Consulting firm Vaco expands into Montreal
Vaco, a talent and solutions firm headquartered in Nashville, has expanded into the Montreal market. The new office is Vaco’s second in Canada, complementing its previous Toronto outpost.
Founded in 2002 by three Big Four alumni, Vaco delivers placement, search, staffing, and business consulting services to a range of sectors, including technology, financial services, healthcare, and the public sector.
The firm has seen solid growth in the past 18 months, entering six new markets. The company has more than 1000 employees across offices in the US, Canada, and India, and was featured on Forbes’ 2018 and 2019 lists of America’s Best Recruiting Firms.
Vaco, a portfolio company of Olympus Partners, recently acquired MorganFranklin Consulting, a McLean, Virginia-based management consultancy. The transaction added an end-to-end business consulting arm to the recruitment-focused firm, and created a company with combined annual revenues of $740 million.
The company has now expanded its Canadian footprint with a new office in Montreal, which will focus on IT and financial industry recruitment. The office will be led by new managing partner Sean Bartunek, who previously served as managing director for Quebec at recruiting giant Randstad Canada. Joining Bartunek are founding partners Eloi Poudrier, Sebastien Lamarche, and Oliver Moureaux, who also previously worked at Randstad, focusing on IT recruitment.
"We are excited to create what will become the premier IT and financial recruiting agency in Montreal," Bartunek said. "Vaco has a clear history of attracting the best talent and giving them the tools and freedom to be the best they can be.
“Our goal for next year is to double our team to 40 recruiters, allowing us to serve the very best talent in our industry."
Jerry Bostelman, CEO of Vaco, added, “It is thrilling to enter a vibrant, entrepreneurial market like Montreal that values that, and with a team that absolutely exudes it."
Montreal’s economic promotion agency, Montreal International, supported Vaco’s expansion into the city. “Vaco will play a vital role in providing companies a competitive edge for the recruitment of skilled workers both locally and internationally and in fueling the growth of Greater Montreal's innovation hubs with top talent," Hubert Bolduc, president and CEO of Montreal International, said.
