KDR Talent Solutions

What KDR Talent Solutions does

KDR Talent Solutions is a specialist recruitment agency founded in 2003 and headquartered in Knutsford, Cheshire, with a wholly-owned US subsidiary (KDR Talent Solutions USA) in Clearwater, Florida. The firm focuses exclusively on placing data, analytics and AI professionals and operates four core delivery models: permanent recruitment (structured as the KDR Attract and KDR Reach sub-brands), contract recruitment, executive search (KDR Search) and embedded recruitment. Adjacent to these sits a Talent Advisory practice with five modules - salary benchmarking, talent market mapping, employer value proposition benchmarking, diversity, equity and inclusion advisory, and recruitment process optimisation - plus the proprietary annual 'State of Data' report produced with DAMA UK and the 'Latte & Logic' podcast.

The business is a fee-based professional services firm with no external funding, no parent company, and no recorded M&A history. Permanent placements are typically contingency or retained, contract recruitment uses a 'no placement, no fee' model, and embedded recruitment is positioned as offering up to 40% savings versus traditional contingent fees; specific fee levels are not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is sales-led and field-based: specialist consultants engage directly with hiring managers and HR teams, supported by content marketing (blog, whitepapers, case studies, podcast), community involvement (DAMA UK, Datadecoded, Greater Manchester Digital Ball), an active job portal with 18 listings, and a LinkedIn-led social presence.

KDR's customer base skews enterprise and spans financial services, insurance, technology, retail, automotive and travel, with named clients including Matillion, NFU Mutual, LV=, Dyson, BCA, Virgin, cinch, Tata and Intent. Its competitive position rests on 20+ years of specialist data recruitment knowledge, a deep candidate network in niche areas such as data governance, data engineering, MLOps and AI/ML, and a recognised brand as 'The Original Data Recruitment Agency'.

Name

KDR Talent Solutions

Legal name

KDR Talent Ltd

Website

https://kdrtalentsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KDR Talent Solutions is a UK-headquartered specialist recruitment agency founded in 2003 that places data, analytics and AI professionals through permanent, contract, executive search and embedded delivery models across the UK, Europe and USA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Staffing and Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Executive Search Services (561312)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD)

Keywords

• Data recruitment services
• AI talent acquisition
• Executive search data
• Contract data staffing
• Embedded recruitment solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Knutsford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Permanent Recruitment Services: Contingency or retained fee-based permanent recruitment services for hiring data, analytics, AI and machine learning professionals. KDR supports clients with the full permanent hiring process from role definition through to offer management.
2. Contract Recruitment Services: Contract recruitment providing access to specialist data and AI expertise for projects, delivery deadlines, transformation work or temporary skills gaps. Supports clients hiring contractors across technical, analytical, governance and leadership roles.
3. Executive Search Services: Retained executive search for organisations hiring senior data and AI leaders where discretion, market mapping and targeted engagement are required. Supports clients identifying and approaching experienced leaders for data strategy and team-building roles.
4. Embedded Recruitment Services: Dedicated recruitment support that embeds KDR consultants within client teams. Provides scalable recruitment capability for organisations managing multiple vacancies or needing specialist data and AI recruitment without building full in-house capability.
5. Talent Advisory Services: Strategic recruitment support including salary benchmarking, talent market mapping, candidate attraction improvement, DEI advisory, and recruitment process optimisation. Positioned as premium consulting services alongside core recruitment delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KDR Talent Solutions is a specialist data and AI recruitment agency that connects organisations with professionals across data management, data engineering, data governance, data architecture, analytics, data science, AI, and machine learning. Its core offerings span four delivery models (Permanent Recruitment via KDR Attract and KDR Reach tiers, Contract Recruitment with a 'no placement, no fee' model, Executive Search, and Embedded Recruitment) supplemented by a Talent Advisory practice covering salary benchmarking, talent market mapping, EVP benchmarking, DEI advisory, and recruitment process optimisation.

