ABOUT US

Meet the Team

At PERSONE NYC, our team is made up of dedicated hospitality recruitment specialists who are passionate about connecting the right talent with the right businesses. With decades of experience in the restaurant, hotel, and hospitality industries, we understand what it takes to build exceptional teams that elevate the guest experience.

James Marcolin

Founder & Active CEO

james@personenyc.com

  • PERSONE is a boutique recruiting agency for Hospitality in NYC. We are the leaders of Recruitment for Small & MediumHospitality Businesses in NYC.

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    "PERSONE" was launched in 2016 as the new, personable and time-saving approach to Front & Back of the House hospitality recruiting in NYC.

    I was born in a small town close to Venice (Italy)into a very traditional Italian family. I have always felt a profound sense of love for people and food.

    My Nonna’s family had a small Venetian bed&breakfast. She started working at a very young age with no opportunity to continue her formal education. She met my Grandpa serving him some fresh made pasta at the Restaurant they owned. It was love at first sight for him. He kept coming back to see her and eventually she fell in love with him too. This story has stayed with me all my life and made an impact on all of my career and life decisions.

    My grandparents taught me, from a very young age that hospitality is all about: love, respect, sacrifice and education. Hospitality was the best life-school for them, and they have transmitted this inner passion into my mind and into my soul.

    One of my Nonna’s best life lessons was:

    You can always help people, whether you have everything or nothing to offer...

    She was right!

    These genuine and passionate values have been born in my blood and I have carried them with me during all of my journey.

    Growing up, I graduated top of my class, earning a Diploma in Hospitality Management (Vicenza/Italy), continuing my education and achieved a BA in Communication and Translation at the prestigious University of Padua (Italy) and then Oxford (UK). Since then I continued my personal studies and work experiences across Europe and North America with time spent in England, France, Spain, Canada and eventually landing in USA, in New York City.

    Hospitality is my life's passion and love!

    While working my way to the top of the ladder of hospitality in NYC, the seed of the idea for "PERSONE" began to sprout when I was a General Manager. I couldn't help but notice that one of the primary problems of the hospitality business in NYC was the waste of time, energy and money during the hiring process. Between managing multiple job postings, filtering spam and sifting through many random emails from unqualified applicants, then only to be followed by disappointing interviews during open calls, I was left feeling disheartened and extremely frustrated by the process while trying to juggle all the other facets of the business as well.

    Unfortunately, due to the difficulty and disproportionate amount of time this process consumed, and as all the other managerial pressures built up, I found myself disconnecting from the human side of the business, which is the heart and soul of any successful hospitality business.

    I would end up thinking every night: "There has to be a better way!".

    I started developing the idea to help New York City hospitality business with the hiring process, incorporating a personal connection between employer and employee from day one! That idea today is a reality: "PERSONE".

    "PERSONE" (/pə’səʊ.ne/) means "people" in Italian.

    After matching hundreds of Job Seekers and Restaurants in NYC, persone become rapidly the only Hospitality Recruiting firm IN NYC WITH 5*****star reviews from his CUSTOMERS & clients.

    "I deeply believe that Hospitality is about People, about Good People” - James M.

    Following his PHILANTHROPY and the importance of being part of local communities and giving back, James is a proud activist for small businesses, equal rights and climate change. he is CURRENTLY an active member and ambassador for ROAR and irc + several organizations and charities as: immigration equality, ny homeless coalition, OCEAN CLEAN-UP, NYC CITY HARVEST, god’s love we deliver & nyic.

A woman smiling and holding a mug, sitting against a white brick wall.

Morgan Sullivan

Director of Recruitment

morgan@personenyc.com

  • Morgan has been working in hospitality since she was able to see over a coat check counter. She grew up working for her parents who own and operate successful, landmark establishments in Saratoga Springs. A natural lover of people, Morgan knew from a young age that she wanted to work with people and be in a service focused role. She continued to work in restaurants and cafes through high school and college where she studied Sociology, continuing her journey of understanding people, culture, and society. 

    After college, Morgan moved to NYC where she found herself working in restaurants again. A natural leader, Morgan quickly moved into management positions in all of her restaurant roles. She worked in restaurants and hotels, continuing to expand her knowledge of the NY hospitality market. Needing a break from the city, Morgan relocated to Vermont and worked for many years as a GM in a restaurant in Vermont, discovering that her true passion was in building strong teams and seeing the development of people along the way.

    Morgan's father taught her from a young age that this is not just the hospitality business, but also the business of making memories. Since joining PERSONE in 2021, Morgan has been able to lean into her favorite part of hospitality: the people. An active listener, Morgan enjoys working with people to find the right opportunity for them and seeing them grow and develop in their new roles.