New London-based business will help growing companies hire senior data leaders, backed by market insight and advisory support
London, 4 August 2026 – datadai, a new specialist recruitment business, has launched with a clear focus: senior-level data appointments.
Founded by Greg Kalym, a recruitment leader with more than 20 years in the industry, datadai will work with technology start-ups, scale-ups and other growing companies for whom data increasingly sits at the centre of commercial strategy.
The business offers retained search, contingent and contract recruitment, events and advisory support, all built around a simple premise: hiring well in data takes more than matching keywords on a CV.
Greg spent 14 years at his first recruitment company, rising from trainee to director, before founding and building an embedded recruitment business over five years and exiting it successfully. After a spell back in corporate recruitment, he returned to entrepreneurship to build something focused entirely on the data market.
“Data is now central to how businesses make decisions, but hiring for it properly means understanding the differences between roles, technologies and leadership requirements, not just scanning a CV for buzzwords,” said Greg. “We want to be a genuine partner to clients and candidates: honest advice, real market intelligence, and access to people who can actually make a difference.”
datadai has launched with backing from 11 Investments, which partners with recruitment entrepreneurs to build specialist businesses.
“We’re proud to support Greg and bring datadai into the 11 Investments portfolio. At 11 Investments, we back specialist recruiters who understand their market better than anyone else, and Greg’s experience and reputation in the data space made this an easy business to get behind. We believe, in datadai, we’re building something the market genuinely needs and we’re excited to do that” said Joe Curtis, Co-founder of 11 Investments.
Its focus on data means datadai can offer a genuinely qualified network, including passive candidates who aren’t actively job hunting but would consider the right move. The business will also advise clients directly on salary benchmarks, skills shortages, hiring timelines, interview processes and offer negotiation, aiming to cut down on unsuitable interviews, shorten hiring processes and reduce the risk that comes with a bad senior hire.
“Our approach is personal, community-led and built on real expertise,” Greg added. “That means understanding what a client actually needs, being straight about the market, and running a process that gets the right outcome for everyone involved.”
datadai also plans to run a programme of industry events bringing together senior data leaders. The first is scheduled for the end of September 2026, the start of a wider series aimed at giving its network practical, useful insight into where the market is heading.
As demand grows, datadai expects to start building out its internal team over the coming months.
“Our ambition is long-term,” said Greg. “We want to build a business that’s properly embedded in the data industry and known for doing senior hiring well. We’re not interested in being a transactional supplier. We want lasting partnerships: understanding how our clients’ businesses and teams change over time and being a trusted part of that growth.”
About datadai
datadai helps businesses navigate the complexity of the data talent market.
As a specialist recruitment partner focused on data analytics across the UK and US, we understand the skills, expectations and market conditions shaping hiring decisions.
We support clients with role definition, salary insight, candidate attraction, market mapping, process management and specialist search. From first data hires to senior data leadership appointments, we help businesses find the people who can turn data into meaningful business impact.
Because in data hiring, the right person does more than fill a role.
They shape how a business thinks, decides and grows.
