Robert A Funk

Early life

Before founding Express Employment Professionals in 1983, Funk was a personnel consultant (1965) and Vice President (1975) at ACME Personnel Services. He is an alum of both Seattle Pacific University and the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). As a boy, Funk was interested in farming, entrepreneurship, and religion, even spending six months studying in a seminary in Scotland.

Career

Funk is the founder of, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Express Employment Professionals, an employment agency company headquartered in Oklahoma City. He owns various enterprises, including sports teams, through his Express subsidiaries and is also a philanthropist who sits on the governing boards of multiple organizations. He served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City.

Patron of the arts

As a hobby, Funk enjoys elk hunting and is a patron of the arts. While on a hunting trip in 1989 at Taylor Ranch in Colorado, Funk met the Montana sculptor Daniel Parker. After Funk discovered that Parker was a wildlife artist, he asked Parker if he had any examples of his work to show him. It just so happened that Parker had an elk bust sculpture called Perfection in his truck and, after showing it to Funk, a sale was consummated on the spot for the sculpture. Parker would meet Funk again at the C. M. Russell Art Show in 1999 and some years later he suggested to Funk that he could design a sculpture of a Clydesdale horse to be given as an award to exemplary employees of Funk's Express Employment Professionals company in Oklahoma City. A deal was struck between the two that resulted in Parker casting a 50-piece edition called Express Ranch Clydesdale. Over time, Funk has added several more Parker sculptures to his collection, including a monumental bronze elk sculpture for the entrance to his ranch.

Funk, who is a major donor to the western town exhibit called "Prosperity Junction" at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, said he hopes that the authentic late 19th century exhibit will help give something back to the community while giving the rest of the country a taste of the American West.

Professional memberships and honors

(Source:)
• International Franchise Association Hall of Fame, 2010
• Oklahoma Affiliated Director of Blue Cross Blue Shield, 2009
• Chairman of the Conference of Chairmen, Federal Reserve Bank System, 2007
• Chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, serving the 10th district, 2006-2007
• International Franchising Association (IFA), board member
• IFA's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2000
• IFA's Educational Foundation, board of trustees
• Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI), board of trustees and charter honoree
• SMEI Hall of Fame, inductee
• National Association of Personnel Services Hall of Fame, inductee
• Blue Cross Blue Shield, board member

Community involvement

(Source:)
• National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, chairman of the board of directors
• Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, member and former chairman
• Oklahoma Youth Expo, former chairman of the board of directors
• Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) board of trustees, member and former chairman
• Business Affairs Committee at OBU, chairman
• President’s Council at OBU, lifetime member
• Business Advisory Council for Oklahoma Christian University of Science and Arts, member
• Oklahoma Independent College Foundation, board member
• Allied Arts Circle Club, member and former co-chairman
• Prix de West Society, member and former chairman of the awards committee
• The University of Edinburgh’s James Clerk Maxwell Patron’s Club, member

Public policy and political polling

Express Employment Professionals also conducts polling on public policy issues and political candidates.