Gary Elden OBE joins Recruiting Alchemy and Andy Simpson to share his journey from a tough Camberwell council estate to becoming a leading figure in the recruitment industry, launching Huxley Associates within S3 and later serving as CEO of a listed business. He discusses early resilience, moving from insurance broking to estate agency, then taking a pay cut to join Computer Futures, where he learned from top performers and became a high biller. Gary explains S3’s entrepreneurial equity model, Huxley’s banking-led expansion into the US and Asia, the shift from perm to contract for revenue resilience, and the cultural impact of being a PLC. He reflects on being a Black/mixed-race role model, his OBE for services to diversity and business, leaving corporate life, advising and investing, and building Vidmology to modernize recruitment training using short-form video, audio, and AI bots.

00:00 OBE and Role Models
00:32 Sponsor ryvr.ai
01:51 Meet Gary Eldon
03:03 Growing Up Camberwell
06:08 First Jobs and City Life
09:33 Estate Agency to Recruitment
11:42 Computer Futures Grind
15:31 Jerk Chicken Side Hustle
17:21 Launching Huxley Associates
22:38 S3 Growth and IPO
27:20 Becoming CEO
29:31 Race Diversity and OBE
32:56 Windrush Roots and Palace
34:15 Blushing Prince William
34:50 New York Expansion
36:03 Life in America
37:42 Becoming CEO
39:06 Strategy Reset
41:06 Contract Shift Math
42:39 Leaving the Top Job
45:11 Crypto Risk Lessons
47:46 Remote Work Culture
50:05 Advisory Portfolio Life
53:16 Market Outlook Pockets
58:43 Candidate First Tactics
01:02:08 Vidmology Training Vision
01:05:28 Embracing AI Future
01:08:32 Final Thanks Credits

Follow Gary Elden:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-elden-3004502b/

Follow Andy Simpson:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/

Thank you ryvr.ai for sponsoring this episode:
https://ryvr.ai/