Executive Leadership

Kevin Klinvex – Executive Vice President, Co-Founder

Kevin Klinvex, founding partner, works extensively with organizations that have large-scale staffing needs. His work includes web based hiring, automated testing, applicant tracking and reference/background programs. He co-authored the best selling book, Hiring Great People, and has been interviewed by leading publications, including Human Resource Executive, Business Week, Industry Week, Forbes, Kiplinger’s, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. Kevin is a frequent presenter at conferences and is considered a thought leader in enterprise-wide selection applications.

Millions of candidates have participated in evaluation programs designed by Kevin around the world. He has designed entire staffing approaches for more than 100 greenfield start-ups in five countries. He has worked with both small and large companies in a variety of industries, including health care, telecommunications, manufacturing, chemical, energy, customer service and retail.

Organizations that Kevin has worked with include AT&T, Verizon, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Deere & Company, NCR, Nissan, Siemens, Sony Electronics, Strong Capital Management, Norton Healthcare, Subaru-Isuzu and Toyota. Currently, Kevin is pioneering techniques for conducting remote web based leadership evaluations and is a leader in talent acquisition and talent management strategies.

Kevin received his M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Akron and his B.A. in Psychology from South Eastern University. He is a member of the Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychologists (SIOP), the American Compensation Association (ACA) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Matthew S. O’Connell, Ph.D. - Executive Vice President, Co-Founder

Dr. Matthew O’Connell, co-founder and executive vice president, serves as Director of Technology & Research. He works extensively in designing, evaluating and integrating selection tools into systems to meet the specific needs of Select’s clients. He has been a leading force in pushing selection system accuracy to new levels. Over the past 15 years, he has been a leader in the field of automated and web based selection, and is very active in the field of leadership assessment. He is the co-author of the business best selling book, Hiring Great People.

Over the past 15 years, Matthew has designed selection and assessment systems for more than 200 companies in seven countries. He has worked with clients from a wide range of industries, including AT&T, British Telecom, Goodyear, Merck, GM, GE, John Deere, Medtronic, PPG, Sony, Toyota, and the United Nations.

Matthew is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, and is actively involved in applied research. He is a frequent presenter at professional conferences and is the author or co-author of more than 100 articles or book chapters on selection and assessment, leadership, and work teams in such periodicals as Human Performance, Group and Organization Management, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, and The Journal of Business and Psychology. Matthew is a national Best Paper award winner for the Academy of Management. He is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychologists (SIOP).

Matthew is fluent in Japanese and Spanish, and has lived, worked and studied extensively in both Japan and Mexico. Prior to co-founding Select International, he was a Senior Consultant at Development Dimensions International (DDI). He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Akron and his B.A. in Psychology from Earlham College.

Chris Klinvex - Executive Vice President, Co-founder

Chris Klinvex, founding partner, is responsible for Select International’s International Operations. Chris provides the strategy for successfully taking the company's employee assessment soluhtions around the world. He has spent twenty years providing Human Resources consulting solutions for Multinational Corporations globally, overseeing large-scale international projects with clients such as American Axle & Mfg., British Telecom, Citigroup, Corning, ExxonMobil, Navistar, Sears, Texaco and Weyerhaeuser.

Chris’ experience in working with multinationals includes automated staffing system design and implementation, local labor market analysis, companywide employee retention programs, and managerial and executive assessment and coaching. In addition, Chris’ work in triangulating assessments based on the three P’s (employee Potential-Performance-Perception) has significantly improved Select’s clients ability to accurately identify talent gaps and develop their people where needed. Many of his ideas are the basis for the book he co-authored, Hiring Great People.

Chris often speaks at business conferences in both the U.S. and overseas on issues regarding employee attraction, selection, development, and retention. Chris is fluent in Spanish and spent part of his graduate and undergraduate studies in Europe. Prior to his work with Select International, he worked at Development Dimensions International (DDI). He was responsible for opening the Mexican market for DDI, and for the Latin American sales and marketing activities there. Christopher received his M.A. in International Business Management from Point Park University and His B.A. in Education from Southern Adventist University.