High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! AC Lion was co-founded in 1996 by CEO Alan Cutter and Rick Probstein. Cutter left Hotjobs.com and used the revenue to found his own business, an executive search firm. His business model was based on tech recruiting, and capitalizing on the new medium of the internet. The initial focus of the company was staffing information technology development and integration teams through 2000. The early years were marked by work with fledgling firms like Agency.com, iVillage and 24x7. Probstein left the company in 2001.