About Us

While attending the University of Missouri-Columbia on a full-ride academic scholarship, FD (the 155 LB Missouri State Wrestling Champion) continued to participate in the sport of wrestling while he earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He joined General Motors after five years of working for them during the summers in an elite Internship Program (INROADS).

With a ‘no excuses’ attitude inherited from his career Military and Journey Electrician father, Fred distinguished himself at GM by rising from an Associate Engineer to an Executive in a five-year time span while simultaneously being the youngest recipient & graduate of the Sloan Fellows Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Armed with his newly acquired MIT Master of Science in Management, his M.B.A. from Lindenwood University, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Fred used his innate ability to build teams and generate enthusiasm to guide his division to a first place JD Power and Associates ranking all while improving the bottom line and obtaining record market share for the Commercial Vans segment.

No matter what General Motors assigned to Fred the task was achieved. In the fifteen years that he reported to GM he rose quickly up the ranks until he had complete responsibility for five Vehicle Lines. He began his career in administration by managing 25 engineers at one plant, moved on to direct the automation of twelve Truck Assembly Plants in North America and finally oversaw the entire engineering, manufacturing, and marketing processes for GM’s Commercial Trucks & Vans, wherein he was accountable for profit and loss, quality and development of new product models.

But Fred’s expertise isn’t limited to the automotive segment. When Fred moved on to Jabil Circuit, the 3rd largest Electronics Manufacturer in the world, as their Global Business Unit Manager, he used his skills to develop new prototypes for the Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines so vital to the international healthcare industry. Then, as President of ESYS Defense, an engineering and manufacturing service company, he created an entire division focused solely on meeting the United States Department of Defense’s needs. He secured work and competed for research and development contracts while building relationships with military and political leaders involved in the process.

From his days playing 1st Team All State middle linebacker for his high school’s State Championship Football Team to his Chairman of the Board of the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce, Fred has been singled out by those who know—he has it, that “X-factor”, that rare combination of intrinsic qualities that inspire others to achieve more than they thought they could; he converts opposition to optimism.  That’s what General Motors saw when they awarded him the Sloan Fellowship, that’s what ESYS saw when they assigned him their entire government and defense division, and that’s what Diversified Staffing Group’s clients see when they turn their problems over to Frederick E. Darris II.