Geiger Elected 2012 Chairman of the Board of NAPEO

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) recently elected Arthur L. Geiger, president and CEO of Avitus Group, Billings, Montana, chairman of the Board of Directors. Geiger was installed at the association's annual meeting last month in Orlando, Florida.

"My objectives as NAPEO chairman are helping members grow and be profitable, and unifying NAPEO," says Geiger. "Our value as an industry and what each individual PEO can bring to small businesses is significant." Professional employer organizations (PEOs) cost-effectively manage human resources, employee benefits, payroll, and workers' compensation so small and medium-sized business clients can focus on their core competencies to develop and grow their companies.

Geiger has long been recognized for his industry leadership. He is the 2008 recipient of NAPEO's Michaeline A. Doyle Award, the association's highest honor, which recognizes an individual who has provided exemplary leadership and service to association and industry activities and whose philosophy encompasses raising industry standards as well as those of his own company.

Geiger is also the recipient of NAPEO's 2005 Government Affairs Leadership Award, recognizing the significant impact on the PEO industry and NAPEO his government affairs leadership has had. He is noted as having gone above and beyond in his efforts by investing time, building consensus, and implementing new and creative strategies in working with lawmakers in crafting legislation that affects the industry.

Geiger started his PEO in 1996 as Better Business Systems and joined NAPEO the same year. "I wanted to be part of a unified national effort to gain knowledge and promote HR outsourcing as a valid and significant business industry," Geiger says. In 2007, he changed the name to Avitus Group because of how frequently his company was viewed as an office products supplier.

"The word Avitus created a question, not an objection," says Geiger, "and our answer was a story that immediately developed an interest in the inquiring party." His founding philosophy was based on the principles of behavioral psychology in the workplace, and that continues to this day, says Geiger.

Geiger has more than 37 years of business leadership experience. Avitus Group is accredited with the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC), the nationally recognized financial assurance, standard-setting, and monitoring entity for the PEO industry. ESAC's quarterly verification process confirms accredited PEOs continue to meet ESAC's ethical, financial, and operational standards, including an independent CPA's verification of the timely and accurate payment of payroll taxes, employee benefit contributions, and insurance premiums.

Avitus Group is also in full compliance with the Certification Institute's workers' compensation risk management best practices. The PEO WC risk management certification program provides independent professional verification that a PEO's risk management program is meeting proven insurance industry risk management best practices to reduce work-related accidents and health exposures and control WC insurance losses.

Geiger has been involved with NAPEO's Board of Directors, Leadership Councils, committees, and local chapters for more than 11 years. He holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Great Falls, Montana, and has studied at the University of Wisconsin and Notre Dame.

About NAPEO
Formed in 1984, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) is the national trade association for the PEO industry. NAPEO's vision is to represent an industry that is well recognized and widely acknowledged as providing a valuable employer service to the United States business community.

SOURCE National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO)