The funding is there. The ambition is there. But when you look under the hood at what’s really slowing things down, it’s usually the same pattern. They hire top-tier talent—from Europe, the US, India—people who’ve built real-world systems, scaled platforms, solved hard problems. Then they bring them into legacy setups that aren’t ready for the way these people work.

They’re brought in to innovate, but the environment is locked down:

• No access to proper data
• No testbed to build or simulate
• No cross-functional exposure to the business or operational teams
• Everything needs sign-off from three committees

In sectors like defense, healthcare, and utilities—where many of these programs sit—it’s even more rigid. Security, compliance, and bureaucracy dominate. Rightly so in many cases. But it means your best minds spend their time trying to navigate politics, not solve problems.

Even worse, they’re often measured by traditional KPIs—deliverables, efficiency, process adherence. But these hires were never meant to be productivity hires. They’re problem-solvers, system-thinkers, creative technologists. You don’t measure them in Jira tickets.

And in remote or hybrid setups, this gets diluted even further. You lose the context, the chemistry, the urgency. The team doesn’t gel. And the transformation never really lands.

GCC companies aren’t short on ambition. But if you want cutting-edge to stick, you need to:

• Set up the environment right: sandbox access, real problem statements, faster feedback loops
• Bridge the talent gap: pair domain experts with tech leads who understand the constraints
• Redefine what success looks like: impact, not output.

Otherwise, you’ll keep hiring great people… and watching them walk.

If your organisation is serious about delivering real outcomes — not just pilots, prototypes, and press releases — it starts with getting the right people in the right environment. But finding that talent, and knowing how to set them up for success, isn’t easy.

That’s where we come in.

We help forward-thinking organisations across the GCC identify, attract, and place the kind of talent that not only understands cutting-edge technologies like AI, autonomous systems, and advanced analytics — but knows how to deliver them inside complex, high-stakes environments.

Whether you’re scaling an innovation team, building a new capability, or struggling to get traction with existing hires, we’ll help you find the people who can make it real.

Nick Drzymalski brings over 20 years of recruitment expertise to Aspire Technology, with a proven track record across multinational agencies and high-growth startups. Since relocating to Dubai in 2009, Nick has been instrumental in shaping talent strategies across the Defence, Security, and Critical Infrastructure sectors.

Nick’s deep industry knowledge and network allow him to identify and secure skilled professionals across mission-critical domains, enabling clients to build robust and future-ready workforces.