Roll the tape

Size: 400+ employees, 8 regional offices (in 2020)
Sector: Cloud based Investment, Management Software
Remit: Multi Senior Sales hires

Context: In 2020, Enfusion (now part of Clearwater Analytics) were preparing to scale its US-based Sales organisation into EMEA, with London identified as the regional hub. An exclusive search partnership was established to support the build-out of the regional sales team, working directly with the newly appointed Head of EMEA Sales.

Challenge: Enfusion needed to secure multiple top-tier sales hires in London at speed, from a limited and highly competitive talent pool. The combination of enterprise sales performance and buy-side domain expertise was rare, and any delay or hiring misstep would have materially impacted EMEA revenue momentum..

Execution: Execution was driven by deep prior market knowledge and established relationships within the investment tech space. Rather than a broad search, I directly engaged a small number of pre-qualified enterprise sales professionals with strong buy-side credibility who were already known to me. This enabled rapid validation, precise candidate positioning, and a tightly controlled end-to-end hiring process through to offer and resignation.

Business Impact: Two initial hires generated over $500k in new revenue within six months, enabling Enfusion to accelerate EMEA expansion. Reduced hiring timelines supported rapid team build-out, with one hire later promoted to MD, EMEA Sales, who continues to lead the region through record sales performance. I went on to place the majority of the EMEA sales team, including a two-time global top salesperson, underpinning Enfusion’s sustained growth and eventual acquisition in 2024.

Size: 60+ employees, 2 offices worldwide
Sector: Generative AI for Private Markets
Remit: Multiple Hires Across Sales and Pre-Sales

Context: BlueFlame AI is a high-growth generative AI platform purpose-built for alternative investment managers helping private equity, hedge funds, venture capital and real estate firms radically reduce time spent on data-heavy workflows. Founded in 2023, the business entered a rapid scale phase with ~$6m ARR, offices in New York and London, and ambitions to expand across EMEA.

Challenge: BlueFlame needed to establish a credible commercial footprint in London while continuing to scale in the US. This required building a founding sales and sales engineering team with deep private markets domain expertise and the credibility to sell complex AI technology to sophisticated buy-side clients - at speed and with minimal margin for error. 

Execution: I partnered with BlueFlame following discussions with the founders and senior leadership, supporting their US-to-EMEA expansion. Leveraging market knowledge and trusted relationships, I introduced the founding Sales Director for London and worked closely with leadership to build the wider commercial team. 

In 4 months, I delivered another 2 UK Sales Executives, 2 UK Sales Engineers, 1 US-based Sales Executive and 1 US-based Sales Engineer. All hires were managed end-to-end through search, offer, resignation, and onboarding. 

Business Impact: Six pivotal hires formed the core of BlueFlame’s US and EMEA commercial capability, directly contributing to multi-million-dollar ARR growth. The founding Sales Director was promoted to Head of Sales, EMEA & APAC, and in 2025 BlueFlame was acquired by Datasite, becoming the best-capitalised generative AI platform focused on alternative investors. 

Size: 200+ employees in 11 regional offices
Sector: Fintech Ecosystem (Athena Systems)
Remit: Senior Client Support

Context: United Fintech is a global platform investing in and scaling high-growth Fintechs serving capital markets. Athena Systems joined the United Fintech portfolio in 2022 and was entering a new phase of international expansion, scaling its modern cloud-native OMS/PMS platform. Following discussions with one of the United Fintech founders and the CEO of Athena, I was engaged as a partner to support multiple hires across London, the US, and Canada.

Challenge: Athena was expanding into Canada and needed to establish an initial operational footprint in Toronto - a constrained market for specialist OMS/PMS talent. Securing a senior hire with deep product, client support, and capital markets expertise was critical, with limited margin for error in a new geography..

Outcome: Execution was driven by deep market knowledge and established relationships within the OMS/PMS ecosystem. I mapped the Toronto market, identified a small number of relevant target firms, and directly engaged pre-qualified candidates. In parallel, I advised Athena on structuring a clear, high-momentum interview process, aligning stakeholders and managing the hire through offer, resignation, and onboarding.

Business Impact: A senior Support Consultant was successfully secured as Athena’s second hire in Canada, playing a pivotal role in establishing the Toronto hub and supporting local client growth. This hire formed the foundation of Athena’s Canadian presence and enabled further expansion in the region, supporting the platform’s continued growth within the United Fintech ecosystem.

Size: 300+ employees, 4 regional offices
Sector: Cloud-based investment data platform
Remit: Multiple Hires

Context: Finbourne were scaling rapidly while delivering high-profile transformation projects for large buy-side institutions. Based on a proven prior partnership, I was engaged to support key Product and Delivery hires underpinning the build and implementation of IBOR, ABOR, PMS, and OMS technology across complex client environments.

