Welcome back to #WeAreGreenKey, where we shine a spotlight on the people behind our powerhouse recruiting team.
In 2022’s first installment of the series, we sat down with Todd Bernard, COO of Green Key Resources. Todd joined the United States Marine Corp at 17. After serving in the Marines, he received his undergrad degree in Accounting & Business Law from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, passed the CPA and went to work in public accounting for one of the Big Six. He later earned his MBA from Wake Forest University. He held several different positions before landing in recruiting.
Todd shared his experience with us, both in and out of recruiting, and his goals for Green Key’s successful future.
How did you get started in the recruiting industry?
After doing some work for a legal consulting firm in North Carolina, my wife and I moved to New York City. I was interviewing with a global staffing & recruitment firm at the time, who had just opened their New York office. A few interviews later, I was hired to be their Finance Director for the U.S. At the time, the US operations were in the nascent stages. So, I had to recruit my own people and build the team with talent from all over the world.
Several years later, I spent a couple of years working at a large, US based staffing firm, and then started my own consulting firm for the staffing industry. Green Key was my largest client. After talking with Andrew and Matt for a few months, I agreed to come on board as the CFO.
What does the work of a COO entail?
It’s everything encompassing the business, such as providing leadership and strategic vision to the organization, operational & managerial compliance, building reporting structures, managing real estate, legal and compliance. Basically, anything that needs to be done to ensure we maximize our potential and make the business as successful as possible.
What sets Green Key apart?
Green Key is different in all the good ways. What I liked from the beginning was that family and family time were important. What I appreciate is that we take into account that people have lives outside of work and life happens. Recruiters and support staff all work hard to drive the business, and we want to normalize their workday as best we can.
What qualities does a good recruiting team have?
They don’t sit back and wait to take orders. They have to aggressively go after candidates and clients. A recruiter has to make sure that they’re the first to hit the ground. It’s not just about being motivated. They also have to be organized and maintain quality relationships.
What are your future goals for Green Key?
When I first got here, Green Key was a smaller company. Now, we are looking toward the future and want to build on our success and maximize our potential, which includes taking advantage of all the opportunities in front of us, while maintaining the unique culture that we all benefit from.
