Ray Antonio Lattimore, the professional people person, is the founder and president of Marketplace Professional Staffing, Inc., a staffing and employment agency headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. He is a respected community leader and a dynamic speaker on entrepreneurship, minority enterprises and wealth creation.
Ray Lattimore was born in Greenville, South Carolina.
Ray’s grandmother formed a deep and lasting impression on Ray during his childhood. He has two brothers and one sister. All siblings were raised in Nicholtown, a modest Greenville neighborhood.
During his early years and through high school, Ray attended public school and played basketball, football, and baseball. After graduating, Ray was the first member of his family to attend college. After securing a basketball scholarship, he attended Spartanburg Methodist College, where he was captain of the basketball team and received an A.A. in liberal arts. He later won a basketball scholarship to attend Southern Wesleyan University, where he earned a B.A. in business administration. Additionally, Ray won a scholarship from Greenville Technical College and thus earned two associate degrees in marketing and computer technology. In 2019, Ray was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Commerce Science from Southern Wesleyan University.
After he completed his educational career, Ray worked as a business systems analyst for the Information Technology department of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Greenville. His 15-year tenure at MetLife included many cutting-edge technology projects and extensive travel as a systems analyst and a member of the company’s national strategic marketing team.
In addition to managing several wide-reaching projects for MetLife, Ray taught computer science as an adjunct professor of Information Technology at Greenville Technical College. During his time at Greenville Tech as a professor, Ray mentored many underprivileged college students to prepare them for the professional workforce. In 1993, Ray started “Marketplace Services,” a small business that prepared citizens of his community for successful entry into the corporate workforce. The company held empowering workshops on interviewing, resume writing, cover letters, dressing for success, and the use of office computer software.
In 1995, Ray Lattimore wrote a momentous business plan that would expand his operations and offer Greenvillians employment opportunities in addition to coaching them. In March of 1996, he became Founder, President and CEO of a new venture – Marketplace Professional Staffing. He paid off his bills, refinanced his home and hired his first two employees, whom he paid out of his own salary from MetLife. For over three years, he worked fourteen-hour days as he led Marketplace during the hours before and after his eight-hour day at MetLife. His long hours and personal sacrifices soon resulted in significant benefits for his fast-growing company and its community.
The Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce and other associations have awarded Marketplace numerous honors for its professional and community achievements. Hundreds of Marketplace associates empower corporate clients with professional talent in areas such as light industrial manufacturing, call centers, clerical, accounting and information technology services. Under Ray Lattimore’s leadership, Marketplace enjoys a client portfolio that is heavy with Fortune 500 and other large companies. Marketplace services enterprises such as Procter & Gamble, Michelin Tires North America, Verizon Wireless, MCI, Hilton Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Embassy Suites and Perrigo, the Greenville City Zoo, the Southern Connector, the Greenville Hospital System, and the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce.
Ray Lattimore also created the Ace Building Maintenance Corporation within a year of founding Marketplace. Ace supplies various corporate and industrial accounts with highly dependable janitorial and maintenance services. An eternal entrepreneur at heart, he also is investigating and pursuing several other business ideas.
As a speaker at various conferences and gatherings, Ray Lattimore is known for sharing practical strategies on how to turn entrepreneurial dreams into successful businesses. He is also renowned for his longstanding commitment to developing his community through decades of extensive volunteer work and philanthropy in South Carolina.
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