President and CEO

Art Lucas is President and Chief Executive Officer of Lucas Group, a respected leader in professional recruiting. He founded the company and has directed its phenomenal growth to establish Lucas Group as one of the nation's largest recruitment firms.

Founded in 1970, Lucas Group is retained by Fortune 1000 corporations, as well as regional and entrepreneurial companies to recruit professionals for a wide variety of management positions.

Prior to founding the company, Lucas served as an officer in the U.S. Army, stationed in Fort Benning, Ga. He received an advanced degree in International Business from the American Graduate School of International Management and completed the Carnegie Foundation's Management Development Program. He also holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of Kansas. He is a former board member and past President of the Georgia Association of Personnel Services and founder and Chairman of Lucas Group's Dream Builders youth summer placement program. He has been quoted in numerous publications and included in the best-selling business book "Getting Promoted: Real Strategies for Advancing Your Career."

Controller

David Balke is Controller for Lucas Group. Balke manages financial reporting, general ledger accounting, accounting controls and policies and supervision of the accounting department's employees.

Balke has more than 18 years of accounting experience. Prior to joining Lucas Group, he worked with Triad Packaging, Inc., as Chief Financial Officer, where he managed planning, finance, accounting, operations, quality control and ISO 9000 compliance.

He received his BSBA from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Human Resources Director

Kelly Stewart joined the Lucas Group in September 2007 where she serves as the Human Resources Director at the Corporate Headquarters located in Atlanta, Georgia. Her responsibilities include providing strategic HR leadership, oversight of the development and implementation of human resources policies, programs and services including retention, legal compliance, employee benefits, employee relations, employment practices and procedures, compensation, training, corporate recruiting and performance management for more than 425 employees nationwide.

Stewart joined the Lucas Group after serving as Manager, Human Resources of EMS Technologies, Inc., a leading innovator in the design and manufacture of wireless, satellite and defense solutions.

Prior to joining the Lucas Group, Stewart amassed more than 15 years of human resources management in both the government and business sectors.

Stewart received her Master’s degree from Georgia Tech, Bachelor’s degree from Brenau University and Associate’s degree from Gainesville College. She is also an alumnus of the Georgia 100® program.

Director of IT and Telecom

Peter Yund is the Director of IT & Telecom and has been with Lucas Group for ten years.

Peter oversees planning and operations for the company's information systems and telecommunications platform. His department helps recruiters leverage technology so they can service their clients and candidates in a 24x7 world. He implemented the Citrix remote access platform that extends recruiting software tools to any Internet connection around the world.

Prior to joining Lucas Group, Peter co-founded Atlanta Technical Support, a technical staffing firm, where he was instrumental in establishing desktop technology solutions for recruiters. He has a Bachelors degree in Physics/Mechanical Engineering and a Masters Degree from Georgia Tech.