Extension, Inc. Announces Leadership Transitions

Extension, Inc., a Milwaukee-based, home-grown staffing firm announces the transition of leadership for three of its team members. Joey Barian steps into the position of CEO, Allison Wevers takes on the role of Director of Human Resources and Jackie Avallone is promoted to the role of Director of Training and Technology. Mazio Barian, former CEO, embraces a new role for Extension, as the Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer.

Since the company’s inception in 2002, Mazio Barian’s passion for people and the staffing industry as a whole has fueled Extension to accumulate several noteworthy awards within the staffing world along with a handful of other non-staffing specific accolades. For nearly two decades, Extension has been working tirelessly to change the lives of thousands of individuals and build top notch teams for clients in the Greater Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin areas and beyond.

Joey Barian commences the role of CEO after 9 years of service at Extension. Joey’s tenure with Extension began in 2011; he started as an intern focusing primarily on the day to day administrative operations. Soon, Joey was working as a full time Recruiter, placing Administrative talent. Joey quickly developed a passion and knack for the industry and within his first year, was recruiting, managing accounts and selling Extension’s services and did so for several years. Joey’s passion and persistence quickly propelled him to take on more responsibility where he took on Lead role within Extension’s Staffing Division. An opportunity presented itself for Joey to help launch Extension’s first branch in Tampa, Florida, and he jumped at the chance! After returning from Tampa, Joey began another new venture by starting Extension’s Engineering Division. Once well established, Joey returned to the Staffing Division where he led the team for a few years, accepting multiple promotions along the way. Now, managing all three divisions that Extension has to offer, he looks forward to the next chapter of Extension, and taking Extension, and its fantastic team, into the future.

Allison Wevers steps into the role of Director of Human Resources after four years with Extension. Allie started with Extension as the Talent Acquisition Leader where her efforts were centered on growing the internal team. Her days were spent searching for the most hungry and driven recruiting and sales talent in the Greater Milwaukee area. Allie quickly started to add value in other areas as well, identifying areas to develop processes and improve the overall day to day operations of the company. She was promoted to the Talent and Operations Leader role where she balanced internal recruiting, internal operations and managing the administrative team. For the last two years, Allie has been serving as the Director of Operations, where she has made it her mission to ensure the day to day operational needs of the company are met, the overall candidate and client experiences are extraordinary, the best of the best recruiting top talent are hired and the front of the house team is managed and supported. As the Director of Human Resources, Allie is to continue leading the administrative team, while taking on the new challenge of supporting the company’s overall HR needs.

Jackie Avallone steps into a new role for Extension as the Director of Training and Technology. Her 8 years of service with Extension began in March of 2012, as a Recruiter focusing primarily on placing Administrative talent. Jackie quickly began managing client accounts and selling Extension’s services, breaking into new accounts and growing them with her impeccable communication skills and hustle. Jackie’s tenacity and natural ability to lead by example found her directing Extension’s Staffing Division where she focused on managing a team of recruiters and helping them grow. Jackie moved out to Denver, Colorado in 2017 where she became Extension’s first remote employee as the Senior Account Executive. She continued to grow several accounts to very high volumes and was a top producer for several years. In May 2019 she moved into a split role, where she maintained her Account Executive duties and added training internal team members to the mix! As the Director of Training, Jackie was tasked with developing, rolling out and creating an internal training program for Extension’s team. In her new role as the Director of Training and Technology, Jackie will be focusing on standardizing processes across the divisions and setting Extension’s employees up for success with intensive, consistent training and continued education with an emphasis on utilizing the tools and technologies. In addition, she will be maintaining communication with Extension’s amazing clients to ensure they are receiving exceptional service from the team.

Amy Westfahl maintains her seat within Extension’s leadership team as the company’s Controller. For over four years, Amy has overseen the company’s financials while managing the internal accounting and payroll team. She will continue to lead with her strong sense of urgency, attention to detail, poise and confidence.

With a well-rounded Leadership Team established and a sharp team of hungry and passionate individuals, Extension embarks on this new chapter with upmost confidence and excitement in the company’s future.