Newcastle tech recruitment firm Haystack appoints…

Newcastle tech recruitment firm Haystack appoints former Google executive

North East tech recruitment platform Haystack has appointed the former chief operating officer of Google Europe as a director.

The company, based in Gosforth, has announced the appointment of Ben Legg as a non-executive director, who was introduced to the company by investors Mercia. His appointment comes after Haystack’s success in raising £500,000 from the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia, which it plans to use to help break into the US market.

Mr Legg has over 30 years’ experience in senior business and leadership roles and sits on the board of a number of tech companies, while also acting as a coach and mentor.

He previously served as a captain in the Royal Engineers, a role in which he helped to relieve the Siege of Sarajevo. He went on to become a strategy consultant with McKinsey and held senior roles with Coca Cola in Greece, Poland and India before joining Google where he ‘wrote the blueprint’ for its monetisation approach.

Haystack was launched in 2020 during the pandemic by former recruiter Chris Bone and software developers Mike Davies and Rob Simmons to help tech workers make more informed career decisions. The company uses advanced matching technology to help more companies and tech workers hire smartly and find their ideal roles, using an algorithm to match individuals with suitable roles, removing the need for recruitment agencies.

The platform enables developers, data engineers and other tech professionals to view job opportunities in confidence and find out more about the companies, or simply assess the state of the jobs market. Candidates can choose to withhold their details or alternatively create a profile for employers to view.

The firm, winner of the North East newcomer of the year 2021, raised more than £1m in seed funding a year ago to develop its platform and is using the latest funding to take the business to the next level.

Ben Legg said: “The world of work is changing fast and tech recruiting is broken. Haystack has an exciting vision, a great team and promising momentum to address this massive opportunity. I look forward to helping them reinvent the industry.”

Ian Wilson, fund principal at Mercia, said: “Haystack aims to revolutionise technology recruitment. With Ben’s track record in reinventing traditional business models, he is ideally placed to join its board. His appointment shows the wider package of support that Mercia can offer - we not only provide the funding but also help them build their board and put the right structures in place to help them scale and grow.”