SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 14, 2025--
California based employment service firm Nelson Connects today announced that Jeff Phelps, Chief Executive Officer, will step down from his role, effective November 30, 2025 due to health reasons.
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Jeff Phelps has been an integral part of the Nelson Family of Companies for over 23 years, serving in numerous leadership roles and making a lasting impact on the organization and the Contingent Workforce Management Industry. Since 2023, Jeff has led Nelson Connects as CEO, continuing a legacy of innovation and service excellence.
Throughout his career with the Nelson Family of Companies, Jeff held key positions including Co-Founder & CEO of iWorkGlobal and Nelson Compliance, President of WorkforceLogic, President & Chief Operating Officer of ABE Services, and several Senior Vice President roles in the staffing business units. His greatest achievements include building successful teams, expanding business operations, and maintaining service excellence as a core value.
Through an unwavering dedication to people, process, and performance, Jeff has left a lasting mark on the organization’s growth and success.
In a statement, Jeff Phelps said, “Leading Nelson Connects has been one of the greatest honors of my career. I am deeply proud of what our team has built together and the positive impact we’ve had on so many lives and careers. I am confident that the company’s legacy of care, connection, and excellence will continue to thrive in the capable hands of Craig Nelson and the leadership team. I thank Craig for his leadership, compassion, understanding and friendship.”
The Board of Directors has announced that Craig S. Nelson, current Chairman of the Board, will assume the additional role of Chief Executive Officer, effective December 1, 2025. This decision ensures continuity and stability as the company moves forward. Craig brings extensive experience and a deep understanding of the organization’s vision and values. Over the course of his career with the Nelson Family of Companies, Craig has served as General Counsel, Executive Vice President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chaiman of the Board. His leadership has been instrumental in guiding strategic growth, fostering innovation, and maintaining the company’s commitment to service excellence and community connection. This breadth of experience positions him to lead the organization into its next chapter.
Nelson Connects expresses its deepest gratitude to Jeff for his vision, dedication, and extraordinary contributions.
Nelson Connects: Connecting Jobs, People, and Communities
For over 50 years, Nelson Connects has delivered tailored staffing solutions to employers in diverse industries across California and beyond. As one of the largest independent staffing firms in the U.S., we work with local, emerging, midsize, and leading global organizations to create innovative solutions for any hiring challenge. By consistently investing in the communities where we work, live, and play, we further our goal of creating diverse and equitable workplaces for all. We’re proud to be the staffing partner of choice for employers ready to build strong teams for today and tomorrow. At Nelson Connects, our purpose is your success.
Craig Nelson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with more bombing Wednesday if it doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz after a report that an agreement is emerging to end war.
Trump posted on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart. But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump said.
Trump said it was “perhaps a big assumption” that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the United States.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
China's foreign minister on Wednesday called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Iran war, in comments that could inject new energy into stalled efforts to end the two-month conflict between the United States and Iran.
Wang Yi said his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict. He spoke after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the U.S. and Israel started Feb. 28.
China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The Chinese minister’s comments followed an earlier statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he was pausing his short-lived U.S. effort to guide stranded commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz in hopes that a deal could be finalized. A shaky ceasefire has been largely holding, despite exchanges of fire during the U.S. push to reopen the strait on Monday.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait, a vital waterway through which major oil and gas supplies, fertilizer and other petroleum products passed before the war, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers like China.
The spot price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell to around $100 per barrel Wednesday, easing significantly from big price jumps earlier in the week. The prices are still well above the roughly $70 a barrel that crude was selling for before the war began.
Araghchi's visit to China comes ahead of a planned visit by Trump to Beijing for a high-profile summit May 14-15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trip would be Trump’s first to China during his second term and the first by a U.S. president since Trump visited in 2017.
“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, and that it is particularly important to remain committed to dialogue and negotiations,” Wang said, according to a video of the meeting.
The Chinese foreign minister said the conflict “has already lasted for more than two months. It has not only caused serious losses to the Iranian people, but also had a severe impact on regional and global peace. China is deeply distressed by this.”
In a televised interview with Iran’s state media from Beijing, Araghchi said his visit included discussions of the Strait of Hormuz as well as Iran's nuclear program and sanctions imposed on Tehran.
Iran has attained “an elevated international standing” after the war, having proven its capabilities and strength, Araghchi said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that Beijing would reiterate the need for Iran to release its chokehold on the strait, which would deny its main leverage as Trump demands a major rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Rubio said during a White House briefing Tuesday. “And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing has made clear that the relevant sides must act “with prudence” and resolve the conflict through dialogue in order to restore peace. He added that China has been actively promoting peace talks and will continue to do so.
In a statement published on the ministry's website about Wang's meeting with Araghchi, the foreign ministry said China values Iran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons while affirming its “legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”
Hundreds of merchant ships remain bottled up in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. said it had opened a safe shipping lane Monday and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships in the strait. Only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the U.S.-guarded route.
But Trump announced he was pausing the effort, dubbed Project Freedom, to see whether an agreement with Tehran on ending the war could be reached.
In a social media post Tuesday, Trump said the move was based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”
Pakistan has been mediating between the U.S. and Iran, and had hosted peace talks between the two sides.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for what he described as a timely announcement of a pause in the effort to guide ships out of the strait.
In a post on X, Sharif said Trump’s response to requests from Pakistan and other countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, would help advance regional peace, stability and reconciliation.
“Pakistan remains firmly committed to supporting all efforts that promote restraint and a peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy,” Sharif said. “We are very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond.”
Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, talks to his Iranian Counterpart Abbas Araghchi, left, during the bilateral meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by the Telegram channel of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing, China, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Minister via AP)
