A Letter from Jack Hanratty on Joining Ashby

I’ve been extremely fortunate to have spent the majority of my career being an early GTM hire for U.S. based SaaS Companies with strong presence here in the EMEA region, most notably at LinkedIn and Asana. Both of these companies went on to support thousands of customers across the region in a manner that’s already taking shape here at Ashby.

At both LinkedIn and Asana, the following was true:

1. Disruptive Technology: They had a strong belief (validated by thousands of early customers) that the technology was transforming a space that hadn’t seen innovation either ever or in quite some time.
2. Early Global Success: EMEA was already seeing strong, organic success with hundreds of successful customers and a local community raving about the power of the product.
3. Purposeful Culture: As known to many outside their doors now, LinkedIn & Asana deeply invested in building a culture with a particular emphasis on hiring while enabling talented people to best support their customers in the region. 
4. Clear Market Opportunity: EMEA was seen as a key market to unlock in order to drive sustainable growth, whilst thoughtfully acknowledging the local nuances. 

When joining such companies early, it’s not always clear which of these elements are already in play — or if they will ever be. When the opportunity to join Ashby was presented, I became more and more excited as each of the four criteria listed above became apparent through the hiring process. I’m thrilled to have joined and hear similar excitement from the EMEA community we have using the product already. 

For me, joining Ashby represents more than just a career move. It’s also a

• commitment to being a part of a company that is shaping the future of Talent Tech
• statement that Ashby is determined to support talent and people team’s across the EMEA region

Working for the first company to prioritize me as a hiring manager

I was first introduced to Ashby in 2023 when we became a customer at a previous company. As a hiring manager for over 10 years, I was disappointed that Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS’s) hadn’t evolved in line with other tech. I had already seen the evolution of sales tech firsthand, yet it was still taking me far too long to find and engage with talent. I struggled to align internal stakeholders and make data-informed decisions at the speed needed to maintain sales momentum. That changed once I started using Ashby. 

As a GTM leader, talent has always been my number one operating priority. Every second that my requisition is not filled it costs me and my business money. The speed at which I can fill that seat matters. However, the cost of filling that seat incorrectly is far more costly. Combine that with an economy that is focusing us on efficient growth and suddenly both speed and Quality of Hire matter more than ever. I strongly believe that Ashby has built an All-in-One solution that can help teams best achieve that.

My role as Head of GTM, EMEA

Working from my home here in Dublin, I am thrilled to be:

• Leading our sales efforts in EMEA by hiring a diverse, international team and driving collaboration across our EMEA GTM business to ensure our prospects and customers are as well served as possible.
• Engaging and partnering with the Talent/People community to understand what Talent Technology should look like in EMEA now and for the next 10 years.
• Elevate the talent profession across EMEA by providing talent teams with the best data and technology to do your best hiring — something I’m excited to make use of soon.

If you’re among the impressive EMEA companies using Ashby, attending our community dinners in EMEA, or have simply been following the journey so far — please get in touch.

Jack

P.S. Request a demo here. ;)