Leading global talent partner, Phaidon International, is proud to share its latest major milestone: expanding into a new larger office in Los Angeles to keep up with the demand for business-critical talent in California and the wider West Coast.
Following incredible success since the companyโs first LA office opened in September 2020, the new 32,000 square-foot office in Playa Vista will continue to support the growth of all six of Phaidon Internationalโs specialist talent brands, and provide exciting career opportunities for both local graduates and current employees across the globe.
Phaidon Internationalโs people are the heart of its business, so in this article we share how some of our key contributors to the LA officeโs success feel seeing the business go from strength to strength, as well as their plans for future growth.
Celebrating milestones, expanding horizons
The new office is just the start of Phaidon Internationalโs plans for expansion in LA. The company plans to more than double its current number of employees over the next few years to further support local businesses with their hiring needs and provide unparalleled career opportunities for professionals in the area.
Dylan Pany, Managing Director, Head of Los Angeles and West Coast Region at Phaidon International, sums up the companyโs achievements in LA so far:
โI am excited to see Phaidon International continue its investment on the West Coast to support clients and highly skilled talent candidates, as we have already enabled thousands of successful careers. Iโm extremely proud of what our LA team has achieved, especially those who took a chance joining the team in an office that was only a few hundred square feet.
โThis office is a massive milestone for them and Iโm excited to provide them with a space that will further allow them to develop their careers here at Phaidon International.โ
Life across the pond โ seizing global mobility opportunities
Luke Newton, Managing Director โ Contractor/Contingent Labor USA, transferred from London to California in 2015, and has played a leading role in supporting Phaidon Internationalโs expansion on the West Coast. His sense of achievement in seeing how the LA office has developed is evident:
โAfter 8 years on the West Coast, launching the offices in both San Francisco and LA and working in more starter offices than I care to remember, it brings me immense pride and joy to see the hard work everyone has put in culminate in this next milestone โ our first โproperโ office in California. We now have a home that we can really grow from and do something special with.โ
25% of employees take advantage of Phaidon Internationalโs global mobility program and Luke is just one example of success, building a new life in the USA thanks to the companyโs relocation opportunities.
โI guess itโs weird to think of myself as an internal transfer, having spent 80% of my career here. I genuinely thought I would be here for a year or two, make some money, have some fun and then go back! Now I have a wife, child, and a home. The global mobility program makes traveling and seeing the world a lot more straightforward. I thought that finding work abroad would be stressful but that was never an issue, nor was meeting new people, or learning a new skill or job. I told myself I could just move back home to London if it went terribly, which made it easy to take a one-way flight out!โ
Phaidon International specializes in sourcing business-critical contractors alongside permanent positions, and Luke is spearheading this area of the business for the new LA office. He shares his hopes and goals for this exciting new period:
โHopefully we can emulate what the LA Perm team has done and attract some fantastic internal candidates, who want to make their mark on Phaidon International history and grow the team like New York did. Flagship office, California sunโฆ how could you not want to join?!โ
Homegrown talent for global growth
In contrast to Luke, Bella Kaufman is a native Californian, and joined Phaidon International straight after graduating from UCLA at age 22. Despite feeling nervous about stepping into the real world with no prior work experience, Bella has achieved remarkable growth and new-found confidence in her abilities and skills, having been promoted four times over the last two years. She adds:
โPhaidon International has been instrumental in my professional development, providing valuable learning opportunities that have equipped me with invaluable knowledge, and witnessing the tremendous growth of our office first-hand has been a remarkable journey. When I first joined, we were a small team of 12 individuals, and now we have expanded to nearly 70 permanent employees. I am truly excited about the future and the continuous growth and learning that lie ahead in my career here.โ
As a city known for its vibrant business ecosystem and global industry hubs, LA offers exceptional opportunities for both businesses and professional development. Growing up in the area, Bella is in tune with the local markets and a true advocate for the state.
โCalifornia serves as the global headquarters for numerous industry giants, and I have been lucky enough to place candidates at some of these companies here at Phaidon International, but one of the most fulfilling aspects has been observing the progress of my peers who started alongside me. I have had the privilege of seeing them evolve from individual contributors to taking on managerial roles, and some have even ascended to become heads of brands. This upward mobility and the abundant opportunities for professional growth here in LA at Phaidon International have been truly incredible to experience.โ
Building a strong foundation
Sasha Schuster, Vice President Co-Head of DSJ Global West Coast, was the first hire made at the original LA office. She recounts how the business was able to grow so quickly despite launching at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak:
โItโs crazy to think that when I first joined the LA office there were five of us in the smallest work room we could rent during peak COVID. We really had to adapt to the situation while developing ourselves and the company culture โ whether that be team nights on the beach because no restaurants were open, or being trained remotely. Ultimately, that built a really strong foundation for us to build upon and grow our teams.โ
The original teamโs hard work and perseverance paid off; Sasha shares how proud she is seeing the Phaidon International culture being embodied in practice today while growing so rapidly:
โEach new hire has brought something else to the team that we didnโt have before, and we all have each otherโs back. Our work hard, play hard culture means that in the office weโre 100% focused, so weโre also able to go out and enjoy everything California has to offer. Itโs amazing to see how weโve grown from a mini shoe box of a closet to our new office with an ocean view, and Iโm excited to help the business grow even further to become the go-to location for any procurement needs on the West Coast.โ
Phaidon International offers exceptional training opportunities to help young driven graduates fast track their careers. Sasha started as a graduate recruitment consultant herself, but progressed within a few short years and now leads a highly specialized team of end-to-end supply chain consultants. She credits Phaidon International with giving her the training, skills, and opportunities to develop her into the professional she is today.
โOne of the best things about working at Phaidon International is the skillset you develop. Even though I joined in an entry-level position, straight out of the office with no professional experience, I was challenged every day and was given a clear path to develop and grow. Iโm now really confident and able to speak with anyone, and I feel really empowered and know my worth as a woman in business. Iโm still continuously learning every day and being given the opportunity to lead a team has been a huge learning curve, but Iโve received incredible training and support from my manager and brand heads.โ
Achieving success from skyscrapers to sunshine
Garrett Rosen, VP, Head of Legal Recruitment across Tech - West Coast, also stands testament to the career development opportunities here at Phaidon International. He joined the New York office in 2021 but was encouraged to relocate to LA to pursue a new opportunity he uncovered for the business.
โFinding success at Phaidon has opened a lot of doors for me both professionally and personally. I saw an opportunity to join the LA office and build a new vertical within Larson Maddox. I was met with instant encouragement from leadership, and it didn't take long to make the move from our NYC office. The LA team has been extremely welcoming and made the transition as easy as it could be. I often try to remind myself of how lucky I am to have found myself in this situation and I'm working to make the most of it every day.โ
Despite only being in the LA office for 9 months, Garrett says itโs noticeable how fast his team has developed in such a short period, and shares how the new office will further propel his area of the business:
โThe thing that excites me most is it still feels like we are just getting started. The new office is an incredible space that we can proudly use to bring in both clients and candidates. It will serve as a true hub for Phaidon International's business on the West Coast, give us the opportunity to triple our headcount in the next few years, and most importantly it will motivate us to continue to grow. This move validates all the hard work everyone has done so far, but also highlights just how much more this business can continue to grow.โ
If you would like to explore career opportunities at Phaidon Internationalโs LA office, click here to search for roles or submit your resume.
