Malt has appointed Luke Hicks as UK country lead and VP of enterprise as the freelance management platform looks to accelerate growth in the UK.
He will also oversee enterprise activity across Northern Europe and the Middle East, giving him a broader regional remit. The appointment is intended to help Malt meet demand from large companies for freelance specialists in AI and technology.
The platform is used by more than 100,000 businesses to source, contract and manage independent professionals. Its clients include Schneider Electric, L'Oreal and Reckitt, and its network spans more than 1,000,000 independent experts in technology, data, marketing, communications and management consulting.
The UK is an important market for Malt as companies rethink how they hire specialist workers for digital transformation projects. Businesses are under pressure to bring in people with targeted experience in AI and related technical fields while retaining flexibility over the length of their engagements.
That shift has increased the role of freelance platforms that sit between large organisations and independent consultants. These platforms aim to formalise a process that has often been fragmented, particularly for employers that need greater oversight of contracting, payments and reporting.
Hicks joins Malt after two decades in enterprise software, including roles at Cornerstone and Workday. His experience spans banking, pharmaceuticals, energy and professional services, suggesting Malt wants someone with a background in selling workforce and software services to large, complex organisations.
His appointment also reflects the growing overlap between software, external talent and professional services. As companies adopt AI tools and reshape workflows, many are turning to short-term specialists rather than relying only on permanent hires or traditional consultancies.
Manuel Brachet, Chief Revenue Officer at Malt, outlined the company's view of the UK market.
"The UK is a key strategic priority for Malt. It is one of the major financial and tech capitals of the world, and has long been a hub for highly-skilled independent experts from a broad range of sectors. Malt has enjoyed strong growth in the UK, and Luke's appointment represents a significant step in Malt's commitment to the UK market. At the heart of this will be a laser-focus on the fast-evolving AI and tech skills that our enterprise clients are demanding across Europe, and that our platform and solution are perfectly placed to deliver," Brachet said.
Founded in 2013, Malt has expanded with a model that combines freelancer discovery with contract administration and payment processing. It operates in a part of the labour market that has grown as employers seek more flexible staffing models, especially for project-based work.
In the UK, this trend has been particularly visible in technology and transformation programmes, where organisations often need niche expertise for a defined period. Hiring permanent staff for every specialist function can be slower and more costly, while established consulting firms can be expensive for targeted assignments.
Malt's pitch to enterprise customers is access to independent professionals with the level of process and oversight larger businesses require. The company argues this matters more as organisations try to move quickly on AI-related projects and need experts who can deliver specific outcomes.
Hicks described his move in those terms.
"At the heart of what attracted me to Malt is the team's focus on transforming the way we access skills and professional services to on-demand models. In the skills debate of build, buy or borrow, speed is becoming more important than ever. Many organisations require immediate, targeted access to highly skilled experts with specific capabilities in Tech and AI, with focus on time-based outcomes rather than recurring tasks. I'm looking forward to helping more businesses deliver on their transformation agendas by partnering them with the exceptional talent on the Malt platform," Hicks said.