From the Inside Out
By Jardine Slater, Founder & Principal Consultant, Alder Makham
I've spent nearly two decades in HR Tech, on both sides of the desk: five years running my own executive search firm, and fourteen years selling for ADP and Cornerstone OnDemand. That unique combination gives Alder Makham a deep, operational understanding of what it actually takes to build high-performing Go-To-Market teams, moving well beyond a traditional recruiter's perspective.
The Art of the Search
For five years, I ran my own executive search firm, placing leadership and Go-To-Market teams into American venture-backed SaaS companies as they expanded into Europe. This frequently involved securing their first Country Manager or foundational regional sales hire in the territory. Operating in that high-stakes environment taught me how rapidly a sales function must be built from scratch, and how to spot a candidate's long-term commercial potential before anyone else can see it.
The Science of the Close
Following that, I spent fourteen years on the other side of the desk, selling complex SaaS solutions for industry giants ADP and Cornerstone OnDemand. Navigating multi-million dollar enterprise deals taught me exactly what it takes to hit a quota in the HR Tech space under pressure. I learned to recognise what a top-performing salesperson actually looks like when facing enterprise procurement hurdles, and what specific skills truly drive revenue versus what simply looks impressive on a CV.
Our Philosophy
At Alder Makham, we don't believe in filling seats. We believe in hires that move your number.
Wherever your platform sits in the HR Tech ecosystem, from Core Foundations and the Intelligence Layer through to Activation & Growth and Engagement & Experience platforms, we bring the insight of a veteran seller and the precision of a specialist recruiter to find the leaders who will drive your revenue trajectory.
The Synthesis
Alder Makham is the direct synthesis of these two worlds. Our approach pairs the agility of a specialist search firm with nineteen years of intense pattern-recognition in HR Tech, first placing sales leaders and then carrying a quota myself. This dual perspective is exactly what allows us to identify GTM talent that will actively move the needle for your business, rather than talent that simply matches a keyword brief.
Why This Matters: A Case in Point
A client had been searching for a critical regional leadership role for six months, first utilising their in-house talent team and then passing it to multiple traditional recruitment agencies. No offers were made and the pipeline had stalled. The real bottleneck wasn't speed or effort; it was the niche market capability required to accurately evaluate, find, and approach this specific calibre of talent.
Having sat on both sides of the desk, running a search firm and later working as a quota-carrying enterprise sales professional, I knew exactly what ‘good’ looked like for their specific market layer. I identified and qualified the right candidate in days, and an offer followed.
Speed without clarity is a distraction. Knowing exactly what you are looking for beats moving fast for its own sake.
Building or scaling a GTM team?
Get in touch directly at: nextsteps@aldermakham.com or +44 (0)204 5690114