Melissa Ness

President/CEO

Melissa is passionate about her family, her friends, her work, and her community and believes deeply in servant leadership in all of these areas.  She is passionate about building a business with people who share Compassion, Competence, Community, and a Connection to one another where everyone can be at their best. Melissa formed Connectify HR, a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), to serve people and businesses by connecting and simplifying HR culture, compliance, and cost control. As President & CEO, Melissa is responsible for building a team who are “Hungry, Humble and Smart” and creating a culture where everyone is empowered to serve our clients and our community.

Melissa began her career in the PEO industry in 2007 at Merit Resources. Merit Resources was acquired in 2013 by Iowa Network Services (INS), a technology and telecommunications business support provider and, in 2016, INS re-branded the company as Aureon and Aureon HR was its HR business (formerly Merit Resources). After a period of rapid growth and expansion, Aureon HR was acquired by Oasis Outsourcing in 2018.  During her time with Aureon HR / Merit Resources Melissa served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and, ultimately, President. After Oasis Outsourcing was acquired by Paychex in late 2018, Melissa was appointed GM / Director, PEO Central Region, with responsibility for all PEO clients in 18 states in the Midwest including 4 operation centers. Melissa re-joined Aureon in 2020 as its Chief Financial Officer prior to forming Connectify HR in June 2021.

Melissa was born and raised in Iowa. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Iowa State University. Melissa is married with two children. They enjoy reading, camping, and spending time together.