Karen is an avid gardener. She helps people grow their careers, too.
Karen Daniel
With 25 years in the staffing business, Karen Daniel estimates that she has interviewed upwards of 36,000 people for jobs – and learned a few things about human nature along the way.
"People want to contribute," she said. "They want to find a place. And they want to do good work."
Karen got her start in recruiting after returning home from a long backpacking trip through Europe when she was 19, and answered a help-wanted ad for a recruiting firm seeking a receptionist. Soon, she was screening job candidates. Within a few years, she was managing large teams. And when Manpower Inc. needed a proven leader to open up its first office in New Zealand, they sent Karen. In just three years, she built the business from one employee to 47, with five offices generating $30 million in annual revenue.
After running her own executive recruiting firm for a dozen years, she joined ROI Communication in 2010 to help it continue growing. "I loved the fact that it was an award-winning, woman-owned company with such a friendly but high-performance culture," she said. "And it’s just four minutes away from home."
When she’s not recruiting, Karen can be found cultivating her extraordinary garden in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Among other fruits and vegetables, she grows carrots, peas, broccoli, tomatoes, beans, squash, arugula, lettuce, apples, peaches, apricots, pears, figs, oranges, lemons and limes – oh, and beautiful flowers, too.