In addition to building an in-house team of 17, which will include recruiters from its previous outsourced recruitment function with HR consultancy True North, Kemp will oversee a major hiring drive of nearly 100 technology workers and graduates across different specialisms. Betfair currently has over 1,800 full-time employees globally in countries including the UK, the US, Ireland, Malta, Romania and Australia.

The betting platform has 3m registered users and enjoys 5.5m exchange transactions per day. Its products include Betfair Betting Exchange along with online casino and poker games. It also operates in mobile phone applications, TV and a stand-alone business dedicated to the financial betting market.

Financial services and internet companies are key competitors for the type of technology talent Betfair wants to attract, Kemp acknowledged. “The technology market, especially in London, has exploded, and there’s a bit of an auction going on,” Kemp told Recruiter. “But we think we’ve got a great story; we’ve got an edge.”

Kemp’s vision of the in-house team involves separating research and sourcing from account management out into different roles. His 12-month plan calls for the recruitment team to be fully embedded within that period and for the selection and implementation of an applicant tracking system.

He praised True North for its work with Betfair. “We’re definitely in a better spot after their two years with us. They helped us manage costs and time to hire,” Kemp said.

His previous role was head of executive recruitment at Dell EMEA. He started his recruitment career at ATA Selection. “It’s useful to have an agency background when you come in-house,” he said.