Why am I building a recruitment company? The industry needed it.

I spent years scaling start-ups and disruptive SaaS companies and I'm now creating the recruitment company I actually would have used, if I was still a VP of Sales.

Ash Takher

I've achieved something huge. I'm representing the best EMEA based executive job I've had for the 6 years in recruitment. If you know me you know I don't post this lightly.

If you have top 1st or 2nd line leadership credentials from a recognised business and want to get a serious 'leap forward' role in the top 5 fastest growing AI SaaS company of all time then please do send me a message.

You'll do around 50 hires this year, open the EMEA HQ in London and be recognised as taking one of the best VP EMEA jobs in AI.

Former VP (Optimizely, TikTok, SAP) | Now recruiter of the world's BEST SaaS sales & leadership talent

I'm in Japan! Any recommendations? Yep, I'm taking advantage of the weakest Yen in 18 months.. And taking just over a week out of the business is super tough - but I've come to learn that taking some time out allows me a little perspective and I generate plenty of ideas generate whilst I'm away.

I'm struck mostly by some of the stark cultural differences[politeness], the OVERWHELMING level of commerce vs dying UK high streets and yet; some of the general 'life' similarities that are present here. 

Every single time I mention to someone that I'm in Japan from home or the US, they are full of enthusiasm and recommendations so please feel free to leave some in the comments so I can check them out before I head home!

Checking my messages every day, full calendar for the 3/4 days I come back and I'm looking forward to catching up with you all very soon.

It's said online that Cursor is the fastest growing company to $100m ARR of all time achieving it in 12 months with less than 20 employees. That would beat Wiz' previous record of 18 months. 

What makes this company and technology so ubiquitous? I'll give you 3 of my reasons:

1. It empowers development teams to build faster than ever. Yes, coding copilot exists, but Cursor took this idea and put it on steroids allowing the tool to understand not just 'autocomplete function' but CONTEXT. 

2. It's popularity is genuinely engineering-community led. You can't paid-media your way to the kind of success they have. You need to be genuinely viral and essential in the engineering community. Just search for Cursor online and see the overwhelming love for the tool by its users, not just executive buyers. For sales, this means the return to the holy ground of 'bottom-up, champion led' sales processes be reliant on an actual technology proof and not just marketing gimmicks.

3. It's become the 'way things are done' (aka the infrastructure play).
By respecting the developer community rather than undermining it, Cursor was able to work its way almost invisibly into the current workflow of an engineering team. Low switching cost, low implementation and retooling effort. This creates so many of the 'holy sh**' moments that Cursor's fast building function is responsible for.

What's more, we work with over 100+ SaaS companies and almost all of them that I speak to are going to rely on Cursor to accelerate their development roadmap.

A company like this can frankly hire whoever they want and every recruitment company would want this opportunity. Cursor trusts me and my team to be the trusted talent filter for them after seeing what we've done elsewhere and make sure they get it right first time. We're helping them now as they enter the EMEA market.

Tipped Recruitment might not be the loudest trying to self-promote on social media. We're busy doing the work. 😉

Guess who’s back? 6am in the gym. No jet lag. Ready to go! 

Ted Turner’s (founder of CNN) famous phrase in my head:

“early to bed, early to rise, work like hell - and advertise”

Inbox is open and I’m ready to make 2026 happen.

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The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce)

The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) combines thought leadership with societal innovation to further human progress. Building on a rich 250-year history as a beacon for enlightenment values, the society undertakes influential and agenda-shaping research and hosts the UK’s eminent thought-leaders. The society's work is supported by a global network of fellows, a diverse pool of leading international influencers and innovators from every field and background.

Fellow

Andolini's Pizzeria

Server

U.S. Department of Justice

• As Quality Assurance (QA) inspector at UNICOR Federal Prison Industries’ Leavenworth Recycling Center, regularly ensured controls, policies, & procedures were observed, and support new hires & factory floor personnel safely perform all de-manufacturing work processes, analyze & mitigate job hazards, & assure quality, leading to exceeding FY2021 annual revenue goal by more than 42%. 
• As QA Integrity Leader, supervised & supported new hires & factory floor personnel with directions & guidance, enabling them to maintain acceptable quality levels as a Global Recycling Standards Organization (GRSO) Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS) certified recycling plant. 
• Led computer keyboard testing team to nearly quadruple output (3.84x increase)(productivity) & reduce production time for fully tested, cleaned keyboards for resale by 62.5% (efficiency).
• Assisted in implementing Information Management System (IMS), including training & execution of ISO Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach & National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) NIST 800-88 guidelines for media sanitization Clear, Purge, & Destroy target data method. 
• Inspected the de-manufacturing process, explaining & implementing the Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI) Sustainable Electronics Reuse & Recycling Version 3 (R2V3) standard, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ISO 9001:2015 (5th Ed.) quality management systems, ISO 14001:2018 (3rd Ed.) environmental management systems, & ISO 45001:2018 (1st Ed.) occupational health & safety management systems standards, British Standards (BSi) occupational health & safety assessment (OSHA) BS OSHA 18001:2007 occupational health & safety management system standards, & RIOS process controls.

