About KEO
KEO was founded by Kate O’Shea to bring a more thoughtful, human approach to growth hiring. With close to twenty years spent recruiting across digital, performance and senior marketing roles, KEO exists to help founders hire people who strengthen culture, protect mission and deliver meaningful impact.
Our Experience
With 18 years’ experience in digital performance and growth recruitment, KEO brings a depth of market understanding that goes far beyond CVs or job titles. This includes extensive experience hiring into the London market across performance, growth, CRM and senior marketing leadership.
That experience translates into sharper role definition, realistic market calibration, and faster decision-making – particularly in roles where the cost of getting it wrong is high.
Who we work with
KEO works with founder-led, VC-backed and PE-backed businesses at critical stages of growth, where senior performance and growth hires have a direct impact on revenue and momentum. Clients range from high-growth consumer and D2C brands to scale-ups and established businesses building or strengthening their digital growth capability.
We partner with leadership teams who need experienced operators and leaders to raise the bar quickly, bring clarity into complex roles, and deliver impact without long ramp-up times.
Recent placements
Recent work includes hiring Heads of Growth, Marketing Directors, CMO’s Heads of Performance, Growth Leads and senior CRM leaders into revenue-critical roles, often where the brief needed shaping before search or where a previous process hadn’t landed and the cost of getting it wrong again was too high
Problems we solve
Hiring challenges that emerge when growth, values and expectations must align.
Senior growth and performance roles often fail because scope, seniority or expectations aren’t calibrated early enough. We help define the role properly before search begins, pressure-testing what success actually looks like and what will realistically land in the market.
Speed matters, especially in revenue-critical roles. We work at pace while applying judgement and market insight, engaging experienced operators who can step in quickly and deliver impact without long ramp-up periods.
When a previous process has stalled or failed, repeating it rarely fixes the problem. We step in to reassess the brief, reset expectations and approach the market differently, reducing the risk of another mis-hire.
Senior candidates don’t succeed on capability alone. We assess track record, decision-making and human factors that influence performance, helping teams hire leaders and operators who deliver in the real world, not just on paper.
As businesses scale, demand often outpaces internal hiring. We step in quickly, bring clarity to the role and connect teams with experienced leaders and operators who can deliver from day one.
Kate took the time to truly understand our business and delivered senior candidates who matched both our culture and brand values. She’s thoughtful, consultative, and a trusted long-term partner.
Hannah Kimuyu
– CEO, Performance & Commerce
– Brave Bison
Kate has a rare ability to understand both the technical requirements of a role and the culture behind it. Her judgement and communication led to a perfect hire.
Lottie Namakando, PhD
– Director of Behavioural Science & Innovation
– Reflect Digital
Kate brings a level of judgement and understanding that few recruitment partners can match. She handled complex senior roles with clarity, pace, and strong communication throughout.
Jeremy Paterson
– Managing Director
– Lickd
Kate takes the time to understand both the role and the cultural fit of the business. Her proactive approach and judgement have led to several successful hires for us.
Amanda Dwiecinski
– Angel Investor & Founder
– Sustainable Consumer Brands (Maslow’s)
Kate’s industry knowledge and personal approach made the process quick and easy. Her focus on genuine candidate – company fit really stood out.
Luben Dimitriov
– Performance Marketing & Growth Leader
– Avis Budget Group
What sets KEO apart
Boutique, human and values-led from first brief to final hire.
Founder-Led,
Always
You work directly with the founder on every search – no handovers, no juniors, no dilution.
Alignment
Before Volume
Candidates are assessed for values, behaviour and capability – together, not separately.
Human Judgement, Not Automation
Hiring decisions are driven by experience, instinct and context — not algorithms or box-ticking.
Built for
Mission-Led Growth
Designed specifically for founders building something that matters.
KEO INSIGHTS
Sign up for industry insights and KEO news
We send out a newsletter offering industry tips, sharing our news and highlighting new projects. Occasionally we might make you an exciting offer or share something hot off the press.
Work with KEO Digital
If you’re a founder building something that matters and hiring decisions carry real weight, this partnership will feel natural.
Thoughtful, founder-led recruitment designed to protect your mission and accelerate growth.