Product overview

KDR Talent Solutions is a specialist data and AI recruitment agency offering a portfolio of services built around talent acquisition and advisory. Its core offerings span four recruitment delivery models: Permanent Recruitment (including KDR Attract and KDR Reach service tiers), Contract Recruitment, Executive Search, and Embedded Recruitment. These are complemented by a Talent Advisory practice providing five modules: Salary Benchmarking, Talent Market Mapping, Employer Value Proposition Benchmarking, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory, and Recruitment Process Optimisation. A job search portal enables candidates to find and apply for roles directly. Supporting content products include the annual State of Data Report (produced in partnership with DAMA UK), themed whitepapers, and the Latte & Logic podcast series. The company operates across the UK, Europe, and USA, serving sectors including financial services, technology, insurance, and retail.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KDR Attract: Permanent recruitment service with 1 dedicated consultant and market knowledge.
• KDR Reach
• KDR Engage
• KDR Search
• Latte & Logic

Products and services

• Permanent Recruitment Full-service permanent hiring support for data and AI talent covering role definition, candidate attraction, shortlisting, interview support, and offer management. Available in two service tiers (KDR Attract with one consultant and 30-day post-hire care; KDR Reach with two consultants and 60-day post-hire care).
• Contract Recruitment Temporary and contract staffing solutions for data, analytics, and AI projects, delivering specialist expertise for defined periods or deliverables. Operates on a 'no placement, no fee' basis for clients.
• Executive Search Retained senior leadership search for CDO, Head of Data, AI Director and similar executive roles, using market mapping and targeted engagement to identify and approach experienced leaders.
• Embedded Recruitment Dedicated recruiter(s) embedded within an internal hiring team, providing scalable specialist support on-demand to complement in-house talent functions. Claimed to deliver up to 40% cost savings versus traditional contingent recruitment.
• Talent Advisory Services Strategic recruitment support including salary benchmarking, talent market mapping, candidate attraction improvement, DEI advisory, and recruitment process optimisation. Positioned as premium consulting services alongside core recruitment delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• No placement, no fee for contract recruitment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DAMA UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKDR is a proud sponsor of DAMA UK, the data management professional association. Through this partnership they attend events, provide support via round tables, panels and webinars, and contribute to knowledge sharing within the data management community.
• DatadecodedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partnership providing support through volunteer work, market insights, webinars and events, and space for data professionals to connect. KDR supports Datadecoded initiatives within the data and AI communities they work with.
• Greater Manchester Digital BallminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsorship and partnership supporting the Greater Manchester digital technology community. Part of KDR's community involvement strategy within the data and AI sector.
• DAMA UK (Report Partnership)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual 'State of Data' report produced in partnership with DAMA UK. The 2025/26 edition reveals how organisations are scaling AI, improving data quality, adapting hybrid working strategies, and tackling skills shortages. Includes salary benchmarks and governance trends.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mason Frank International: Specialist technology recruitment firm with strong focus on Salesforce, data and emerging tech roles. Closely overlaps KDR's data and AI hiring remit within a similar boutique, niche-led service model.
• Jefferson Frank: Specialist recruiter for AWS, cloud and data engineering professionals. Overlaps directly with KDR's cloud, MLOps and data engineering verticals and competes for similar candidate pools.
• Harnham: UK-founded specialist recruitment agency focused on data, analytics and AI talent across the UK, Europe and US. Operates a near-identical model to KDR in the same niche with comparable permanent, contract and search service lines.
• Venquis: UK-based specialist recruitment firm focused on data, analytics, digital and technology transformation hiring. Competes directly with KDR for data and AI professionals and the same enterprise client base.

Broad incumbents

• Reed Technology: Technology division of Reed, a major UK generalist recruitment group. Competes with KDR in data and tech permanent and contract hiring, with greater scale and a wider non-tech portfolio.
• Computer Futures: Established technology recruitment firm covering data, cloud, AI and software roles across the UK and Europe. A broader incumbent that competes with KDR for mid-to-senior data and AI talent.
• Progressive Recruitment: Global tech, data and digital recruitment brand within SThree. A broader incumbent with significant data and analytics practice, competing with KDR for senior data and analytics professionals.
• Robert Half Technology: Global staffing firm with a dedicated technology and data practice serving contract and permanent hiring. Significantly larger and broader than KDR but overlaps meaningfully in data engineering and analytics roles.
• Hays Technology: Division of Hays plc, a global listed recruitment group, covering technology, data and digital hiring. Larger, broader portfolio than KDR but overlaps in data and AI contract and permanent placements.

Emerging players

• Aiimi: UK data and AI consultancy and technology firm with adjacent talent exposure in the data and AI community. Adjacent rather than directly competing, but operating in the same ecosystem KDR recruits for.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kdrtalentsolutions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kdrtalentsolutions
• Xx.com/KDRTalent

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KDR Talent Solutions