Quality Assurance Specialist

Global Policy & Strategy Partners (GPS Partners)

• Strategic advisor to firm clients on international investments, operations, and geopolitical risks.
• Transitioned firm to Limited Liability Partnership by partner agreement December 2019, effective January 2020, registered with Texas Secretary of State April 2020.
• Proudly led persons with disabilities-owned firm strategic planning.

Senior Advisor & Founding Partner

• Provided strategic planning and market-entry consulting to U.S., European, and Middle Eastern companies and family offices seeking to establish and/or expand China and Asia-Pacific investments and operations. 
• Advised and navigated private clients from where they are today to where they are headed tomorrow with China and Asia-Pacific brand positioning and market share, including leveraging Belt & Road Initiative opportunities.

Managing Partner & Founder

Walmart

• Alongside fellow Global Technology Operations & Portfolio teammates, as principal program manager, developed, managed, and implemented Walmart enterprise strategic portfolio programs and services for Laura Berg, Vice President, Global Technology Operations & Portfolio; Suresh Kumar, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Technology Officer (CTO) & Chief Development Officer (CDO); and Doug McMillon, President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
• In midst of COVID-19 shift to remote work, co-led annual business continuity planning activities across global technology for nearly 20,000 software engineers, data scientists, and professionals on dramatically accelerated Q2 timeline (from 12-month goal to less than 3-month execution and activation), limiting disruption to support and enabling 2 million frontline associates to achieve record $559B annual revenue.
• Supported annual enterprise technology $10.7B CapEx program management, including Augmented Reality (AR), Cloud, data optimization, and Machine Learning (ML) to drive future growth.

Senior Manager I (Principal Program Manager), Global Technology Operations & Portfolio

• Alongside fellow Global Business Services Transformation teammates, as principal program manager, developed, managed, and implemented Walmart enterprise strategic programs and services for Clay Johnson, Executive Vice President & Enterprise Chief Information Officer (CIO); Suresh Kumar, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Technology Officer (CTO) & Chief Development Officer (CDO); and Doug McMillon, President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
• Focused on both implementing Ways of Working best practices across capability areas to arm nearly 20,000 technologists with the tools to succeed and annual enterprise technology $10.7B CapEx budget and programs, including Augmented Reality (AR), Cloud, data optimization, and Machine Learning (ML) to drive future growth.

Senior Manager I (Principal Program Manager), Global Business Services Transformation

Flowserve Corporation

• Implemented and improved sales processes, systems, and tools, including Salesforce CRM implementation, enabling 1,100 sales associates to exceed $4 billion in 2018 global revenues at an oil and gas manufacturing company.
• Managed global strategic business and technology transformation projects and programs and advance Keith Gillespie, Chief Sales Officer (CSO)'s sales vision and strategy.
• Reporting to senior director, global sales operations and aligned with vice president, Asia-Pacific sales, contributed to account planning process; provided and supported training comprised of leadership, product and technical development, and selling effectiveness; and implemented business and technology transformation projects, including Salesforce customer relationship management (CRM) implementation.
• Crafted messaging, encouraged adoption, and ensured effective change management among stakeholders.
• With 80 team members, under Scott Rowe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)'s leadership, re-defined mission, vision, and values.
• Implemented capital expenditure (CAPEX) workflow and tracking tool and corrected 8.5% over- spend on over $350M annual budget.
• ITIL® (2011) Foundation certified in IT service management.

Manager (Senior Manager), Sales Operations - Asia Pacific

• Administered SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidations (BPC) financial system for an oil and gas manufacturing company with USD$4.56 billion in 2015 revenues and USD$3.99 billion in 2016 revenues, including housekeeping and monitoring, system performance improvement and maintenance, and end-user access. 
• Consulted and collaborated with audit, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and supply chain senior leadership to articulate business requirements for professional fees and services workflow application.
• Liaised with external and internal auditors to ensure consistent financial systems IT controls. 
• Coordinated ongoing BPC training for more than 660 finance users globally, comprising certification webinars, online user forum, and in-person training. 
• Planned and executed four two-day BPC advanced report writer training courses held over four months in Austria, Singapore, and Texas of 20 finance business partners each (80 total), leading to improved report writer skills, cost savings, and increased knowledge share across global community of end users.
• Lead IT on-boarding of Global Shared Services Center in Hungary by defining and streamlining processes such as desktop configuration, application access, and new user technical training for more than 75 new hires in 5 months.
• Supported PolicyIQ revenue recognition application adoption through full systems development life cycle (SDLC) to implement Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 606 Revenue from Contracts with Customers from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
•  Contributed to USD$1.5 million in 2015 and 2016 Corporate Enterprise Systems team CIP hard and soft savings.
• Regularly used and championed Spirit of Flowserve employee recognition program by tying team member and business partner achievements to core values and competencies.
• Received 2015 Chief Information Officer (CIO) Award for project implementation excellence.

