Draft:Questco

Questco was founded in 1989 to serve small and mid-sized businesses under the professional employer organization (PEO) co-employment model.

In January 2014, Acacia Partners, an Austin, Texas-based lower-middle-market private equity firm, acquired Questco.^[3] In May 2016, Acacia exited its investment when Questco was acquired by Parallel49 Equity, a private equity firm then making its first disclosed platform investment following a rebranding of Tricor Pacific Capital’s fifth fund.^[4][5] Metronome Partners served as Questco’s financial advisor on the transaction.

In October 2018, Questco was designated a Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO) by the Internal Revenue Service.^[6]

In July 2024, LightBay Capital announced a strategic investment in Questco, acquiring the company from Parallel49 Equity.^[7]

Jason Randall served as Chief Executive Officer of Questco from 2018 to 2026. Prior to joining Questco, Randall held senior roles at Insperity (Managing Director, Middle Market Business Development) and earlier in his career at Goldman Sachs, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte & Touche, and Maritz Holdings. He also served as CEO of Freedom Holdings, an e-commerce company. Randall holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a B.S. from the University of Missouri.^[8]

In February 2026, Questco announced a leadership transition appointing Olivier Kohler as Chief Executive Officer and naming Jason Randall as Chief Growth Officer responsible for sales and merger and acquisitions strategy.^[9] Kohler had previously served as Executive Chair of Questco.

Olivier Kohler joined Questco as Executive Chair before assuming the CEO role in 2026.^[10] Prior to Questco, Kohler served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at TriNet (NYSE: TNET), a publicly traded PEO, where he was responsible for client experience across more than 16,000 clients and more than 300,000 worksite employees.^[11] Before TriNet, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, and prior to that as Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Vice President at Cisco Systems, where he led the company’s Global Business Services unit. Earlier in his career, Kohler spent nearly 28 years at Hewlett-Packard in senior sales, operations, and finance roles across the United States and Europe, rising to Global Head and General Manager of Enterprise and Strategic Alliances. He holds degrees in Accounting & Computer Science and Business Management from École Supérieure de Commerce in Switzerland.

The company also announced executive appointments to strengthen finance and product leadership.^[12]

Questco operates from its headquarters in the Houston metropolitan area and maintains regional service centers in Nebraska, South Carolina, Arizona, Maine, and Colorado. The company reports serving more than 35,000 worksite employees (WSEs).^[2]

Questco has completed multiple acquisitions, including:

• 2016 — Profit Advantage (Omaha, Nebraska)
• 2019 — National Payroll Services (Phoenix, Arizona)
• 2021 — Employers Resource of Colorado (Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Denver, Colorado)
• 2022 — Total Human Resources (Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina; Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina)
• 2023 — Staffing and Payroll, Inc. (Canton and Tyler, Texas)
• 2024 — Combined Management, Inc. (Lewiston and Augusta, Maine)

The company has described M&A as a cornerstone of its growth strategy, targeting an addition of approximately USD 5 million in EBITDA per year through acquisitions. Target companies typically carry between USD 1 million and USD 5 million of EBITDA and are described as profitable, growing businesses. Questco has expressed interest in acquiring smaller PEO platforms as well as adjacent businesses including payroll bureaus, HR technology companies, and HR services platforms. The company has characterized payroll bureaus as particularly attractive, noting there are hundreds of such businesses across the country. Questco prefers to acquire in markets with active small business activity, particularly in the Southwest and Southeast United States, and states that the majority of its deals have been sourced through proprietary channels. Legal counsel on transactions has included DLA Piper and Kirkland & Ellis.^[2]

Questco serves clients across industries including manufacturing, professional services, financial services, healthcare, veterinary practices, technology, oil and gas services, hospitality, and franchise organizations.

The company competes with large publicly traded HR outsourcing and PEO providers including ADP, Paychex, TriNet, and Insperity, as well as private equity-backed competitors including G&A Partners and Engage PEO.^[2] Questco has described the PEO market as growing due to increasing demand from small and mid-sized businesses for assistance with HR compliance, risk mitigation, cost control, and employee experience management, with complexity further increased by the expansion of remote work and the proliferation of state-specific employment laws.^[2]

Questco has been backed by three successive private equity sponsors. Acacia Partners, an Austin, Texas-based lower-middle-market investment firm, acquired Questco in January 2014.^[13] Acacia exited its investment in May 2016 when Parallel49 Equity acquired the company.^[14][15] Parallel49 Equity, originally the fifth fund of Vancouver-based Tricor Pacific Capital operating under a new name, held Questco until July 2024, when LightBay Capital acquired the company.^[16][17]

Questco received ClearlyRated’s “Best of HR Services” award in 2020^[18] and continued to receive the recognition through 2026, earning ClearlyRated’s Diamond Award for five consecutive years of recognition.^[19]

The Houston Business Journal named Questco among Houston’s Best Places to Work in both 2020 and 2021.^[20][21]

In August 2023, Questco was featured in PEO Insider, the official publication of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), covering the company’s growth from a Texas-based PEO to a national organization with worksite employees in all 50 states.^[22]

Jason Randall, who served as Questco CEO from 2018 to 2026, authored Beyond the Superhero: Executive Leadership for the Rest of Us, published by ForbesBooks in 2021.^[23] Following publication, Randall was cited in Global Trade Magazine on the subject of servant leadership.^[24] Randall also hosted Up in Your Business with Jason Randall, a ForbesBooks Audio podcast that ran from 2021 to 2022.^[25]