One recruiter.
Two businesses.
AI-powered capacity.
Twelve new Country Manager and VP search mandates in 2026 to date: how Murray Clarke runs Aspiring Partners’ searches solo, alongside a technology business, with TalentHub’s AI-powered platform supporting the work.
Founder-reported proof of concept · Snapshot as at 18 October 2026
We will update these figures after the 2026 calendar year has closed.
An independent search firm. A TalentHub platform customer.
Its own brand, client relationships and recruitment delivery.
11 of 12
2026 searches were Country Manager assignments. The remaining search was for a Sales VP. Includes the Q4 pipeline, not only completed placements.
1 recruiter
Murray runs the searches while also running a technology business. AI-powered research, content and delivery workflows expand the work he can handle.
~¥140m
Estimated fee value of business signed or expected to be signed within calendar 2026. Some candidate start dates and billing may fall in 2027; this is not revenue already earned or collected.
Newly licensed.
Far from starting without experience.
Aspiring Partners began operating under its Japanese recruitment licence on 1 January 2026, according to founding partner Murray Clarke. The firm focuses on leadership hiring for technology businesses in Japan.
Murray brought significant experience in executive search and RPO, including leading a mid-size business that was sold to ManpowerGroup. He had, however, spent many years away from personally managing searches from brief to offer.
The challenge was to turn that experience into an effective modern agency: communicate a clear specialism, produce substantial research, maintain a useful digital presence and deliver searches with a small team.
TalentHub supplied the technology and supporting workflows. Aspiring Partners brought its own professional judgement, network, client relationships and recruitment responsibility.
A gradual start.
Stronger momentum through the year.
New search mandates by quarter
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4 to date
12 new Country Manager and VP search mandates, retained or otherwise. Q4 is partial, as at 18 October 2026. Counts include searches in progress and are not completed-placement counts.
A licensed firm with an established network.
Early referrals led to multiple search assignments, supported by the founder’s reputation and previous relationships. Assignments took time to convert: Aspiring Partners closed just one Country Manager search in Q1 while activity was ramping up.
Research and marketing became connected work.
Aspiring Partners used TalentHub’s platform and support for research, briefing materials, specialist content and website development. The objective was to make its expertise clearer and easier for prospective clients and candidates to understand.
Visibility through Google and AI search.
Murray reports that Google and LLM-based discovery were surfacing Aspiring Partners for Japan technology Country Manager search by Q3. This is a qualitative account of discovery, rather than an independently measured ranking or attribution study.
Three opportunities after a quiet pipeline reset.
After the Q3 pipeline closed, the founder reported no concrete opportunities entering the final quarter. Within approximately a week, two referred clients and a company already known to the firm created new search opportunities.
These opportunities demonstrate continued referral momentum during the firm’s first year.
Approximately ¥140 million in estimated total fees.
The approximately ¥140 million relates to the estimated fee value of business signed or expected to be signed within calendar 2026. The year refers to when the business is signed, not when every candidate starts or every fee is billed. Some candidate start dates may fall in 2027. As at 18 October, the figure includes work still in progress and expected signings; it is not all already signed, earned, invoiced or collected.
For regional context: approximately S$1.13 million / A$1.28 million / US$0.89 million. Illustrative conversions using 16 October 2026 rates, rounded; yen is the primary measure. Sources: SGD, AUD and USD.
What sits behind the pipeline?
According to Murray, every search in the current pipeline falls into one of three categories:
- Verbal acceptance: the candidate has verbally accepted.
- Newly signed retained search: the client has signed the search engagement.
- Exclusive search with finalists: the engagement is exclusive and candidates are already at finalist stage.
These stages give context to the estimated fee value, but they are not interchangeable with completed placements or fully billed fees. Verbal acceptances still need to be finalised, retained searches still need to progress, and finalist processes still need to conclude.
Activity strengthened through Q2 and Q3, with four further mandates in Q4 by 18 October. Some placements arising from business signed in 2026 may have 2027 start dates and related billing. We will update the numbers after year-end to distinguish business actually signed during 2026 from realised billings and placements starting in 2027.
The capacity of AI.
The judgement of an experienced recruiter.
The striking result is the operating model: one person running the searches while also running a technology business. AI supports the research, content production, pipeline preparation and briefing work that would otherwise compete for the same hours.
Research and preparation
AI-assisted company and candidate research, structured Executive Profiles and Client Brief Pages support preparation and communication. The agency reviews what reaches clients and candidates.
Brand and discoverability
Research-led blogs, case studies and publishing workflows help explain the agency’s market knowledge in its own voice across its website and LinkedIn presence.
Winning competitive mandates
Murray reports that the platform has materially helped Aspiring Partners win client mandates, including when competing against multiple search firms. Research, briefing materials and the ability to demonstrate a structured search process help make the agency’s approach tangible in client discussions.
The founder credits the platform with helping Aspiring Partners both get noticed and win the mandate—even when clients are considering several competing firms—alongside his established track record and relationships.
This describes the founder’s assessment of contribution. It does not establish that the platform alone caused the reported searches, referrals, visibility or estimated fee value.
Technology from TalentHub.
Recruitment by Aspiring Partners.
TalentHub Solutions
The platform and supporting services are provided by TalentHub Holdings Limited, New Zealand. Its role covers technology, implementation, marketing and agreed business support, with corporate-client introductions separately scoped.
Aspiring Partners K.K.
An independently operated Japanese search firm and TalentHub customer. It owns its customer relationships and contracts, conducts candidate assessment and placement, and is responsible for its recruitment licence and delivery.
The companies are related parties, as disclosed in their service agreements. “Independently operated” describes their distinct operating responsibilities; it does not imply unrelated ownership. This is a related-party proof of concept, not an independent customer endorsement.
Your track record is the starting asset.
The lesson is not that software replaces expertise. It is that an experienced search or RPO team can put its expertise to work through better research, consistent marketing and connected delivery workflows.
Bring your specialism.
A clear market, credible experience and strong professional judgement give the content and research substance.
Make it repeatable.
Configure AI around your voice, research standards, approvals and client communication.
Measure your own progress.
Track published work, enquiries, introductions, engagements and realised billings over time. Individual agency results will vary.
About these figures · 18 October 2026
This is a snapshot as at 18 October 2026. We will update the numbers after the 2026 calendar year has closed, distinguishing business signed during 2026, actual billings and candidate starts in 2027.
Figures supplied by Murray Clarke as at 18 October 2026. New mandates by quarter: Q1 1, Q2 3, Q3 4 and Q4 4 to date. These cover Country Manager and VP searches, retained or otherwise: 11 Country Manager mandates and one VP mandate. Counts include work in progress, not only completed appointments. One Country Manager search closed in Q1. Approximately ¥140 million is the estimated fee value of business signed or expected to be signed within calendar 2026, including work still in progress. Some candidate start dates and related billing may fall in 2027. It is not a statement of revenue already earned, invoiced or collected. Current pipeline comprises verbal acceptances, newly signed retained searches and exclusive searches with finalists, according to the founder. Platform contribution to winning mandates is the founder’s assessment; no controlled comparison or win-rate claim is made.
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