We Are Solutions Driven

Solutions Driven was founded in 1998 in Glasgow by Walter Speirs, a former C-suite executive at Compaq and Motorola, who saw first-hand what the recruitment industry was getting wrong – a lack of process, accountability, and genuine partnership. He built a business to change that.

Now led by CEO Gavin Speirs, who has spent over 20 years growing the company alongside his father, Solutions Driven has evolved from a small team of seven into a global recruitment partner with over 50 people across offices in Glasgow, New York, and the Philippines, delivering hires in more than 60 countries.

25+

years in business

60+

countries delivered

97%

right-hire, first-time

Why We Do Things Differently

We believe that hiring is broken because too many recruitment firms carry zero accountability for the outcome.

Companies absorb all the risk – short guarantees, inconsistent processes, and subjective assessments of fit – while their recruitment partners move on to the next fee. We exist to fix that.

Every search we run is backed by proprietary methodologies, our 6S, 6F, and 6E frameworks, and every placement comes with industry-leading guarantees of 12 to 18 months.

The result is a 97% right-first-time hiring success rate across business-critical and executive roles.

It’s a shift from transactional recruitment to an accountable operating model built around guaranteed outcomes, structured methodology, and long-term partnership.

It’s the hiring strategy we’ve refined over 25 years, and it’s at the heart of everything we do.

Three Solutions.
One Standard.

We specialise in the sectors where talent is scarce and the cost of a wrong hire is highest: Industrial and Engineering, Energy and Infrastructure, Life Sciences, and Advanced Technologies.

Our services are built to flex around each client’s needs.

SD Search - Critical Hire Search

Our critical hire solution for mid-to-senior specialist roles. We combine deep global sourcing with structured candidate assessment to deliver the right person – not just a shortlist.

Every placement is backed by a 12-month guarantee and our proprietary 6S methodology, delivering a 97% right-first-time success rate.

SD Exec - Executive Search

Executive search for VP, C-suite, and board-level appointments. We go beyond traditional search with leadership profiling, internal candidate benchmarking, and onboarding support to ensure long-term success.

Every executive placement comes with an 18-month guarantee – longer than the industry standard.

SD Embedded - Embedded Recruitment

Dedicated recruiters embedded within your team for large-scale or project-based hiring.

We bring the rigour of our search methodology at scale, with full transparency, structured delivery through our 6E framework, and significant cost savings compared to running multiple individual searches.

A Great Place for Great People
To Do Great Work.

We spend more time with colleagues than we do with our families, so we believe it has to matter. We’ve spent over two decades building a culture where people are supported, challenged, and trusted to do their best work.

Our behaviours aren’t posters on a wall – they’re how we work with each other, our clients, and our candidates every day.

Here’s our 6 Behaviours:

Live and Breathe

Our clients’ success is our success. We invest time in understanding their business, their culture, and the real impact of every hire.

Commercial Integrity

We do the right thing, even when nobody’s watching. Honest advice, transparent processes, and no shortcuts.

Future Focused

We don’t stand still. From AI-driven innovation to evolving our methodologies, we’re always looking at what comes next.

Grasp The Thistle

We tackle tough conversations and challenges head on. If something isn’t working, we say so and we fix it.

The Team Factor

Collaboration across every function and geography. We win together, and we support each other to get there.

Well-Being Champion

Looking after ourselves and each other, every day. Great work comes from people who feel supported and valued.

We value individuals as much as we value teamwork. Our deep emotional and behavioural intelligence assessments ensure that every hire we make adds a new voice and way of thinking to our teams.

We’re not an office of clones, but our collaboration is second to none.

Your Recruitment Support

Our team have over 300 years of recruitment experience between them. They’ve hired tech roles in Amsterdam, and CEOs for scaling start-ups in the US. They’ve worked as part of small external teams sourcing critical candidates, and slotted into existing teams to provide sourcing support.