THE BEGINNING
Adia SA is founded in 1957 by Henri Lavanchy in Lausanne, Switzerland and rapidly expands into new
territories.
Ecco is founded in Lyon, France by Philippe Foriel-Destezet in 1964.
GOING
INTERNATIONAL
Adia expands overseas and begins a phase of acquisitions, tripling in size and gaining a presence in
more than a dozen countries.
EXPANSION
CONTINUES
Adia continues worldwide expansion whilst Ecco focuses on its home market to become France’s market
leader.
Temporary staffing becomes the world’s third-fastest growing industry.
TAKING THE LEAD
With sales tipping $1 billion, Adia becomes the European leader in the people solutions field.
JOINING FORCES
In 1996 Adia and Ecco - two of the world’s top three personnel services firms - merge to form
Adecco, placing around 250,000 people in work every day.
CROSSING THE
ATLANTIC
Adecco acquires Olsten Staffing of New York and becomes the No. 1 recruitment company in the US with
revenues of €11.6 billion.
WORLD LEADER
With the acquisition of the MPS Group, the Adecco Group becomes the world leader in professional
staffing.
CONSOLIDATION
With an increasing demand for professional and expert services, Adecco consolidates its businesses
under three dedicated global divisions to deliver our services.
BEYOND STAFFING
The Adecco Group acquires Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions, Canada’s market leader in career
transition, talent and leadership development and combines this with the Adecco Group subsidiary Lee
Hecht Harrison, the global leader in career transition and talent mobility.
MAKING THE FUTURE WORK FOR EVERYONE
Staying true it’s global purpose, the Adecco Group ecosystem continues to diversify via the
acquisition of General Assembly - The leading global source for training and up/reskilling in
high-demand fields like data-science, technology, design, and business.