Amplified People Group has acquired Higher, the executive search firm specialising in AI and engineering leadership appointments, as it looks to meet demand for senior technology talent.
Announced on 6 October, the deal will see Higher merge into JBM, Amplified’s executive search brand. JBM already recruits fractional and permanent leaders across general management, operations and go-to-market functions. Financial terms were not disclosed in the announcement.
Specialist search joins a broader platform
Higher founder and managing director Kelly Gauthier and her team will join the larger search operation. Gauthier said the move would give Higher a platform to extend its work with existing and new clients internationally.
“We have witnessed a massive demand for AI talent over the last eighteen months, with our clients clamouring for AI and Engineering leaders.”
Andrew Richardson, co-founder and CEO, Amplified People Group
Richardson said Amplified had worked with Higher and Gauthier for several years before the acquisition.
Growing the people services group
Founded in November 2023, Amplified also operates Foundation Partners, which provides embedded people, HR and talent support, and Unleashed, a leadership and management development provider.
The group says it has worked with more than 400 companies, has more than 50 people globally and has recently expanded into the US. These figures were supplied by the business.
Why it matters for recruiters
The acquisition brings AI and engineering search alongside commercial and operational leadership hiring. For recruiters, it is an example of specialist capability being added to a broader group, with access to shared infrastructure and a wider client offer central to the deal’s rationale.
Read more about consolidation in executive recruitment and investment in specialist recruitment.
Source: Amplified People Group announcement. Photo supplied with the release: Zach Rose, Hannah Vincent, Kelly Gauthier and James Mitra, pictured left to right.
