Case study · AI and machine learning · London
A founding CTO hired, then acquired by Cognizant
In short: Inawisdom, a London AI and machine learning consultancy founded by Neil Miles, built its founding technology team with Hurren & Hope. It reached AWS Premier Partner status within 4 years and was acquired by Cognizant in December 2020.
Key numbers
to AWS Premier Partner, the highest tier of AWS partnership
AWS Ambassador in EMEA: the founding CTO we placed
AWS-certified professionals the CTO went on to build and mentor
acquired by Cognizant in December
The challengeWhat did Inawisdom need?
Inawisdom set out to become a premier AWS partner for enterprise clients in London and beyond, in a field that was still emerging. It needed people who could deliver AI work for demanding clients and build the company's name at the same time.
- AI and machine learning engineers with deep AWS expertise, in a competitive London market
- Founding technology leaders who would shape the culture and capabilities of the company
- Teams able to earn AWS Premier Partner status and several AWS competencies
- Consultants who could serve financial services, retail and enterprise clients
- A growth plan that ran from startup to acquisition-ready within 4 years
“We needed to find exceptional talent who could not only deliver cutting-edge AI solutions but also help establish our reputation as London’s leading AWS AI/ML partner.”
How Hurren & Hope helped
We worked with Inawisdom from its earliest days through to its exit, supplying both contract specialists and permanent hires.
Founding technology leadership
We recruited a founding technology leader who became Chief Technology Officer and AWS Ambassador, and who was instrumental in the company's success.
Contract and permanent specialists
Machine learning engineers (AWS SageMaker, deep learning), PhD-level data scientists, certified AWS solution architects and client-facing AI consultants.
A relationship that came back
We first worked with Neil Miles at Smart421, an IBM Premier Partner, through to its acquisition by Kcom. When he founded Inawisdom, he chose to work with us again.
ResultsWhat happened next
AWS partnership
- AWS Premier Partner status within 4 years
- AWS Machine Learning, DevOps and Financial Services competencies
- AWS Machine Learning Partner of the Year 2020
The CTO we placed
- 12x AWS Certified and the #1 AWS Ambassador in EMEA
- Led development of RAMP, Inawisdom's Rapid Analytics and Machine Learning Platform
- Built and mentored a team of 120+ AWS-certified professionals
The exit
- Acquired by Cognizant in December 2020
- Joined Contino, another London-based Cognizant acquisition
- Offices in London and Ipswich; the team founded the Ipswich AWS User Group
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Read the case studyHiring for a team like this?
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Questions about this case study
Who was the client?
Inawisdom, a London-based AI and machine learning consultancy and AWS partner, founded by Neil Miles. It was acquired by Cognizant in December 2020.
Which roles did Hurren & Hope recruit for Inawisdom?
A founding CTO who became an AWS Ambassador, plus machine learning engineers, data scientists, AWS solution architects and client-facing AI consultants, on both contract and permanent terms.
How did the relationship start?
We first worked with Neil Miles at Smart421, an IBM Premier Partner, and supported its team through to its acquisition by Kcom. When Neil founded Inawisdom, he came back to us.
Do you still recruit AI and machine learning engineers?
Yes. We recruit AI, machine learning and data people on permanent terms in London, New York and San Francisco, and on contract terms in the UK.
What does Hurren & Hope charge for a permanent hire?
20% of first-year base salary for permanent hires below executive level, or 18% on every hire when you give us three or more roles to fill. You can pay it as one invoice on the start date, or monthly over 12 months through Pay While They Stay, where payments stop if your hire leaves. UK fees are plus VAT.US clients are not charged VAT.
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