Episode 70: The Veterans Panel: Matt O’Connor, Wanda Hess & Rory Bogdon

by | Jul 13, 2026 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

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I’ve been lucky enough to talk to a lot of impressive people on this podcast, but this one was a little different. These three didn’t just work in background screening. They built the backbone of it, and they’re still at it.

Matt O’Connor, Wanda Hess, and Rory Bogdon have a combined career span that stretches across fax clerks and help wanted ads, through the ChoicePoint and Sterling acquisition waves, into the wholesale world, and all the way to PBSA’s government relations desk. In this episode, the three of them talk about what’s really changed in the industry, what keeps them here after all these years, and the lessons that stuck with them from the beginning.

Pro Conversation You Don’t Want to Miss!

  • Wanda’s 28-year career in a single thread: fax clerk to CEO, including the pivot to sales she almost didn’t take and the gut-call that led her to start Iprotech Screening
  • Matt’s take on the biggest shift in the industry: the flip from human-led research supported by technology to technology-led operations supported by humans
  • Rory’s most practical career lesson: bad news doesn’t age well, and it goes double if it’s your fault
  • Wanda’s argument that AI in background screening needs a human checkpoint, because no two clerks do it the same and court records are full of misspellings that only a person can catch
  • Why all three are still in this industry after 30-plus years: it’s never boring, you never stop learning, and the people are, frankly, some of the best around

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss a conversation. Thanks to our sponsor, PreemploymentDirectory.com, publisher of Background Buzz and numerous other resources. And a special thanks to W. Barry Nixon

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About the Host: Les Rosen

Les Rosen is a seasoned professional in the background screening industry, bringing decades of experience and a wealth of knowledge to each conversation. His engaging interview style ensures that every episode is both informative and entertaining.

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