Recruiting Alchemy with Andy Simpson

What does it take to completely reinvent a recruitment business that's already successful? In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy , Andy Simpson sits down with Elliott Manning , Founder of Kayman Recruitment, to unpack a journey that's anything but conventional. From leaving school at 15 to become a chef, to building a thriving recruitment business across the UK, US and South Africa, Elli...

On Recruiting Alchemy, Logan Naidu, founder and Group CEO of Kernel Global, shares his personal background and path from investment banking at J.P. Morgan and corporate finance at PwC into recruitment, after being fired from his first recruiting role. He founded The Cornell Partnership in 2005, built it to around 30 people, then after a cancer diagnosis in 2010 and disagreements over shifting from...

Gary Elden OBE joins Recruiting Alchemy and Andy Simpson to share his journey from a tough Camberwell council estate to becoming a leading figure in the recruitment industry, launching Huxley Associates within S3 and later serving as CEO of a listed business. He discusses early resilience, moving from insurance broking to estate agency, then taking a pay cut to join Computer Futures, where he lear...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, host Andy Simpson sits down with Tom Way, CEO of UK and Ireland at Hays , to explore the high-stakes world of leading one of the world's largest staffing companies. Tom provides a deep-dive look at the "sliding doors" moments that define a career, from being one deal away from being fired to leading a organization of 2,300 people. The conversat...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy , host Andy Simpson sits down with Jeremy Snell , recruitment leader and industry veteran, to explore what really drives performance in modern recruitment businesses. Jeremy provides a no-nonsense look at why technology alone won’t fix broken models, and why clarity of process, value proposition, and discipline still sit at the heart of successful recruitment...

In this exceptional episode of the Recruiting Alchemy Podcast , host Andy Simpson sits down with Simon Ryan , Director at Chapter 2 and Co-founder of Chapter 2 Health Talent, for a deep dive into building, scaling, and disrupting the recruitment industry. Simon shares his powerful origin story, the keys to navigating market crises, and the future of hyper-efficient talent acquisition, which has at...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, host Andy Simpson sits down with Malvin Kamara , former professional footballer turned founder and CEO of Vallum Associates . From playing in the Premier League and Championship to building one of the fastest-growing recruitment firms in energy and infrastructure, Malvin shares his remarkable journey and the lessons learned along the way. They discuss what pr...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, Andy Simpson sits down with Steve Beckitt founder of SourceBreaker for a candid and often hilarious deep dive into how he went from contract recruiter to tech founder, built a SaaS business from spreadsheets, and exited with a life-changing deal. Steve shares his unfiltered journey: selling early products that barely worked, surviving COVID as a bootstrapped...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, Andy sits down with David Rees, former Chief Sales Officer at S3 and now a fractional chair and investor across multiple recruitment and tech businesses. David shares his journey from his roots in South Wales to leading global teams and shaping the recruitment industry at the highest level. They discuss the evolution of recruitment, the challenges of scaling...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, Andy is joined by J ames Ballard , co-founder of Annapurna Recruitment. With over two decades of experience, James shares the evolution of his career, from early days at SThree to co-founding one of the most community-driven recruitment firms in the UK and Europe. They dive deep into the importance of human connection, why recruitment must move beyond transac...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy , Andy Simpson sits down with Dan Taylor, a veteran recruitment leader and current Director at Morgan Hunt. Dan shares his fascinating journey from the coal-delivery towns of Lancashire to leading high-performing teams across the UK public sector. They dive deep into what it takes to succeed in recruitment, the challenges of leading through downturns, how AI a...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy , Andy Simpson sits down with Ben Browning, founder and CEO of Resonant, sales strategist, and LinkedIn voice in the recruitment space, for a deep conversation on why recruitment sales is broken and how to fix it. They explore the shift from transactional placements to transformational sales strategies that build long-term client trust. Ben opens up about his...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy , Andy Simpson is joined by Chris Moylan, CEO of Tech Link Partners, who shares the raw and real journey behind launching and scaling two recruitment businesses. From growing up on construction sites to billing £90K months, selling one company, and rebuilding after personal tragedy. Chris's story is a testament to resilience, grit, and purpose. He opens u...

In this episode, Andy Simpson sits down with Simon Brown , founder of Richard Knows Best and one of the most candid voices in recruitment, for a no-holds-barred conversation about agency growth, leadership, and learning the hard lessons of running a recruitment business. From selling Turtle Wax door-to-door as a teenager to building and exiting multiple recruitment businesses, Simon shares his unf...

In this episode, Andy Simpson sits down with Kalpesh Baxi, r ecruitment leader, advisor, and former UK Senior Partner of SThree PLC to explore what it takes to thrive in today’s evolving hiring landscape. They talk about the importance of culture in scaling teams, the impact of generational shifts in the workplace, and how technology is changing the way recruitment businesses operate. Kalpesh shar...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, Andy Simpson sits down with Martyn Holme , founder and managing director of A&B Recruitment , to explore what it really takes to build and lead a high-growth recruitment business. From losing £150K in one deal to opening offices overseas, Martyn shares the key decisions and defining moments behind his success. They discuss how early adversity shaped his w...

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, Andy sits down with Craig Whiting, Managing Director of RLS Search, a recruitment agency specializing in placing top technology talent into the global hedge fund space. Craig shares his journey from falling into recruitment to running a highly profitable, specialized search firm. They discuss how hedge funds approach hiring, why recruitment has changed, and h...

Building a Successful Healthcare Recruitment Business: Insights from Kathryn Scott In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, host Andy Simpson speaks with Kathryn Scott, a former managing director in the recruitment industry who has recently embarked on her journey as a consultant. Kathryn discusses her career trajectory, starting from her early days in the travel industry, her eventual transition in...

Andy Simpson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/) is joined by  Ben Musgrave (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmusgrave/), COO and Head of Product at Hinterview (https://hello.hinterview.com/) to discuss USPs in recruitment and working smarter, not harder 00:00 Introduction and Podcast Welcome 01:12 Ben Musgrave's Early Life and Education 02:43 Transition to Recruitment 04:14 Challenges...

Andy Simpson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/) is joined by  Nigel Fox (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelfoxaphr/), CEO of Annapurna Recruitment (https://www.annapurnarecruitment.com/) discuss how to grow a new recruitment business, even in a down market; how they've blended different business models, sector specialisms and geographical focus to balance security and growth. Show not...

Andy Simpson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/) and Sam Slade (https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsladehinterview/) discuss the state of the market, common problems they're seeing and productisation. Show notes: (01:20) - Intro to Sam and his recruitment experience (04:30) - How did Sam build a more consultative and productised offering (07:00) - Wafer thin difference between consultancy...