Satarah Recruitment
- Client Name: Esther Greenwood
- Sector: General
- Inception: 24 May 2011
- Isotope Partnership: Traditional
Success Story
IRD Recruitment was founded by Chris Donoghue after 6 years of working across the driving & logistics market. Cutting his teeth in such a tricky & unrelenting market meant that if he was able to navigate through those first few years of hardship, he would have the foundations & skillset to become a real success in the industry. After working for some large corporations & some smaller ones, he finally felt ready to launch his own agency. It’s funny when you look at the catalysts that surround successful recruiters who decide to launch their own agencies – for Chris it was his penultimate role that really solidified for him that if he wanted to truly feel autonomous, proud & financially secure in what he did, the only solution was to launch his own agency. This is his story.
Client Name: Christopher Donoghue
Company Name: IRD Recruitment
Sector: Driving & Logistics
Inception: May 2025
Isotope Partnership: Traditional
Looking Back
The journey to startup success that Chris took is a journey so similar to so many of the recruiters that we are lucky enough to work with. We talk a lot about catalysts when considering the idea of launching an agency & for Chris, it really was his penultimate role in employment that made him feel ready, capable & confident to do it for himself.
Ready because of the exposure that he had to have to the inner workings of a temp heavy driving & logistics agency, working for his previous employer.
Capable because of the freedom he was granted in that role, not only looking after the recruitment but having to wear the other hats that come with operating in this space. He was a recruiter, an accountant, a compliance officer, a candidate liaison & more.
Confident because he’d been given a platform (whether purposefully or not) to run a business within a business & it was that exposure that made he ask the question – well if I’m doing all of this for someone else, what would stop me from doing this for himself?
It’s a realisation that so many of our clients get to at some stage or another & it was at that stage that the conversations between Isotope & Chris first started. Isotope had spoken sporadically to Chris over the years about starting his own agency but the timing never quite aligned for him. We knew the driving & logistic space very well – having been fortunate enough to work with a number across the space before – & therefore when Chris reached back out to start talking seriously about idea, we were excited to explore the option with him.
Chris is one of the most humble recruiters you’ll meet. The level of success he’s had within his business in such a short amount of time could make you think that Chris would have let it go to his head but we suppose that’s what makes him the kind of business owner that will always be successful.
Support Areas
We have been so lucky over the years to work with so many agencies across the transport and logistics markets & while all require a slightly different approach, a slightly different manner – we understand the foundations that are required to support a business like this. Adding that personal touch is, well, the fun bit!… With that in mind, here are just some of the areas of support Isotope are lucky enough to work with IRD Recruitment across:
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Business Card
Letterhead
Email Signature
Social Banners
Website
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Good to Know
We don’t have inter-Isotope client boxing matches (yet) but if we did, we reckon you’d be hard pushed to find someone who could topple Chris. If he’s not recruiting drivers, you’ll find him sparing with his boxing partners at the gym or in the ring in yet another fight where you can only but feel sorry for the individual standing opposite him. All we can say is, we’re glad we’re in the IRD corner!
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Commentary
Chris & I had sporadically spoken for years about the idea of starting his own agency. He knew clients that we’d supported & I’d tried to speak a lot to him about maybe considering the idea. It was a long time until the time felt right for Chirs to consider the idea but once we started speaking seriously about the idea, it was clear that Chris would be a great success. A great guy, a humble individual & a very capable recruiter.
Max Jones - Director, Isotope Capital