What Harnham does

Harnham is a specialist Data and AI recruitment firm founded in 2006 (firmographics) or 2009 (legal entity records show Harnham Search and Selection Ltd registered in England and Wales), headquartered in London with operational offices in New York, San Francisco, Phoenix, Amsterdam, and France, and additional legal entities in the US, Netherlands, and Germany. The company focuses exclusively on placing Data and AI professionals across the full talent lifecycle — covering Data Engineering, Data Science and Machine Learning, Digital Analytics, Risk Analytics, Advanced Analytics, Life Sciences, Computer Vision, and Data Management and Governance — and serves both enterprise clients (global corporations building data functions) and ambitious start-ups. Its product portfolio spans permanent contingency recruitment, contract and freelance staffing, executive search for director-to-C-suite data leadership, corporate training and upskilling (covering Python, SQL, ML, and LLMs), and graduate talent development through its wholly-owned subsidiary Rockborne, which runs a 12-week intensive Attract-Train-Deploy data training programme.

Harnham operates a sales-led GTM model combining enterprise field sales for global corporations, inside sales for mid-market clients, and a self-service job portal for candidates. Revenue is generated through contingency placement fees (a percentage of first-year salary for permanent hires), time-and-materials billing for contract and freelance staff, retained executive search fees, and corporate training fees. The company has no proprietary technology products; its core offering is human-delivered talent acquisition and placement supported by thought-leadership content including annual salary benchmarking reports drawing on 3,500+ participants, a podcast, video hub, and recurring diversity reports. Leadership consists of co-founder and CEO David Farmer, co-founder and Executive Chairman Simon Clarke, and CFO Stephen Lawrence. The company remains privately held with its first institutional funding round recorded in May 2022 from BGF Ventures.

Name

Harnham

Legal name

Harnham Search and Selection Ltd

Website

https://harnham.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Harnham is a privately held specialist recruitment firm focused exclusively on Data and AI talent, placing professionals from entry-level to C-suite across permanent, contract, executive search, and graduate training roles for global enterprises and start-ups in the UK, US, and EU.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Data & AI Recruitment Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Technology & Product Leadership Search (CIO/CTO/CDO/CPO) (BPACAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive & Leadership Direct Hire (BPACAFAB), General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)

Keywords

• Data recruitment
• AI talent solutions
• Analytics staffing
• Executive search
• Contract staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Permanent Placement Recruitment Fees: Contingency-based placement fees for permanent hires, typically structured as a percentage of the hired candidate's first-year salary. Harnham places professionals ranging from entry-level to C-suite executives across data and AI specializations.
2. Contract and Freelance Staffing: Interim talent solutions for project teams and resource gaps, billing on a time and materials basis for contract professionals placed with clients.
3. Executive Search: Specialized retained search services for director to C-suite level leadership placements, targeting senior data and AI executives for global corporations and start-ups.
4. Training and Upskilling Services: Corporate training courses covering LLM's, AI and Data, delivered through their Rockborne division as part of the Attract-Train-Deploy consultancy model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Harnham is a specialist recruitment firm focused exclusively on the Data & AI sector, placing professionals ranging from entry-level analysts to C-suite executives. Its offering spans permanent placement, contract and freelance staffing, executive search, graduate talent development through its Rockborne subsidiary, and corporate training/upskilling services. The firm operates across the UK, US, and EU with offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Phoenix, Amsterdam, and France.

Product overview

Harnham is a global leader in Data & AI recruitment services, operating as a single unified offering with specialized divisions. The core Data and AI Talent Solutions platform encompasses permanent recruitment, contract staffing, executive search, graduate talent (via Rockborne), and training/upskilling programmes. Rockborne, the company's Attract-Train-Deploy graduate development arm, delivers a 12-week intensive data training programme and embedded data teams for analytics and AI programme delivery. The offering includes complementary content services (podcasts, diversity reports, salary benchmarking guides) that reinforce the recruitment business. Services span Data Engineering, Data Science & Machine Learning, Digital Analytics, Risk Analytics, Advanced Analytics, Life Sciences, and Computer Vision across offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Phoenix, Amsterdam, and France.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rockborne: Graduate data development division providing an Attract-Train-Deploy consultancy service with a 12-week intensive data training programme for developing data consultants.

