.
Because people matter.
And talent wins.

Regards,
Kent Burns