Level Professional Services is a minority-owned business enterprise based in Memphis, TN and Detroit, MI
Team LEVEL
Manuel Rodriguez
Manuel "Rod" Rodriguez currently serves as President/Owner of LEVEL. As a Memphis resident, Rod has spent over a decade in the management, operations, logistics and training arenas focused on delivering professional services to clients around the country with staffing needs. Rod couples his years of private industry staffing experience with an additional 34 years of service leading in the United States Navy, where he retired as U.S. Pacific Fleet Master Chief, the most Senior Enlisted Master Chief Petty Officer in the Pacific Fleet. He was ultimately responsible for the development and assignments of 239,000 service members to include manning, training, maintenance and logistical support for 6 nuclear powered aircraft carriers, 112 surface ships, 88 submarines and 2,000 aircraft. Prior to his tour as a Fleet Master Chief, he served in a variety of enlisted leadership positions in the U.S. Pacific Fleet based out of San Diego, CA. Rod is a native of Detroit, Michigan.
Ines Palacios
Ines Palacios currently serves as Senior Vice President/Owner of LEVEL. Ines emigrated from San Andres Island, Colombia to Florida in 1995 and has resided in Memphis for the last 15 years. She has spent those 15 years working in the staffing industry, where she has developed her expertise in management, operations, logistics and training focused on delivering professional services to clients around the country seeking temporary staffing needs. Ines also serves as Operations Manager for Staff Line and is fluent in both Spanish and English.
Trevor B. Benitone
Trevor B. Benitone leads business development for LEVEL while also working with clients throughout the country for the Memphis-based HR and employee solutions company, Adams Keegan. Benitone retired from the USAF as a Lieutenant Colonel, with his last assignment being Commandant of the USAF Special Operations School (USAFSOS) in Hurlburt Field, FL. In that capacity, he directed the education and language programs for 19,000 personnel assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command. Prior to commanding USAFSOS, he served as a Chief of Safety at Hurlburt Field and an aviation advisor to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in addition to conducting a fellowship on Capitol Hill with Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. He has over 2,500 flight hours, predominately in the MC-130H Combat Talon II, and is an experienced USAF and joint staff officer with numerous tours throughout the special operation community focused on aviation operations, safety, training, program and budget solutions, and public policy. Trevor is a native of Memphis with a B.S. from the USAF Academy and M.A. from the University of Alabama. He has an Active Top Secret Clearance and FAA Commercial Pilot Rating.
LEVEL Advisors
Jon K. Thompson
Jon is the owner of Columbine Holdings. He has served as a Director for the Company since 1997 and is a member of the Compensation and Executive Committees. He was formerly the President of Taylor Machinery Company. He is a Director for Econotech, Inc. as well as a Director for the National Defense University Foundation and The Memphis Airport Authority. Mr. Thompson is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and holds a Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas.
James F. Keegan, Jr.
Jay is President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Adams Keegan, a Memphis-based HR and employee solutions company. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Sales. He was appointed to a four-year term on the Employee Leasing Advisory Board by the governor of Tennessee, and is a director of The James Group, LLC and Staff Line. Jay's civic involvement includes membership in St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's Memphis Club, Director of the Navy League of Memphis, and Leadership Memphis class of 2006. Jay holds a B.A. degree from the University of Colorado and an M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
James F. Keegan
James is a private investor and has been involved in a number of mezzanine and mid-stage financing of young companies over the last 20 years. Currently, he is serving on the Board of Directors of Adams Keegan, Inc. He was a co-founder of Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. and served as President and COO until his retirement in 1985. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of NASDAQ, Inc. Mr. Keegan served as a Director of AutoZone, Inc. from 1991 through 2004. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Memphis Incubator System, Inc. (Emerge Memphis), The Regional Medical Center at Memphis Foundation, and on the Advisory Board of Wunderlich Securities, Inc. Mr. Keegan holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The United States Military Academy, West Point, NY.