SME Forum: Recruitment technology done differently (London)

Nina Alag Suri

Founder & CEO, X0PA AI

Nina Alag Suri is the Founder and CEO of X0PA AI, a B2B SAAS platform that helps organisations in their Human Capital hiring and deployment with AI and automation, improving efficiencies and removing bias from selections to create better teams. She is also the Founder and Chair for Empauwer, an AI-powered platform that enables companies to hire, retain and engage neurodiverse talent. Nina is also a Founding Member of Chief, a global membership network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders, and a Board Member of Bipolar Buddy and Mood Mentor, mental health start-ups.

Before X0PA, she founded Nastrac Group, a traditional HR consulting and executive search company and has been a serial entrepreneur for over 20 years. Born and raised in India, Nina has lived and worked in over nine countries. She is an Electronics Engineer by qualification and a self-declared geek at heart. Through running her previous organisation, Nastrac Group, Nina realised the inefficiencies and biases in hiring processes and founded X0PA AI to address these with the power of data, AI and automation. Nina has been endowed with multiple awards for her entrepreneurship and innovation. X0PA operates globally from its four offices across APAC, India, UK and UAE. The company recently closed its Series A round with a diverse set of venture capitalists globally.

Steve Carter

Co-Founder & Director, Carter Squared

Steve has had a 35-year career building and managing global recruitment firms at CEO level and serving on their global board.

Starting his career in Australia, Steve has forged a global career on constantly seeking change and improvement in the recruitment industry, challenging the norms , learning from other sectors and getting the best out of people by empowering and enabling them.

Having been at the Exec/Board level of global recruitment businesses, Steve launched his consulting practice in 2015, working alongside recruitment industry Directors and owners who are committed to building businesses that are not restricted by the conventional thinking in the sector.

After meeting Paralympian Liz Johnson through his consulting work, they co-founded The Ability People, an organization committed to creating ‘parity of opportunity’ in the world of work for disabled people and in 2019 was awarded a fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts for his work in social change.

Alex Lockley

Director, Bolt Jobs

Alex started his career in recruitment in 2007. After reaching the senior management level, he left to start an online business. Following a successful exit, he moved back into recruitment and founded Bolt in 2016. Bolt recruit for the further education and skills sectors in the UK.

In January 2022, Bolt faced some stark commercial challenges. So, Alex embarked on a new technology-enabled approach. He automated small parts of the business, before replacing his full CRM using the tools he built. He now works part-time in the recruitment business, whilst achieving record level sales. The rest of his work time he spends building more value and products for Bolt's customers.