In July 2026, SR2 begins a new chapter.
SR2 has announced that founder Chris Sheard will step down as CEO in July 2026, handing leadership of the business to Nigel Ramana.
The move follows what Sheard describes as a recognition that “what got us here won’t get us there” as the company enters its next exciting phase of growth. It is a handover with an unusual amount of history behind it. Sheard and Ramana have known each other since they were ten years old. Years later, it was Ramana who first introduced Sheard to recruitment – the industry Sheard would go on to build a business in.
A full-circle appointment
Sheard founded SR2 in October 2017, inspired by Dale Partridge’s book People Over Profit and a conviction that a recruitment business could both “Be Good and Do Good”.
SR2 has since grown into a £30m+ turnover Global business spanning the UK, Germany and the US, and in 2021 became one of the first technology recruitment firms in the UK to certify as a B Corporation.
Ramana brings two decades in STEM recruitment to the role. He was one of the original founders of Opus Talent Solutions, where he helped scale the business over a period of 18 years across the UK, Europe, APAC and the US as Group Managing Director and COO. That business grew to 48m NFI and over 350 staff globally and achieved a Private Equity Exit 4 years ago. He joins SR2 in July 2026 as CEO following a planned transition.
Sheard’s move into the Founder & Chief Growth Officer role is a deliberate one. Freed from day-to-day operational leadership, he will concentrate on the SR2 brand, strategy, and people – the areas the business was built on.
Why now?
The leadership transition reflects SR2’s ambitions for its next phase of growth.
Having built SR2 from a start-up in a spare bedroom into a global business with a projected turnover of £35 million in 2026, Sheard believes the skills required to build the company are not necessarily the same skills required to scale to the next level.
“What got us here won’t get us there,” said Sheard. “As I’ve reflected on what SR2 needs over the next five years, it became clear that the business would benefit from a leader whose strengths are rooted in operational excellence, execution and scaling organisations. Nigel is exactly that person.”
As CEO, Ramana will focus on operational performance, international growth and building the infrastructure required for SR2’s next chapter, while Sheard moves into an Owner & Chief Growth Officer role focused on culture, talent, brand and long-term strategic growth.
“Appointing Nigel as CEO is one of the most significant decisions I have made in building SR2. We’ve built an incredible business, but one of the biggest lessons as a founder is having the humility to recognise when the business needs different strengths to reach the next level. Nigel has spent his career building and scaling high-performing organisations, and there’s no one I’d trust more with what we’ve built. Moving into the Chief Growth Officer role allows me to focus on our people, our culture and our brand – the things that have always mattered most to me.”
Chris Sheard, Owner and Chief Growth Officer, SR2
Eight years, by the numbers
Sheard hands over a markedly different business to the one he started in a spare bedroom. SR2’s first-year revenue was £750k; the firm is on track to turn over a projected £35 million in 2026 – and has generated more than £125 million in cumulative revenue since inception. Along the way, it has made over 5,800 placements, given more than £350,000 to charity, and built teams across three countries.
| £750k → £35m | First-year revenue to projected 2026 turnover |
| £125m+ | Cumulative turnover since 2017 |
| 5,821 | Placements made since founding |
| £350k+ | Raised for charity |
| 3 countries | UK, Germany and the US |
“Having been a huge SR2 fan from afar, admiring the business Chris has built, my job now is to protect what makes SR2 special while building the operational foundations for the next stage of growth. The opportunity ahead of us is enormous and very exciting.”
Nigel Ramana, Chief Executive Officer, SR2
The transition takes effect July 2026.
Media enquiries: Ella Johnson (theLEAP) ella.johnson@theleap.io
