Market Intelligence
The US Playbook for Irish Companies
The guide at a glance
The US Playbook for Irish Companies is a practical guide for founders, CEOs, boards and investors planning a move into the United States. Published in August 2026, it combines Phoenix Search placement experience with market data on salaries, taxes, office costs and hiring conditions, verified against primary sources in July 2026.
It is written from the hiring side of US expansion. For nearly a decade Phoenix Search has helped dozens of Irish businesses entering the US, placing over one hundred people across the market, with work concentrated in Atlanta, New York, Miami and Texas.
- $389 billion cumulative Irish foreign direct investment stock in the United States, making Ireland the fifth largest source of FDI into the country.
- More than 900 Irish-owned companies export to the US, and around three quarters of them maintain a full-time US presence.
- Around 70% of first international expansions fail or are seriously delayed, with underestimated costs among the most common causes.
- Around four in five Phoenix US placements formed part of multi-hire team builds for repeat clients.
- 6 US markets profiled in depth: New York, Boston, Charlotte and Raleigh, Austin, Atlanta and Miami, each with a role-by-role salary table.
- $85,000 a year: how much less the same chief compliance officer costs in Charlotte than in New York, at the midpoint.
What the guide covers
Choosing the right US market
New York is where Irish expansion goes by default. The guide tests each city against six factors: customer proximity, talent availability, cost of building, access to capital and networks, infrastructure for scale and cultural alignment. Each city profile sets out salary ranges and total compensation for the first leadership team, from GM and VP Sales to US CFO and Head of Compliance, alongside corporate and personal tax and coworking costs.
Building your first US leadership team
The most common mistake is parachuting a big-company sales executive into an empty market. The guide sets out the hiring paths that work, the five hires that typically follow the first, and the compensation mechanics that trip up Irish founders: the 50/50 base and commission split, the guaranteed draw and equity for a first US commercial executive.
The real cost of a US team
Take the salary, then add a quarter to a third. The guide breaks down employer payroll taxes, health benefits (budget $10,000 to $15,000 per hire per year) and the five mistakes that consume capital.
Regulated and specialist paths
In fintech the compliance officer precedes the licences: FinCEN registration, state money transmitter licences and the compliance hire regulators assess. The guide also covers the different hiring sequence in life sciences and the rise of the technical seller in AI.
Executing the entry
When to use an employer of record and when to form a Delaware subsidiary, the E-2 Treaty Investor and L-1 visas open to Irish companies, the new leader’s first 100 days and the Enterprise Ireland supports available.
Case studies and lessons from the front line
Anonymised case studies drawn from Phoenix searches: fifty-six commercial hires in Atlanta for an Irish fintech, a New York senior leadership team for an Irish business services platform, a Miami sales pod for an Irish RegTech company and a finance function built top-down in Texas. The guide closes with six lessons and the board questions to ask before you expand.
Download the full guide
The full guide runs to 31 pages, with salary tables for six US cities, tax and office cost comparisons, case studies and board questions for each stage of the entry. Enter your details to download it.
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Talk to us
Phoenix Search builds US leadership teams for Irish companies, from a first General Manager or VP Sales to finance and compliance functions. Read our article on building a C-suite in payments across Ireland, the UK and the US, see our payments and fintech executive search practice, or contact Ed Rossiter and the team to talk through your US plans.
