Letting go of status quo
Lutra was founded on a shared belief in a better approach to recruitment.
A belief that pressure and persuasion don’t belong in the process. That the goal of a talent partner is to leverage business and tech savvy to provide perspective that demystifies decisions. To empower both parties with the insights needed to foster the discovery of mutual alignment. That listening, not selling, is how you bring together a dynamic team capable of solving the problem.
We witnessed this ethos build enduring, successful teams in varied settings and created a model to support it. A model that rewards transparency, curiosity, ethics, and long-term collaboration; putting the success and growth of both clients and candidates first.
Underlying insights
Prior to Lutra, we were each fortunate enough to spend over a decade supporting technology ventures as both internal talent leaders and external headhunters. We built relationships with thousands of talented people across the English-speaking world, connecting people and facilitating the conversations that brought businesses and careers to life.
Along the way, we came to understand:
The tightest constraint technology ventures face is the time and attention of the people capable of executing the plan
While compensation matters, people aren’t coin-operated; over time they will gravitate toward work that’s aligned with their values and inspired colleagues to work with
We find the most fulfillment and do our best work supporting teams tackling big-picture problems affecting the lives of real people and businesses
Conscientious capitalism
We believe that the innovation economy is our most potent and practical ally in the pursuit of a more sustainable, resilient, and socially equitable world. That the positives and possibilities unlocked by entrepreneurs far outweigh the downside risks.
We acknowledge the challenges of the present day. Absent the efforts of dedicated teams, we will be ill-equipped to confront the challenges to our collective and ecological longevity. Time is a non-renewable resource and the clock is ticking.
Lutra’s vision is succinct: provide a talent edge to the innovators creating tomorrow’s possibilities and the teams mindful of our duty of care to future generations.
We hope to leave the world a little better than we found it, one search at a time.
The Lutra Raft
Alex Stobe, Partner
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Alex Stobe came into recruiting somewhat serendipitously. An early entrepreneurial run in eCommerce lit a curiosity that brought him to business school at Toronto Metropolitan University. While studying, a solution presented itself and Alex began volunteering at the Digital Media Zone, the school’s (at the time) fledgling technology accelerator. This experience cemented an intuition that his calling was to help build businesses; the more nascent, the better.
Alex cut his teeth in boutique staffing agencies under the tutelage of seasoned founders and collected 12 years of experience before setting out on his own entrepreneurial journey as the founder of Nicetech Recruiting. During this entire time Alex has been committed to connecting growing teams with talented people capable of impact. He has helped scale technical teams in services and product, and filled executive and leadership roles in marketing, sales, finance, operations and engineering.
Building high-functioning teams is what Alex does, and he brings his deep network with him wherever he goes.
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Jackson Mullins, Partner
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Jackson has over a decade of experience as an external service provider and an internal talent leader. He first encountered the field on a co-op placement while earning his degree in psychology from the University of Waterloo, and most recently helped scale an Enterprise SaaS venture from pre-revenue to an 8-figure revenue run-rate.
Jackson has expertise in headhunting, technical recruitment, executive search, recruitment process optimization, cross-functional collaboration, employer branding, recruiting operations, and campus recruiting.
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Kevin Seemangal, Partner
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Kevin Seemangal has built a career at the intersection of technology and talent. With over 7 years of full-cycle recruitment experience as an internal and external partner, he has been instrumental in scaling engineering teams for rapid-growth tech startups across North America, Europe, and Latin America. His deep expertise in sourcing top technical talent, across various engineering niches including Data Science, DevOps, AI and Growth, has enabled him to play a pivotal role in driving business success for high-stakes, fast-paced environments. Kevin’s strategic approach, bolstered by advanced search techniques and a data-driven recruitment process, has consistently reduced time-to-hire and improved candidate engagement. Whether collaborating with hiring managers or mentoring recruitment teams, Kevin’s passion lies in building high-functioning, high-impact technical teams.
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Brook L’Otter, Future Lutraite
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Brook L’Otter is the hypothetical persona of the next team member to join the Lutra raft. A talent partner you ought to have, they care deeply about applying quality tradecraft to recruitment. Coming from a background that exposed them to both internal and external talent practices, they have experience hiring for a breadth of roles crucial to the development of ambitious teams. They understand that urgency does not warrant or necessitate pressure, and have a keen technical acumen that is constantly evolving. Could Brook L’Otter be you?
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Lutra - Lu·tra ˈlü‧trə
The Latin word for otters.
Creatures known for their agility, use of tools, and social behaviours.
Hiring is easy if you’re indifferent to the outcome
We approach each client engagement with a fiduciary mindset, careful not to miss the forest for the trees.
We operate with an unwavering commitment to transparency and collaboration with our clients that is only limited by our candidates’ right to confidentiality and the number of hours in the day.
We don't put people in seats, we put enduring teams in place.