Vaco acquires Toronto recruitment firm Prodigy Bank

Vaco, a US-based recruiting and consulting firm, has expanded its Canadian footprint with the purchase of Prodigy Bank, a Toronto-based recruitment firm focusing on the technology and financial services sectors.

Founded in 2016, Prodigy Bank provides recruitment services for high-demand roles in digital (e-commerce, interactive media, product and marketing); technology (management, software product development, security); and financial services (finance, risk, and capital markets). 

The firm was #19 on the Canadian Business 2019 Startup 50 ranking of new growth companies, registering 800% revenue growth between 2016 and 2018. Prodigy Bank has also managed to continue its strong growth in 2020 despite the pandemic, with revenue up 188% for the year compared to 2019.

Prodigy has approximately 35 employees across offices in the financial centres of Toronto, New York, and London. The firm’s clients include large companies such as RBC, Air Canada, and Honeywell, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Vaco’s acquisition of Prodigy will expand its presence in Toronto. Vaco currently has Canadian offices in Toronto and Montreal, as well as 38 US offices and two locations in India.

Jerry Bostelman, Vaco co-founder and CEO, said, “The creative spirit and progressive resiliency they’ve shown through these challenging times is one of many reasons we’re proud to fortify our Toronto operations with this extraordinary organization.”

The Nashville-based consulting firm in 2017 acquired Lannick, a Toronto-based recruitment firm focused on accounting, finance, and IT roles. Vaco in 2019 launched a Montreal office, tapping a number of former team members from Randstad Canada to spearhead the Quebec expansion.

“By combining Prodigy Bank's local market expertise with the resources of a global powerhouse such as Vaco, we are strongly positioned to achieve our mutual vision for becoming a market leader in both technology recruiting as well as consulting services," said Peter Rajabian, founder and president of Prodigy Bank, who will serve as managing partner for Vaco in Toronto.

Vaco was founded in 2002 and is a portfolio company of Olympus Partners. The company specializes in executive search, permanent placement, and strategic staffing. Vaco added a management consulting arm with the 2019 acquisition of Washington, DC-based MorganFranklin Consulting.

The firm has more than 1,200 employees and a partner network of more than 5,500 consultants. Vaco has annual revenues of approximately $700 million.