Fatherhood is evolving, and it’s not just about who brings home the bacon.
Paul Sullivan, founder of The Company of Dads, joins Joline Godfrey to unpack how modern dads are stepping into roles once considered off-limits, reshaping family life and workplace norms. They discuss why labels like “Mr. Mom” miss the mark and how redefining masculinity opens new doors for families. From parental leave hurdles to kids watching how parents truly share responsibilities, this conversation shows how today’s families are forging new paths.
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Paul Sullivan is the founder of The Company of Dads, a media company, community platform, and workplace educator aimed at Lead Dads – those men who are the go-to parents, whether they work full time, part time, or devote all their time to their families. In many instances, these men support their wives and partners in their work and family life.
Paul has occupied many different roles in his life: father, husband, journalist, author, keynote speaker, and leader. But the one that most encompasses what he has been doing for the past 14 years is Lead Dad. Be it working and traveling, supporting his wife in her successful career, or being the go-to parent for homework, playdates, or post-dinner cleanup, he’s occupied the essential and growing but often-hushed role of Lead Dad. He founded The Company of Dads to help the estimated 25 million Lead Dads in the United States – or one-third of all fathers – fulfill their full potential at home, at work, and in their most important relationships.
Prior to launching The Company of Dads, Paul was a journalist for 25 years, the majority of that time at The New York Times, where he was a business columnist and occasional golf writer. Writing for the Times was the fulfillment of a childhood dream growing up in Ludlow, Massachusetts. But shortly after becoming a columnist, Paul took on a second job that he loved but kept secret: being the Lead Dad one, two, and then three daughters – but don’t call him Mr. Mom. It’s always been a juggle in his town where Working Moms like Paul’s wife aren’t the norm, and Lead Dads often hide or at least don’t talk about their roles.
Paul created The Company of Dads to normalize the role of men as Lead Parents both at home in support of their families and at work as companies enter The Next Normal of post-pandemic working. The vision of The Company of Dads is an organization that grows far bigger than Paul to help working dads and moms, employers, partners, and all loved ones of Lead Dads better understand how supporting the Lead Dads can help families, communities, and companies.
Paul is active in his daughters’ schools, where he is a four-time class parent. He is also a trustee of Wilbraham & Monson Academy, where, as a financial aid student, he first saw that the world could be different than the one where he was growing up. He is an avid golfer and is thrilled that two of his three daughters often join him.
