CERTIFICATION

I, Timothy D. Payne,  President and Chief Executive Officer of MPS Group,  Inc.,
certify that:

     (1)  I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of MPS Group, Inc.;

     (2)  Based on my knowledge,  this annual report does not contain any untrue
          statement  of a  material  fact  or  omit to  state  a  material  fact
          necessary to make the statements  made, in light of the  circumstances
          under which such  statements were made, not misleading with respect to
          the period covered by this annual report;

     (3)  Based on my knowledge,  the financial statements,  and other financial
          information  included in this  annual  report,  fairly  present in all
          material respects the financial  condition,  results of operations and
          cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods  presented in
          this annual report;

     (4)  The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
          establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
          defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant
          and we have:

          (a)  designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
               material information relating to the registrant, including its
               consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within
               those entities, particularly during the period in which this
               annual report is being prepared;

          (b)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
               controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the
               filing date of this annual report (the "Evaluation Date"); and

          (c)  presented  in  this  annual  report  our  conclusions  about  the
               effectiveness of the disclosure  controls and procedures based on
               our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

     (5)  The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based
          on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the
          audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons
          performing the equivalent functions):

          (a)  all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
               internal controls which could adversely affect the registrant's
               ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data
               and have identified for the registrant's auditors any material
               weaknesses in internal controls; and

          (b)  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
               other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
               internal controls; and

          (6)  The registrant's  other certifying  officers and I have indicated
               in this  annual  report  whether  or not there  were  significant
               changes  in  internal  controls  or in other  factors  that could
               significantly  affect internal controls subsequent to the date of
               our most recent evaluation, including any corrective actions with
               regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.


Dated:   March 31, 2003



/s/ Timothy D. Payne
-------------------------------------
Timothy D. Payne
President and Chief Executive Officer


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