Chairman and CEO
Mr. Bruce is responsible for the architecture and execution of Sirius’ Total Talent Management strategy. Mike is a grateful and patriotic first-generation American who witnessed firsthand the link between economic opportunity and generational stability. As a result, his career has focused on mission-driven solutions that drive national security, social advancement, and personal empowerment. His passion is first and foremost in serving the underserved and ensuring that all voices are represented wherever he has influence.
Mike specializes in expansion-stage opportunities, growing early-stage organizations through team building, capital formation, and corporate development activities. He has run corporations, non-profit associations, and educational institutions, raising over $100M in capital and leading over a dozen acquisitions and divestitures. Mr. Bruce’s companies are consistently ranked within the 100 largest African-American owned firms in the US. He is a proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Mr. Bruce holds a joint MS/MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and did his undergraduate studies at MIT and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. A staunch advocate of "giving back as you grow,” Mr. Bruce is very active in the community and his church. He sits on numerous boards, including Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering, The Choral Arts Society of Washington, and Guyana Outreach! Mike is an avid pickleball player having medaled in several regional tournaments.
Chief Financial Officer
Jim Sylvester has over 30 years of experience working with manufacturing, distribution, and staffing companies. He has management experience in Accounting, Purchasing, Human Resources, Information Systems, Quality Control, Logistics, Engineering, Manufacturing and Regulatory Compliance.
This broad base of experience makes him uniquely qualified to evaluate business operations to assess strengths and weaknesses, develop strategic action plans, and, when required, to lead the selected project teams to execute the strategic action plans.
Mr. Sylvester joined the Sirius team in 2021 as Chief Financial officer responsible for financial reporting, banking relations, funding, and providing financial oversight of business operations.
Mr. Sylvester holds Bachelor of Science and MBA degrees from Youngstown State University. He is also a graduate of the Cornell University Executive Development Program. He is licensed CPA in the State of Ohio and a member of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Society of CPAs.
Chief Revenue Officer
Kym Gunderson is the Chief Revenue Officer of Sirius Staffing, holding a Bachelor's Degree from the University of South Alabama, and SHRM-CP Certification. With 15 years of experience in the staffing industry, Kym has focused primarily on Sales and Client Services, providing talent to sectors such as energy, power, oil and gas, refinery, chemicals, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and shipbuilding.
As an experienced account manager, Kym has a proven track record in the staffing and recruiting industry. She possesses a diverse skill set, including advertising, sales, sales management, Human Resources, Safety, Compliance, Event Management, and Team Building.
Chief People Officer
Kristina Minyard, Chief People Officer at Sirius Staffing, leads the Recruiting, HR, and Onboarding functions, bringing over 18 years of comprehensive expertise in the human resources and recruiting industry. She excels in developing and executing customized recruiting strategies tailored to each client’s unique requirements. With a strong emphasis on data analysis and process optimization, Kristina enhances the quality of hires and boosts employee retention rates.
Kristina's HR expertise extends to employee relations, performance management, benefits administration, and organizational development. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from Athens University. She collaborates closely with HR teams, hiring managers, and executive leadership to implement efficient and effective recruiting and HR processes. Her deep understanding of HR practices ensures that Sirius Staffing provides the right talent for every client.
Chief Marketing Officer
Bert Bruce is an accomplished life sciences executive renowned for a strategic, disciplined approach and a remarkable record in commercialization, commercial development, and operational excellence within the biopharmaceutical industry. With deep expertise in pre-approval commercialization and global launch strategies, Bert has driven growth across rare disease and specialty therapeutic areas—including gene therapy, aTTR-CM, and sickle cell disease.
Over the course of an impactful career, Bert has guided commercial strategy and execution for advanced therapeutic portfolios, steering teams through successful pre-approval phases and orchestrating global product launches. Demonstrating a keen ability to identify and deliver on expansion opportunities, Bert has advanced market entry for established products as well as innovative pipeline assets, resulting in significant commercial success. With a foundation in finance and communications, Bert has equipped organizations with actionable insights, enabling strategic decision-making and scalable growth.
Bert’s leadership is particularly distinguished by a commitment to employee engagement, talent development, and organizational culture. During his tenure guiding the U.S. Rare Disease business, Bert drove extraordinary financial performance, scaling the business from $1B to over $4B with a sustained compound annual growth rate exceeding 30% in both revenue and IBT. This period of transformation was further marked by external recognition as Best in Employee Engagement, highlighting the effectiveness of Bert’s approach to talent and culture.
A notable champion of diversity and inclusion, Bert has chaired the Global Black Community at Pfizer, Inc. and spearheaded the innovation of #RareUnited—a post-integration initiative that elevated an existing cohesive community of pioneers and advanced a culture of belonging, earning national awards and industry accolades for their impact. Bert’s commitment to governance and strategic vision is reflected in extensive experience serving on boards and advisory committees across life sciences.
Bert holds an undergraduate degree from Eastern University (PA) and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Recognized for blending robust financial acumen with an unwavering dedication to organizational and leadership development, Bert is actively sought for mentorship and advisory roles, a need for which he has formed Elevate and Transpose, LLC to address.
He is also focused on innovative start-ups and growth-minded organizations, particularly within biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and digital health, to close health disparities and increase access to all populations on all continents. With a preference for major U.S. cities, the UK, sub-Saharan Africa, and Continental Europe, Bert continues to advance global healthcare through a passion for transformative therapies, operational excellence, and an enduring focus on people and culture.
Senior Advisor
Susan Ward is a strategic management consultant and writer with over 30 years of experience at management, executive, and governance levels in the private, non-profit, and government sectors. She has experience in health care organizations, staffing companies, trade associations, and non-profits at both management and board levels.
Her skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, process optimization, project management, policy and program development, mentoring, and writing/editing. She excels at synthesizing the views of a variety of stakeholders and developing innovative solutions and organizational models.
Ms. Ward joined the Sirius team in 2021 as Senior Advisor.
Ms. Ward holds a Bachelor of Science degree from William and Mary and a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan.