Senior Business Analyst & SAP BPC Systems Administrator

• Provided project management assistance for critical global business intelligence project at Fortune 500 company with USD$4.88 billion in 2014 revenues .
• Supported IT senior director and Finance VPs in ongoing project management tasks related to financial and business systems. 
• Coordinated planning and consolidation tasking deadlines across a blended team of functional and technical professionals.
• Assisted in end-user planning and consolidation system training sessions of nearly 600 users globally, including through Train the Trainer program and in-person in China, France, Germany, Singapore, and Texas.
• Managed more than a dozen external report writers, ensuring timely delivery of over 125 critical reports to the business on an accelerated six-week schedule.
• Coordinated with 18 Reporting Group Leaders to identify critical report priorities, assess skill gaps, and identify training and knowledge transfer needs.
• Assisted in BASIS administration tasks, including SAP server maintenance and object transports, user setup and access, and incidents/problem resolution. 
• Partnered with external vendors to identify and apply available solutions in BPC environments (production and non-production).
• Liaised between project core team and internal auditors to ensure successful audit review.
• R.C. Solutions LLC temp to Flowserve Corporation perm

Consultant

Texas A&M University

Member of nine-person Capstone team which, on behalf of a U.S. Government client, researched dominant narratives in China, reviewed how narratives were utilized historically, and forecast how narratives might be applied to potential scenarios. The research culminated in a paper entitled, "China's Rise Through China's Eyes: Identifying Prominent Narratives Inside Chinese Society and Assessing Their Impact on U.S. Actions."

Two year Master of International Affairs at The George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service. National Security & Diplomacy Track. China Studies, Defense Policy & Military Affairs, and Intelligence concentrations.

Attended study abroad with Dr. Ren Mu at China Foreign Affairs University, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, and Southwestern University for Finance and Economics.

Received Dean's Leadership Certificate from U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker (Retired).

China Capstone

Global Outreach Alliance

• Developed relationships with government officials and authorities to address and solve community needs in education, healthcare, and sustainable development.
• Developed proposals, managed grant funds and diversified project costs.
• Coordinated projects in Kangding county, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, People’s Republic of China for future Team Expeditions of 12 to 18 American volunteers.

Project Manager

Wheatley Institute

• Assisted Senior Fellow and former U.S. Acting Undersecretary of State for Security Assistance, Brigadier General Amos A. "Joe" Jordan, U.S. Army (Retired), with correspondence.
• Wrote and managed content for two Wheatley Institution websites.
• Developed relationships with administrators and faculty from more than 70 universities to attract undergraduates to attend the Wheatley International Affairs Conference (WIAC) 2012 on Human Security.
• Compiled clearance biographies for proposed international affairs speakers.
• Created event publicity.
• Edited publications.

Special Assistant

Army National Guard

•  Actively drilled with Delta Company, Recruit Sustainment Program, Utah Army National Guard.

Private First Class

GLOBAL OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY | ENTERPRISE PROJECT & PROGRAM MANAGEMENT 

I lead global, cross-functional teams in digital strategy, enterprise technology risk, and sales excellence for large-scale business operations and technology transformation programs and projects. Formerly, as senior manager (principal program manager), global technology operations & portfolio, alongside teammates, I developed, managed, and implemented strategic Walmart enterprise portfolio, programs and services for Laura Berg, VP, Global Technology Operations & Portfolio, Suresh Kumar, EVP, Global CTO/CDO, and Doug McMillon, President & CEO. My programs included business continuity for nearly 20,000 software engineers, data scientists, and professionals worldwide during COVID-19 and beyond, limiting disruption and enabling 2.2 million frontline associates to exceed record $559B annual revenue; Ways of Working best practices across capability areas to arm technologists with the tools to succeed; and annual enterprise technology $10.7B CapEx budget and programs such as Augmented Reality (AR), Cloud, data optimization, and Machine Learning (ML) to drive future growth.

Experienced IT team leader, technologist, and enterprise program manager in Agile, CRM, ERP, ITIL, Kanban, Lean Six Sigma, Prosci ADKAR, SaaS, SAFe, Salesforce CRM, SAP BPC, Scrum, and SDLC.

I hold an A.A. from Clark College, B.A. in Asian Studies with Business Management and Chinese minors from Brigham Young University, and Master of International Affairs from Texas A&M University, and am a Fellow, Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, & Commerce (RSA) in London. Previously lived & worked in China for three years, professionally fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and have traveled extensively for international business.

Published in Christian Science Monitor, Detroit News, Salt Lake Tribune, South China Morning Post, and more. 

Birkman Analyzer/Thinker (Yellow/Blue); Enneagram 3w2 Enchanter; StrengthsFinder/High 5 Commander, Catalyst, Storyteller, Deliverer, Coach

Benjamin J. Hayford FRSA 韩明豪

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Ash Takher

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