Christine C. Durst
Co-Founder & CEO

Christine Durst, 40, and founder of the Virtual Assistance industry, is co-founder and CEO of Staffcentrix, LLC.

Prior to founding Staffcentrix, Chris was the CEO of one of the Internet's most successful Virtual Assistant practices, with clients drawn from the first wave of businesses in North America and Australia migrating to the Web. Her experience also includes independent management consulting in the Boston region, advising such Fortune 100 companies as Data General Corp., Kraft Foods, and 3M. 

Chris has consulted extensively on corporate training programs, and has advised and mentored hundreds of successful eEntrepreneurs internationally. At ease among more conventional corporate leaders, Chris has also negotiated strong relationships with such companies and organizations as Microsoft, Ernst & Young, and the United Nations Development Programme. 

As an international authority on Virtual Outsourcing, Chris has appeared often in the media, including Forbes, Business Week, Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, the Singapore Straits Times, and the London Times.

Chris has been honored for her entrepreneurial leadership by Ernst & Young (nominated for  Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2000) and Working Woman Magazine, and is a past honoree of Chase Bank’s select "Working Woman of the Month."

Leading Staffcentrix’ New England office, Chris is a member of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), The Association of Job Search Trainers, and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Venture Forum.

Michael D. Haaren, Esq.
Co-Founder & COO

Michael Haaren, 54, is co-founder and COO of Staffcentrix, LLC.

An Army veteran and the great-grandson of the Fifteenth Commandant of the Marine Corps,  Michael comes from a distinctively military family. His mother was a USMC Captain, his grandfather a career USMC recruiting officer, his brother a Vietnam and Gulf War veteran (USN), and his son served in the Navy’s Submarine Service. His father served during WW II (USAAC), and his great-uncle, Marine Capt. Edward Fuller, was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in WW I for action at Belleau Wood. 

Appearing often in the media as an expert on Virtual Outsourcing, Michael leads Staffcentrix’ “Military Spouse Virtual Assistant” (MSVA) initiatives. 

A former Wall Street attorney, Michael was the CEO of Catalytik, Inc., a management consulting firm based in Northern Virginia's Internet Corridor, before founding Staffcentrix. Working with some of the region's most gifted entrepreneurs, he guided a number of successful teams in venture funding, team- and boardbuilding, and international marketing initiatives. 

Michael's international experience also includes extended residences in Milan and Bangkok, as well as a seven-year stint in Paris, where he consulted on management issues to such French corporations as Dassault Aviation and Credit Lyonnais, and lectured at the University of Paris.

A nominee for Ernst & Young's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2001, Michael graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University and earned his JD at the University of Virginia. He is a member of the New York Bar and a Life Member of Disabled American Veterans.