— ABOUT THE RECRUITER
Built on a decade
of SaaS hiring.
Founded by John Kennedy, The Recruiter is Ireland's specialist GTM & SaaS recruitment agency. Trusted by founders, talent leaders, and investors across EMEA and North America.
INSTRUCTURE
◆
CONDUKTOR
◆
HUMAANS
◆
NOLOCO
◆
SHOPBOX
◆
STORA
◆
JUST-EAT
◆
INSTRUCTURE ◆ CONDUKTOR ◆ HUMAANS ◆ NOLOCO ◆ SHOPBOX ◆ STORA ◆ JUST-EAT ◆
— THE FOUNDER
A decade of
GTM hiring.
The Recruiter was founded by John Kennedy — a Dublin native whose career path took him from tech sales in Ireland to enterprise recruitment in Melbourne and Sydney, before returning home to build Ireland's specialist GTM recruitment agency.
John started his career in tech sales at Dell in Dublin, before relocating to Australia where he joined Robert Walters in Melbourne as a recruitment consultant specialising in IT sales. It was there he first developed the skills that would define The Recruiter — market mapping, candidate assessment, and building relationships with commercial leaders across the technology sector.
He went on to spend nearly three years at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Australia — first as an Account Manager covering the Victorian public sector, then as an Enterprise Territory Manager in New South Wales, selling into education, media, healthcare, and financial services. Managing a full sales cycle, leading a virtual team of specialists, and navigating complex enterprise deals gave John a first-hand understanding of what great GTM talent actually looks like in practice.
Returning to Ireland, John joined LinkedIn's Sales Solutions team as an Account Executive — partnering with companies across the UK and Ireland to build digital selling strategies using LinkedIn's enterprise tools. Working inside one of the world's most recognised commercial organisations gave him direct exposure to how high-performing GTM teams are built, developed, and retained.
That combination — commercial experience across three countries, recruitment expertise built at a specialist agency, and an intimate knowledge of how companies like LinkedIn and HPE hire — is what makes The Recruiter genuinely different. Most recruiters understand hiring. John understands GTM from the inside. He knows what a VP of Sales at Series A actually needs to deliver, what makes a great enterprise AE, and why the wrong RevOps hire at the wrong stage can set a company back 12 months. That's not something you learn from reading a job spec.
The Recruiter was incorporated in 2020 as TechR Ltd, operating under Employment Agency Licence EA 4551 issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in Ireland. From the outset, the model has been built around depth over volume — fewer clients, more embedded relationships, and a genuine commitment to the long-term success of every hire.
Today, The Recruiter works with VC-backed SaaS and tech companies from Pre-Seed through Series C across Ireland, the UK, and wider EMEA — delivering GTM hires that make an immediate commercial impact.
◈Employment Agency Licence EA 4551 · Dept. of Enterprise, Trade & Employment
◈Registered company 675330 · TechR Ltd trading as The Recruiter
◈Background: LinkedIn · Hewlett Packard Enterprise
◈Coverage: Ireland · UK · EMEA · North America
— OUR STORY
How we got here.
2012–2014 — Tech sales, Dublin John starts his career in tech sales at Dell in Dublin — managing accounts, building pipeline, and learning the commercial fundamentals that underpin everything The Recruiter does today.
2015–2016 — Recruitment, Melbourne John joins Robert Walters in Melbourne as a recruitment consultant specialising in IT sales — developing market mapping, candidate assessment, and client relationship skills across the Australian technology sector.
2019–2020 — LinkedIn Sales Solutions, Dublin Returns to Ireland as an Account Executive at LinkedIn — partnering with UK and Ireland companies to build digital selling strategies.
2020 — TechR Ltd The Recruiter launches is incorporated. The Recruiter launches as a specialist GTM recruitment agency, built exclusively for SaaS and tech companies across Ireland and EMEA. The focus from day one: fewer clients, deeper relationships, better outcomes.
2021 — Embedded from day one Early partnerships with VC-backed SaaS companies including Humaans, Conduktor, and Noloco. The embedded recruitment model proves its value for fast-scaling founders who need a recruiter operating inside their business — not just processing briefs from the outside.
2023 — EMEA and North America The practice expands to support portfolio companies hiring across the UK, Nordics, DACH, and North American markets. 100+ GTM hires placed.
2025 — Three proven models. One focus. Recruitment as a Service, Embedded Recruitment, and Contingent Search serve Pre-Seed through Series C companies. Trusted by founders, talent leaders, and investors across EMEA and North America. 200+ GTM hires placed.
— CLIENT RESULTS
What founders
actually say.
★★★★★"
I've had the pleasure of working with John in both Ireland and previously in Australia. He's done a tremendous job, understanding my organisation's needs and finding strong, qualified candidates to help us fill our sales vacancies. I highly recommend John if you're looking for SaaS sales talent.
Jay Fabian
VP Sales · SaaS
★★★★★"
We worked with John to find a Head of Growth for Noloco. This wasn't an easy task — we needed someone experienced, willing to work at a smaller startup, and who could get into the weeds of growth and marketing. Our new Head of Growth is making a huge impact, and they wouldn't be on the team without John.
Darragh Mc Kay
Founder & CEO · Noloco
★★★★★"
John is a great business partner in hiring for the tech industry, both on strategic and operational aspects. His extensive experience as a recruiter brings a lot of added value by supporting in sharpening hiring needs and constantly adapting to the evolution and scale of the business.
Kataryna Urbanik
HR Director · SaaS
Hiring?
Looking for GTM
talent?
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