We’re more than a bunch of pretty faces
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Jake Whittall
Co-Founder
Jake has spent over 12 years working in the IT sector and loves working with people. It’s why he thinks he has the best job in the world! There is nothing better for him than helping someone achieve their next step up. When not in the office, Jake can be found trying to perfect his downward dog, reading any history book he can get his hands on or simply in the pub. -
Burim Hykaj
Co-founder
Burim has over 15 years of experience in tech and has worked with some of the biggest and smallest tech companies in the UK and Europe. He is passionate about one thing: delivering the best services to his clients – day in and day out. When not at work, Burim can be found being a devoted dad and husband, or trying to get a six pack – still… -
Adam Coleman
Recruitment Consultant
Adam has over 5 years working in the tech sector and works on on our Agency side. He has worked with companies across Europe, and at all stages of growth. Because of his experience, he has supported clients on roles not only in the Tech area but also in Go to Market roles such as Marketing and Sales too. In his spare time, Adam can be found following his belloved Norwich City – win, lose or draw he can be found at Carrow Road! -
Kevin Kelly
Head of Operations
Kevin is our Head of Operations, leading our teams & working with tech companies to grow their teams or make their first technical hires. Kevin partners with businesses to develop talent acquisition strategies that span the medium to long-term, helping them sustainably drive efficiencies and cost savings, all the while ensuring they have an engaging and impactful experience. When not working, Kevin can be found with his nose in a book, an Xbox controller in hand or learning the principles of web development. -
Ben Dakin
Senior Talent Partner
Ben has worked in Recruitment for 7 years, in a mixture of Agency and RPO, he has been in the tech space for the last 5 years, He is passionate about putting people into Jobs they will love and providing them with a great recruitment experience. Outside of Venture Up, Ben is a new Dad and loves spending time with his Daughter, Flo and walking his dog, Maverick, if he has any spare time he can be found in the cinema or in the kitchen cooking. -
Connie O’Neill
Senior Talent Partner
Connie has worked in recruitment for the last 6 years, mostly within Internal Recruitment roles. She found her passion for recruitment as she simply loves to chat to people! She always wants to help both her candidates and hiring managers by giving them the best service she possibly can. Outside of work, there's nothing more important than spending time with her son and dogs. She is an animal lover and adores all things creative. -
Heather Welford
Senior Talent Partner
Heather is a Senior Talent Partner. Before working in Tech, she had worked in a range of other industries from Automotive Engineering to Financial Services. So no matter what the brief she can tackle it. A good example of this – her first project at Venture Up was working on social media roles for a game tech company we had partnered (having never done this before) and smashed it! Before moving into Talent nearly 10years ago, she was in the Navy. She still takes great delight in regaling the office with stories from her time on the seas… -
Jessica Molley
Senior Talent Partner
Jessica has worked in recruitment for the past 7 years, specialising in the tech space since 2017. She is passionate about supporting growing businesses and providing a quality service to all of her clients and candidates. Outside of work, her hobbies include going to the gym, travelling, cooking and she can often be found on the weekends out socialising or discovering new restaurants -
Tom Hill
Recruitment Consultant
Tom works in our Agency side. The thing he loves most about the job – talking to people from all over the world! Before joining us, he had not worked in tech before - but he loves learning and has quickly built some awesome knowledge! His 6 years of recruitment experience means he knows how to partner with companies to secure them the best talent. His passions outside of work are Swindon Town and listening to Vinyls! -
Zack Gordon
Senior Talent Partner
Zack has extensive tech recruitment experience and has worked across Europe, Asia and Oceania. He has worked with stakeholders up to C-suite level and is able to use his expertise to not only find talent but advise on how to shape the best recruitment processes. He is a keen footballer, but with age catching up with him, he now spends more time on injured reserve than on the field.