Guy Walker founded Dovetail & Slate in 2018 on a belief that recruitment could be done differently. Focused on the public sector, he set out to connect talented professionals with the organisations that deliver education, local government and social housing services.
Building that idea, without external investment, into what the business calls the UK’s fastest-growing public sector recruitment specialist has made him a finalist for The Cazenove Capital Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards.
From start-up to national specialist
Under Walker’s leadership, Dovetail & Slate has grown from a start-up into a nearly 100-strong business operating from Manchester, Leeds and Bristol. The company reports serving more than 900 clients and delivering over 15,000 placements to date. It began in Further Education, where, it says, it is the largest single recruitment team in the UK by headcount, and is now extending that sector-specialist model into local government and social housing, markets that share governance structures, transferable talent pools and procurement processes.
A partnership model, not a transactional one
What Walker emphasises is a model built on relationships rather than transactions. The firm places professionals at every level, from senior leaders to operational staff, on temporary, permanent or project bases, while its Client Services Team works alongside clients to build resilient teams and future talent pipelines. That work is backed by ISO9001 and ISO27001 accreditation, and extended through Talentia Talent Services, a consultancy on applicant-tracking technology and employer brand, alongside the group’s own technology stack.
Recognition for culture and growth
The company Walker leads has earned recognition for both how it treats its people and how fast it has grown. According to the business, it holds Platinum accreditation from Investors in People, a status it says is shared by only 5 per cent of organisations globally, and has been named among the UK’s Best Companies to Work For by The Sunday Times, alongside a Sunday Times Hundred 2025 listing as a fastest-growing company. Guided by a founding purpose of empowering people and changing lives, Walker’s record of scaling a values-led business is exactly what the entrepreneur category sets out to reward. Finalists across the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards will learn the outcome at Grosvenor House, London on 10 November 2026.
