Gage Talent & Business Solutions names new CEO amid brand refresh
By Keith Dmochowski | Reading Eagle | June 10, 2025
The business formerly known as Gage Personnel has refreshed its brand identity, expanded its service offerings and appointed a new chief executive officer.
In June, the third-generation owned, 40-year-old firm — now Gage Talent & Business Solutions — turned the page toward a “dynamic new chapter” by promoting Kristi Gage-Linderman to chief executive officer.
Gage-Linderman, formerly chief operations officer, said the company has expanded the scope and flexibility of its staffing solutions. “Even though, yes, we do provide temporary services, that word (temporary) is not what our purpose is,” Gage-Linderman said. “Our purpose is to give people careers, connections, help employers find faster, easier results. It’s more than temporary solutions.”
Gage-Linderman noted the company had to adapt its approach to staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic. “During that time it was harder to hire and retain folks, so we came at it from different angles,” Gage-Linderman said.
As a result, Gage developed strategies for fractional recruiting, scaling services to accommodate the size and budget of any business. “Nonprofits all the way up to global employers — if they want us to take on part of their hiring process, we can do that,” Gage-Linderman said. “Or if they want us to take on their entire hiring process, we can do that.”
In practice, fractional recruiting means Gage might perform a portion of the hiring process, such as gathering the right applicants by using algorithms to help manage open job postings.
“Our aggregators (post to) up to 20 different job boards for one (job posting),” Gage-Linderman said. “We like to think our algorithm gets a better return. We’ve had some great feedback from clients.” Services like vetting resumes or conducting interviews can also be performed by Gage or by clients, depending on clients’ budget and hiring preferences.
The company also offers solutions like direct hire talent acquisition services for professional and skilled trades and executive search, which can help employers recruit for permanent positions, Gage-Linderman noted. Gage now works with hundreds of companies at any time and places over 2,000 employees annually.
“We keep evolving, and it’s been organic,” Gage-Linderman noted. “Our expanded website just went live on Friday…I really attribute it to our team that’s just willing to step up and respond to our needs.”
Gage’s expanded reach has enabled it to work with clients outside of Pennsylvania, but keeping local businesses strong is a point of passion for Gage-Linderman.
“We want to see greater Reading thrive,” Gage-Linderman said. “It’s relationships over transactions any day….That’s just how much it means to us.”
Gage-Linderman noted her grandmother, Donna Gage, started the business in 1985, after being laid off from a national staffing firm at age 65.
“She had every opportunity to just say, ‘You know what, I’m going to retire,’” Gage-Linderman noted. “Instead she had that entrepreneurial spirit and jumped right in…She always said she started the business so the family could keep it going.”
Gage-Linderman’s mother, Gwen Gage, was the previous chief executive officer.
“(My mother) is still in it as much as she wants to be,” Gage-Linderman said. “After 40 years in business, she’s kind of unofficially retired, but still very much interested and involved. She comes in for our monthly board meetings.”
Gage-Linderman noted she’s been involved in the firm full-time since 2008.
“I got her nod of approval and pat on the back,” Gage-Linderman said of her mother. “She trusts me and that means the world…It’s been a huge blessing, but I never take it for granted.”
Bill Gage, Gage-Linderman’s father, will continue in his current role as president.
“We joke that my mom is the optimist, I’m the realist and my dad tends to be the pessimist, but we balance each other out pretty well,” Gage-Linderman said with a laugh. “We keep building and keep going. Whether its COVID or who knows what’s next, we’re not going to just sit back.”
