FROM CUBA TO CORPORATE SUCCESS: A FATHER-SON JOURNEY IN THE PEO INDUSTRY

In 1961, at the young age of 12, Carlos Saladrigas Sr. arrived in the United States with little more than hope and determination. Escaping communist Cuba via Operation Pedro Pan, an underground network that brought over 14,000 unaccompanied children to the U.S., he began an inspirational journey that would one day shape an entire industry.

“I came alone,” Carlos Sr. recalls, “and a year later, my parents were able to join me. We reunited in Miami and tried to resume life in this new homeland.”

Carlos Sr. was able to attend the same Jesuit high school in Miami he had attended in Cuba. The school had been reestablished in south Florida after Cuban revolution leaders expelled the priests from the country. A stark reminder of the devastating situation unfolding in Cuba.

But just as their lives were beginning to stabilize, tragedy struck. His mother was diagnosed with cancer. As the only child, Carlos Sr. dropped out of high school to support the family. He took a job as an office boy for a major Miami real estate developer, working by day and attending night school to finish high school. On weekends, he taught catechism at a local church.

“That’s where I met the girl who would become my wife,” he says warmly.

By 1967, after his mother’s passing, Carlos Sr. had married Olga Maria—he was 19, she was 17—and set his sights on a career in accounting. He earned a degree from the University of Miami, became a CPA, and moved to Jacksonville to begin working at a major accounting firm.

The Story Behind the Spreadsheets

His work in public accounting opened his eyes to the stories behind the spreadsheets.

“Financial statements are more than just numbers—they tell the story of the business,” Carlos Sr. explains.

That insight led him to consider and seek a career beyond accounting and into management and entrepreneurship, a decision that would ultimately lead him into the PEO industry.

To reach this goal, Carlos Sr. enrolled in Harvard Business School and earned his MBA. Today, if you look at his successful business career, it might seem obvious that Carlos Sr. would have attended a prestigious school to earn a business degree. Yet, to think that he fled his native country alone at only 12 years old, left high school to care for his family and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard is truly inspiring. It’s a testament to his strength, resilience and determination to succeed.

His time at Harvard was followed by two years in consulting and public accounting, and then by eight years at PepsiCo. It was there, while working in Mexico, that he and colleague Pepe Sanchez began discussing the idea of starting their own business venture. An article in Newsweek about the emerging PEO industry caught his attention.

“I saw potential in outsourcing the HR function at small and mid-sized businesses,” he says.

The two poured their savings into a business plan, and in 1984, they founded Vincam.

Building Vincam—One Client at a Time

The early days were anything but easy.

“There was little competition, and that made it harder, not easier,” Carlos Sr. says. “Our sales efforts had to be missionary sales where you had to ‘convert’ the client to convince them the business needed this service before we could sell it to them.”

Since it took a while to generate cash flow, Carlos Sr. and Pepe launched other ventures along the way like a pizza startup, a pet HMO and a managed behavioral health organization (MBHO). By 1990, the PEO business began to take off and gain real traction. Vincam went public in 1996 and, merged with ADP in 2000 in a landmark deal that positioned their CFO—whom Carlos had championed—as the eventual CEO of ADP.

A New Generation, A New Venture

After Vincam, Carlos Sr. retired—but not for long. In 2008, his son Carlos Jr. was approached by a former Vincam colleague and close friend with the idea of launching a new PEO.

“We didn’t plan on it,” Carlos Jr. admits. “But after discussing it with my father, we decided to go for it.”

At the time, Carlos Jr. was running The Simplex Group, a company designed as a one-stop solution for trucking companies and truck drivers for safety services, DOT compliance, road tax filings, insurance and more.

But the idea of starting a new PEO was too intriguing of an idea to pass up, so Carlos Sr. and Carlos Jr. (along with a few other business partners) launched Regis HR Group, blending deep industry knowledge with a new vision of culture-driven growth.

Yet despite their deep experience, starting a PEO in 2008 compared to starting Vincam in 1984 was a different experience entirely.

“The industry was more mature, and NAPEO was well established, and the market understood the value of the service,” Carlos Jr. explains. “The challenge wasn’t to convince them they needed a PEO—it was to convince them why they needed us.”

Culture as a Competitive Advantage

At Regis, culture isn’t a buzzword—it’s a business strategy.

“We’re a true family,” Carlos Jr. says proudly. “When someone joins, our internal chat blows up with ‘Welcome to the Regis family!’ messages. That sense of belonging translates into how we treat our clients.”

The results speak for themselves. Regis HR boasts a client retention rate consistently in the high 90s.

“That doesn’t happen unless your team cares—truly cares—about each other and your clients,” he emphasizes.

Growth with Purpose

Since its founding, Regis has grown steadily, adapting to changes while remaining grounded in its core values.

“Businesses either evolve or they don’t survive,” says Carlos Jr. “We’ve grown and evolved, but we’ve never lost sight of what we believe in: treating each other with respect and providing exceptional service to our clients.

Giving back to their communities is an equally important part of their business identity. Carlos Jr. serves on the board of the South Florida After-School All Stars, providing programming for at-risk middle schoolers.

“We give to about 50 different organizations every year,” he notes. “We know how blessed we are and we know how important it is to give back and never forget those who are less fortunate.”

Legacy and Leadership

The Saladrigas name is well known in the PEO industry for good reason. Carlos Sr. was part of the industry pioneer class that forged the industry with little established processes, support or guidance. He and others like him were guided by a simple mission to help small businesses grow and thrive.

The people they have helped—the lives they’ve changed—are the most important part of the family’s legacy.

And now, with Regis thriving and Carlos Jr. at the helm, the Saladrigas story continues—rooted in resilience, driven by service and always looking forward.

“I’m truly honored to carry on my father’s legacy,” Carlos Jr. says, “It’s a privilege that I take seriously to pay respect to the scarifies he made to improve the lives of so many others.”