Products and services

• Data and AI Recruitment & Staffing Permanent and direct hire recruitment services placing early career through senior management data and AI professionals across all specializations globally.
• Data and AI Contract & Freelance Contract and freelance talent solutions for project teams, talent shortages, resource gaps, and interim staffing needs billed on a time and materials basis.
• Data and AI Executive Search Retained executive search services for director to C-suite level data and AI leadership placements, including Chief Data Officer, Head of Analytics, and Director of Machine Learning roles.
• Data and AI Training & Upskilling Corporate training courses covering Python, SQL, Machine Learning, LLMs, AI, and data upskilling to elevate team data expertise with essential tools and technologies.
• Data and AI Graduate Talent (Rockborne) Rockborne is Harnham's wholly-owned graduate development subsidiary offering an Attract-Train-Deploy model with a 12-week intensive data training programme, deploying trained data consultants who can become full-time client employees after two years.
• Global Data & AI Hiring Insights (Salary Benchmarking) Bespoke salary benchmarking reports and hiring insights covering UK, US, and EU markets, with unique insights from over 3,500 participants providing comprehensive industry research.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,500 professionals contribute to Harnham's annual salary benchmarking research, covering UK, US, and EU markets.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RockbornecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRockborne is Harnham's dedicated graduate data development division, deploying highly trained data consultants who have completed an intensive 12-week data training program. It operates as an Attract-Train-Deploy consultancy model, inspiring, training and developing the next generation of data specialists. After two years in the scheme, consultants can become full-time employees at client organizations.
• Women in DataminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiversity partner supporting inclusion initiatives in the data and AI industry. Harnham collaborates with Women in Data as part of their diversity in data program.
• Black in DataminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiversity partner supporting Black representation in the data and AI sector. Harnham collaborates with Black in Data as part of their diversity in data program.
• DataIQminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partnership with DataIQ for thought leadership and industry events. Harnham consultants speak at DataIQ awards and events, and the Chief Knowledge Officer of DataIQ has participated in Harnham events.
• Global (Diversity Partner)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiversity partner logo listed on Harnham's diversity partnerships section, supporting global diversity initiatives in the data and AI recruitment industry.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lawrence Harvey: Technology and data recruitment specialist with strong UK and European presence; direct competitor in data, analytics, and AI permanent and contract placement.
• Glocomms: Specialist technology and data recruitment firm with global offices; direct competitor in data & AI permanent and contract placement with similar vertical specialization.
• Computer Futures: Long-established technology and data recruitment specialist with strong UK and European presence; directly comparable in tech vertical recruitment and permanent/contract placement services.
• Frank Recruitment Group (TieTalent): Specialist tech recruiter (originally focused on Microsoft stack) that expanded into data and cloud; comparable in niche technology vertical recruitment and global placement model.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Half International: Global staffing and consulting firm with significant technology and data practice; a broad incumbent that competes on enterprise mandates but across multiple disciplines rather than data-only focus.
• Hays plc: Global publicly-listed staffing firm with a dedicated Data & Analytics practice; competes for enterprise data hiring mandates and benefits from broader scale but lacks Harnham's vertical specialization.
• Egon Zehnder: Premier global executive search firm with technology and digital practice; competes for senior data and AI leadership placements that Harnham targets via executive search.
• Korn Ferry: Global executive search and organizational consulting firm; competes for C-suite data leadership mandates at the executive search layer where Harnham also operates.
• Michael Page International: Global professional recruitment firm with technology and analytics specialisms; serves overlapping enterprise clients but as one of many verticals rather than exclusive data focus.
• Reed Technology: UK-headquartered broad recruiter with dedicated technology and data practice; competes in data & AI permanent and contract placements across UK and EU.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/280603
• Xx.com/HarnhamUSA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Harnham