Challenge: Finbourne needed to hire specialists with deep fund accounting domain expertise alongside strong understanding of the technology underpinning front-to-back investment workflows. Individuals who had both designed target operating models and implemented IBOR/ABOR platforms across complex environments were scarce, making the talent pool limited and hiring risk high. 

Execution: Execution was driven by deep market knowledge across fund accounting, asset servicing, and investment technology. A structured search was conducted across relevant fund managers, third-party administrators, and technology vendors, complemented by targeted outreach through my network to engage pre-qualified specialists with proven IBOR/ABOR implementation experience.

Business Impact: I have placed 25+ professionals at Finbourne across Sales, Product, Marketing, and Delivery functions. During this period, the company scaled from approximately 20 employees to over 300 globally, secured a $100m Series B funding round, and built an impressive roster of tier-one buy-side clients. These hires helped form the foundation that enabled Finbourne to execute complex implementations at scale and support its rapid commercial and organisational growth.

Size: Start-up
Sector: Buy-Side tech
Remit: Key hires across Sales, Product and PS

Context: A London-based buy-side technology start-up with a headcount of around 20, backed by and incubated within a global hedge fund. The business was building institutional-grade technology and scaling its commercial and delivery capability, with direct CEO involvement in all senior hiring decisions.

Challenge: The company needed to make several key hires across Sales, Product, and Professional Services to support growth. Standards were exceptionally high - the CEO was explicit that the business was highly selective, with a strong emphasis on cultural fit, intellectual rigour, and long-term contribution. Hiring mistakes carried material risk in such a lean, high-performance environment.

Execution: Engaged via referral, Callum James worked closely with the CEO and senior stakeholders to define role requirements, success profiles, and a clear end-to-end candidate experience. This included refining interview structure and decision-making criteria before running a targeted search focused on high-quality, well-aligned talent across each function.

Business Impact: Multiple successful hires were made across Sales, Product, and Professional Services, meeting the CEO’s expectations and strengthening the company’s ability to scale. The quality of hires contributed to the long-term value of the platform, which was ultimately acquired by another fintech following the business’s wind-down.

Size: 750 employees in 11 regional offices
Sector: Front Office Investment Management Software
Remit: French Speaking Enterprise Sales

Context: Charles River is a leading provider of front-to-back investment management software for the institutional buy-side. Having supported the business since 2008 with over 20 senior hires across Sales, Pre-Sales, and Implementation, I had deep understanding of the organisation, culture, and talent landscape. Following its acquisition by State Street in 2018, Charles River moved to an internal recruitment model and was no longer using external search partners. .

Challenge: Charles River was struggling to hire a London-based, French-speaking Sales Manager to cover France and Europe - a highly specific and commercially critical role. It required proven experience selling complex, enterprise-wide investment software to large buy-side institutions, alongside language capability and regional market knowledge. Despite internal efforts, the combination of skills, experience, and location proved difficult to secure..

Execution: Based on prior performance and long-standing relationships, I was re-engaged on an exclusive basis to deliver this hire. Leveraging deep market knowledge, I directly introduced a senior, tri-lingual Sales Manager from a direct competitor who I knew personally. The process was managed end-to-end through interview, offer, resignation, and onboarding.

Business Impact: The hire hit $1M target in year one, exceeded target in year two, and is on track to exceed target again in year three. The appointment successfully stabilised and grew the French and Southern Europe territory, validating the decision to re-engage specialist external support for high-impact, hard-to-fill roles.

Size: 23 offices around the world, more than 1,500 employees
Sector: Front to Back Office Investment Management Software
Remit: 3 Foundational Hires for a Global Launch, Alternatives

Context: Simcorp was preparing to launch a new Alternatives Assets software solution, integrated into its Dimension investment platform, as part of a broader strategy to expand its alternatives offering to global asset management clients.

Challenge: SimCorp needed to define and execute a global sales and implementation strategy for a brand-new alternatives product. This required securing senior specialists with deep alternatives domain expertise who could both design the operating model and drive global adoption. The talent pool was limited, roles were international in scope, and the hires were foundational to the product’s success.

Execution: I was engaged on an exclusive basis to deliver a global search for senior alternatives specialists. Leveraging deep market knowledge, I secured three foundational hires through complex international processes, including US-based candidates and a senior relocation to Copenhagen: Global Launch Manager, Founding Solution Architect, Founding Sales Director. All searches were managed end-to-end through interview, offer, and relocation.

Business Impact: These three hires formed the foundation of SimCorp’s successful global launch and sustained growth of its Alternatives software offering. They established the sales strategy, implementation standards, and operating model required to scale the product internationally. I subsequently went on to place multiple additional senior hires across Sales, Pre-Sales, Product, and Delivery, further strengthening SimCorp’s capability.