Meet our team of international recruitment experts
Peter
Kratochvila
Founder & Managing Partner
Peter is a highly experienced Recruitment & HR Consultant with a wealth of expertise in Specialized Talent Sourcing, Temporary Staffing, Outsourcing, Direct Search and Executive Search, developed over a successful career that spans more than a decade. With a background that includes Sales, Project Management (Green- and Brownfields) and Process Optimisation, Peter is perfectly placed to understand, interpret and satisfy the needs of a wide range of clients
James
Caan
Board of Directors
Often recognised outside the industry for his appearance in the BBC’s Dragon’s Den series, James Caan CBE has been in recruitment for over 30 years and invests and supports recruitment companies of all sizes across various geographies and sectors. James takes an active role in contributing towards the strategy of Needle Recruitment, working closely with our team to support the business’ exciting growth plans and vision.
Gerard
Koolen
Board of Directors
Gerard Koolen is a highly experienced recruitment entrepreneur, known for his expertise in the staffing industry. He is the founder and Group Managing Partner of Lugera, the largest independent staffing agency in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, with a revenue of EUR 234 million in 2022.
Over the years, Gerard has successfully led Lugera through several acquisitions and developed TalentBase, a recruitment software that provides modelling tools for HR directors.
With over 26 years of experience, he is widely recognized as a leader in the staffing industry and his accomplishments have made a significant impact on the field.
Ellie
Isted
Talent Strategy Manager
Ellie is a people-oriented professional with a passion for shaping company culture, driving recruitment excellence, enhancing employee value proposition, and fueling company growth. Ellie is the Talent Strategy Manager at Recruitment Entrepreneur, where she supports Peter, the Founder of Needle, in sourcing the best talent for his growing business. With almost a decade of experience, Ellie has worked within recruitment agencies, building and managing her own team, and now works with Founders to start and scale their own business.
Ellie provides support to Needle, ensuring the TA strategy is as strong as it can be, throughout the interview, offer and induction stage of their process. She works with businesses to map the market and use the unique selling points of their vision to pitch to potential hires.
Earlier in her career, Ellie was Associate Director with ISE Partners (part of the Pertemps Network Group), placing talent within alternative investment and professional services, as well as heading up the Temporary Recruitment desk. Ellie joined ISE after graduating in Economics and Finance at Cardiff University.
Ellie has also attained a Recruitment & Employment Confederation Certificate in Recruitment Practice (REC CertRP).
Sophie
Morris
Learning & Development Manager
Sophie is a dedicated learning and development professional with a rich history of contributions in this field. As the International Learning & Development Manager for Needle and Recruitment Entrepreneur, she holds a pivotal role responsible for conceiving and developing Needle's L&D strategy.
In her prior role, Sophie led the build out of the global L&D function, creating and implementing L&D strategies across multiple offices within EMEA, APAC and collaborating closely with the US. She established consistent global solutions and partnered with key stakeholders, including board-level executives, to implement tailored learning and people initiatives. Sophie also played a significant role in selecting and implementing learning technology and ran a Leadership Development Program with 80 leaders across 4 businesses.
Her earlier experience as a Learning and Development Business Partner at Reed Talent Solutions further enriched her L&D expertise, involving training needs assessments, designing bespoke training, and mentorship. Sophie's diverse career journey reflects her profound impact on the learning and development landscape and her commitment to driving excellence in talent development.
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