MEET BILL MANESS: NAPEO’S 2025-2026 BOARD CHAIR

Bill Maness is the founder and CEO of Syndeo, the only Wichita, Kansas-based PEO. He’s been an active member of NAPEO since joining the industry nearly three decades ago. This October he takes the reins as chair of NAPEO’s board of directors. He recently spoke with PEO Insider ® to share a bit about his background and vision for NAPEO.

PEO Insider®: How did you first encounter the PEO Industry? What were your impressions?

Bill Maness: I was in the radio advertising business, and radio stations were going through a massive wave of mergers and acquisitions which is kind of an interesting parallel to PEOs today. I found that I could not hold my future in my hands, and it scared me that my destiny was being determined by someone else. I didn’t like that, so I put the word out I was interested in doing something different.

Another radio rep said her husband in the staffing business was looking for a sales person for a new concept they wanted to roll out. I met with him, and he introduced me to PEO which was like a foreign language to me at the time. But once he started talking about what a PEO did, I remember thinking “why wouldn’t every business use this?”

I realized that the world is our oyster, since I had a local small business client base and no one else was selling PEO in Wichita. After about a year the company was acquired by another firm, and I remained with that firm for about three years before starting my own PEO in 2002.

PI: What attracted you to the PEO industry?

BM: I was attracted to the idea I could help small businesses do what they do better and take all the administrative burden off their plates. Having been an entrepreneur, I had experienced this myself and knew I didn’t like it.

Creating a business from scratch is really, really hard. I had been through that experience, so starting a PEO was more comfortable because I just had to build my own business with the existing industry infrastructure. I was the only shop in town, so bringing a new concept to a new market was an attractive opportunity.

PI: How do you think the industry will evolve over the next few years?

BM: I think that we have graduated from being product driven to now being service and technology driven PEOs. The next evolution of the business model is about embracing AI and also mastering the regulations that come around AI. These regulations will constantly evolve and we, as employers, must be at the forefront.

The consolidation of the industry over the last five years will mirror what I saw in the radio business and the banking business 25 years ago. Eventually, what spawns off all the mergers is a community of people looking for a small, local business. A whole industry of community banks emerged after all the large banks acquired one another. Customers sought community-oriented businesses and wanted a choice to get a big box player or a local business.

We’re seeing new PEOs form with leaders who are on their second or third PEOs. I see a wave of small, local-focused PEOs cropping up on the horizon. It’s good for the industry because it holds everyone accountable by increasing competition. It also helps our market share grow.

Instead of having to begin each conversation with ‘what is a PEO’, the conversation now begins with “well I want this, but better or different.” More choices mean more market share for all of us.

I’m not adverse to competition. A rising tide lifts all boats. I’d love to see PEOs entering underserved markets. No matter how you chose to deliver your products or services, the business model is so good everyone will benefit from having more PEOs and more representation.

PI: Why did you initially join NAPEO and seek to get involved?

BM: My first day on the job in PEO was attending the NAPEO conference in San Francisco. I had a sales training meeting and spent the entire time learning about PEOs and meeting other members in the industry. I was surprised that everyone was helpful and collaborative. I thought I just needed to get to know everyone and then ask questions. It’s human nature to want to help someone. Everyone involved in this industry wants to help each other learn and grow. It’s never failed me, and it’s why I’ve stayed involved with NAPEO. I’ve always had a long list of people I could turn to for help.

PI: How do you see your role as Chair?

BM: I see the chair as the leader of the NAPEO agenda and the chief cheerleader of getting everyone involved in our cause. We have many new ways to get involved like NextGen and WIN. I want to help these programs grow and raise the expectations of how they can help further our industry. I want to put NAPEO Gives Back on steroids to get everyone to see how they can give back in their own communities. I want to encourage that even more. Lastly, I want to raise our game when it comes to political influence in Washington and in the states. This includes growing and expanding our PAC.

I’m not introducing anything new. One of my biggest strengthens is taking something that already works and making it better. It’s what I’ve done with my business and what I hope to do with NAPEO.

I see my leadership as driving everything to go bigger, better and faster. I want to encourage excellence in everything we do and raise the bar.

Greg Marshall, a former Wichita State basketball coach, once said, “sometimes in the pursuit of perfection you have to settle for excellence.”

It’s the pursuit of perfection that will makes us better. Let’s not just settle for what is.

PI: What is your main priority or goal for the upcoming year?

BM: My two main priorities are to continue the good work of past chairs to develop the next generation of NAPEO leadership and to solve the issue of consolidation and its effect on NAPEO’s revenue. It’s an issue we need to solve. I plan on convening everyone together to examine the issue and seeking input from everyone. It’s going to require a lot of participation, but at the end of the day we need to deal with it.

PI: Outside of PEOs what are your interests/passions/hobbies?

BM: When I got involved with NAPEO leadership, I was in several other organizations, but now I’m at a point where I have time to support only one organization and that’s NAPEO.

I’m also an avid golfer with only two goals left: making a hole-in-one and shooting my age. That’s really my passion outside of work. I also love the challenge and social aspect of playing poker, and recently I’ve taken up furniture making like picnic tables, nightstands, and bedframes.