Jim Stone, an experienced locum tenens agency executive with more than two decades of industry experience, announced last month on LinkedIn that he had accepted a position as Executive Advisor with Odyssey Staffing.
See his announcement here. Stone’s storied career took flight in 1995 as a business developer with Merritt, Hawkins, & Associates, now AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions. After five years with AMN, his entrepreneurial spirit inspired him to strike out independently and create The Medicus Firm, where he dedicated 18 years as president and board member.
Under his leadership, Medicus grew to more than 100 employees, establishing itself as a top healthcare staffing firm for physicians and advanced practice providers.
During his tenure with The Medicus Firm, Stone worked as an associate at healthcare consultancy r3 Health Partners, where he played a pivotal role in expanding the company to more than 80 employees before leading it through an acquisition by Vitalize Consulting Solutions in 2009.
“At Medicus, I learned early on that while leaders should take their responsibilities to clients and candidates seriously, they shouldn’t take themselves too seriously,” Stone explained. “That’s when people start believing they’re why a company is great. My greatest accomplishment has always been attracting and retaining great talent and enabling them to perform at their best.”
“At Medicus, I learned early on that while leaders should take their responsibilities to clients and candidates seriously, they shouldn't take themselves too seriously. My greatest accomplishment has always been attracting and retaining great talent and enabling them to perform at their best.”
In 2021, Stone joined Curative Talent, a locum tenens and permanent staffing firm. He served as a board member until 2023 when he was appointed interim president. He held this role for nearly a year before opting not to pursue a full-time leadership position. Instead, he consulted for several staffing companies and shared his expertise in scaling businesses by speaking at industry conferences.
While speaking at the annual NALTO/NAPR convention in 2022, Stone introduced himself to Erick Barnett, CEO and co-founder of Odyssey Staffing. During their conversation, Stone noted how swiftly Barnett had grown his business, particularly with a strong focus on anesthesia staffing.
“I met Erick a little over a year ago and have maintained contact with him,” Stone said. “I’ve been very impressed with Odyssey’s work, including its team, direction, and future plans. They have been very intentional about what they’ve done to grow their business, and they have a strong workplace culture, which is how they treat each other and their clients. I’ve been super impressed with that so far.”
Stone is excited about the opportunity to join forces with Odyssey in this new role and is eager to share what he’s learned with Barnett to help him take his business to the next level.
“Sometimes bringing in an outsider to your business when you’ve already taken all of the risks and had success can be intimidating, or people can be opposed to it,” Stone noted. “In my conversations with Erick, he and I hit it off on a business philosophy level, and I just loved his enthusiasm. He trusted that I had done this several times before and had the experience he could benefit from.”
Recognizing Stone’s stellar reputation in the staffing industry, Barnett acknowledged that Stone had built multiple businesses surpassing Odyssey’s revenue milestones.
“I had a bird’s-eye-view,” Barnett said. “I knew about the leadership at the firm, and while growing Odyssey, I used a lot of that information to build our company’s culture.”
Odyssey’s Journey from Start-Up to Success
Launching his career in 2000 as part-owner of Advanced Med, LLC, Erick Barnett also has more than two decades of experience in locum tenens under his belt. In 2005, Barnett co-founded Odyssey with his wife, Missy, the company’s chief financial officer.
According to Barnett, Odyssey began hitting its stride in 2011. With a healthy locum tenens portfolio in anesthesiology, Odyssey expanded its staffing solutions to include primary care and internal medicine providers.
“In the past 13 years, we have been growing and pushing the envelope,” Barnett said. “Our mission has also been to treat people how we wanted to be treated. We work hard, do the right thing, and treat our clients and clinicians with respect.”
Barnett’s dedication to building strong relationships with clients, clinicians, and in-house employees resonated deeply with Stone.
“When I began evaluating what I wanted to do after Curative, I met with dozens of companies,” Stone recalled. “One of the things I realized was that not all companies value people like I do. The people in this business really do make the difference.”
“When I began evaluating what I wanted to do after Curative, I met with dozens of companies. One of the things I realized was that not all companies value people like I do. The people in this business really do make the difference.”
Stone believed that having the right leadership in place was crucial for driving a company forward, and he was confident Odyssey had those leaders. He saw an opportunity to join the company in an advisory role, contributing to its growth while Barnett continued handling big-picture decisions.
“The beauty of a relationship with an executive advisor is that the advisor has made all the mistakes in the past and can prevent you from making the same ones,” Stone said. “I don’t have all the answers, but I do have quite a few of them.”
Future Growth Plans for Odyssey Staffing
While approximately 90% of Odyssey’s revenue comes from locum anesthesiologists, CRNAs, and internal medicine clinicians, Barnett plans to expand the company into other subspecialties, including gastroenterology, pulmonology, and oncology. With this strategy, Barnett aims to surpass the $60 million mark by 2025. He believes that with Stone’s expertise, Odyssey can solidify its position as a mid-market leader in the locum tenens industry and achieve its next milestone of $100 million in a few more years.
“There’s no playbook for everything we’ve done here, so having an advisor like Jim has made an impact and should help us get from Point A to Point B,” Barnett said. “As an agency without a board of directors, having Jim help us through difficult challenges and decisions will be a tremendous help.”
Stone is excited to join a growing business he truly believes in. Odyssey has all the essential elements to build something extraordinary, he says.
“The thing with Jim is that he’s taken his companies further than we’ve taken Odyssey,” Barnett said. “I wanted to ensure we get to that $60 million mark, and grabbing a Hall-of-Famer like Jim was a wise decision to help us get there.”
“The thing with Jim is that he’s taken his companies further than we’ve taken Odyssey. I wanted to ensure we get to that $60 million mark, and grabbing a Hall-of-Famer like Jim was a wise decision to help us get there.”
