Former intern rises to CEO at Andover staffing firm Alku
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Most of Alku's executives today, Bull said, started in entry-level positions, just like he did. That's one reason Bull says he appreciates the outside guidance provided by private equity firm New Mountain Capital, which acquired a controlling stake in Alku in 2023.
Eldridge, who picked the name Alku because it means 'start,' a staffing term, in Finnish, will stick around as an advisor to the company he founded in 2008, and will serve as chairman. The timing of the announcement coincided with his 60th birthday.
The business, located in 75,000 square feet at the Brickstone office complex in Andover, specializes in finding people to fill temporary assignments in life sciences and tech; Bull says the agency is considering whether to branch into recruiting for full-time, permanent placements, too.
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The firm's revenue could approach $600 million this year, though the staffing industry as a whole has retrenched since hitting peak levels in 2022. As the sector contracts, Alku is gaining market share: Staffing Industry Analysts recently ranked Alku as the 41st largest based on US revenue, up from 57th the previous year, and behind only one Massachusetts-based agency, Beacon Hill Staffing Group.
Bull is the first intern to become CEO at Alku. But maybe he won't be the last.
'In my new hire orientation, I always say there's probably somebody here who will someday be certainly a vice president, or perhaps a president or CEO,' Bull said. 'I absolutely think that's within the cards. ... That's how the company has been built, from the bottom up.'
Jon Chesto can be reached at
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