Leadership
The philosophy stayed. The tools changed.
Emerald’s origin is Joe Sullivan, and the firm Chris Sullivan started in 2019 after Joe retired. Founder-led means the owner stays on the search.
Joe Sullivan built International Market Recruiters after a career in financial markets and years of learning the recruiting business firsthand. He was Chris Sullivan’s hero, mentor, business partner, and best friend.
Chris studied finance, worked in Wall Street operations, and learned early that a large corporate environment was not where he wanted to spend his career. He later joined his father in recruiting. Joe did not want Chris to inherit a platform and wonder whether the success belonged to him. When Joe retired, Chris started Emerald in 2019 and had to build the firm on his own shoulders.
The early years were not a straight line. There was momentum, there were setbacks, and there was COVID. The business then accelerated. Chris later lost Joe, who had become both his closest friend and his business partner. Emerald today is the principles Joe taught — specialization, intensity, honesty, and humanity — with a broader front-office reach and technology Joe would not have imagined.
Old-school principles. Modern tools built for financial markets.
What Joe passed down
- Be human with clients, candidates, and the people you manage.
- Polished, honest advice earns more respect than telling people what they want to hear.
- Specialization matters because the recruiter should understand the work, not merely recognize the vocabulary.
- A placement can change compensation, family economics, quality of life, and the path of a career. It is not only a title.
- Motivation is rarely just money. Listen long enough to find the real reason.
- Intensity is useful. Flying office supplies are not. Emerald keeps the first and retires the second.
The team
Chris studied finance and worked in Wall Street operations before joining his father, Joe Sullivan, at International Market Recruiters. He started Emerald in 2019, when Joe retired, and built the firm on his own shoulders.
Starting with Emerald in 2019, Nancy has been an integral member of the firm's success. She brings extensive recruiting experience from both the agency side and corporate, having led teams at ADP and Walmart.
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Whether you're hiring or exploring your next move, the people above are the ones who do the work.