About this episode

Chris Atiyah discusses the challenges and strategies of scaling a recruitment business while maintaining specialization.

Recruitment has always rewarded specialists — but how do you stay niche when you're scaling across multiple markets? On this episode of Carrot & Stick, host Derry Holt sits down with Chris Atiyah, CEO and Co-founder of Engtal — a Chicago-based firm that has scaled to 50 people across three specialist brands with zero attrition in over eight months. Chris shares his journey from Portsmouth to the Midwest and how a relentless focus on the right people, the right markets, and the right technology has built one of recruitment's most quietly impressive businesses. If you want to know what a successful, AI-enabled recruitment business looks like in practice, this episode is for you.

People in this episode

Host: Derry Holt

Guest: Chris Atiyah

Topics covered

• recruitment
• specialization
• business scaling
• technology in recruitment
• employee retention

Keywords

• recruitment
• specialists
• business growth
• AI in recruitment
• employee attrition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Engtal

Places: Chicago, Portsmouth

More episodes of Carrot and Stick

• Sam Crisp from Axonas Consulting | From Agency Founder to Exit · February 5, 2026 · 1h 21m
• Martin Doig and Robbie Sturgess from Verto People - Why Cold Calling Is Essential For Perm Growth · November 26, 2025 · 1h 4m
• Saeed Bhor: Why Process is > Tech, Data Audits & Navigating Rectech · June 18, 2025 · 1h 0m
• Laura Clark: Buying Out Her Mum, Performance Truths & OA's Culture · June 4, 2025 · 58 min
• Elliot Dell: Salt's Global M&A Strategy, Founder Branding & AI Insights · May 21, 2025 · 53 min
• Why Dubai? David Morel Talks Global Expansion, AI & Leadership Lessons | Carrot & Stick Podcast · May 7, 2025 · 59 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Carrot and Stick podcast page.