about
We’re reimagining how employers and supply chain professionals connect—on a global scale.
With SKILLSOOP, you’ll experience a recruitment platform that delivers precision, agility, and long-term value—at a fraction of the cost of conventional professional services.
The Mission
To elevate global supply chain recruitment by combining the precision of technology with the insight of human expertise.
To help employers and professionals align on what matters most—so decisions are faster, smarter, and more impactful.
Attracting and retaining high-performing procurement and supply chain professionals is no longer just a recruitment task—it’s a strategic imperative.
Meet
Richard Hillberg
With over 25 years of leadership in procurement and supply chain recruitment, Richard Hillberg has helped shape the future of talent acquisition throughout APAC, supporting most demanding industries—including financial services, mining, government, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, property, infrastructure, and retail.
A trusted partner to global brands, Richard is known for building high-performing teams, placing executive leaders such as Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and General Managers (GMs) of Supply Chain, and delivering consistently superior outcomes for clients. His commitment to innovation and continuous improvement has led to the development of patented technologies and strategies that are now embedded in the SKILLSOOP platform.
Richard's clients have included BHP, Rio Tinto, Qantas, Nestle, Macquarie Bank, Glencore and Sunrice.
From Vision to Impact
A Journey That Redefined Recruitment
In 1999, in Cardiff, Wales, Richard Hillberg began his career in recruitment with Hays Plc—specialising in accounting and finance. With a background in finance and a sharp commercial lens, he was asked to take on a market that had consistently underperformed for five years.
Richard approached it differently. Applying the fast-paced mindset of contract recruitment to permanent hiring, he focused on speed to market, exclusive representation, and deep narrative development for candidates. The result? A rapid turnaround, record-breaking profits, and a coveted Award for Excellence.
“Great recruitment isn’t about filling a vacancy. It’s about solving supply and demand problems with precision.”Following promotion to Business Manager, Richard turned down a traditional leadership role and instead pitched a bold new idea: Hays Procurement. Seeing a gap in the market, he convinced Hays to invest in specialist procurement recruitment—an area with limited competition at the time.
His knowledge of finance allowed him to evaluate candidate skills with greater clarity, ensuring a faster, more accurate flow of information between talent and employer needs. He immersed himself in procurement and supply chain learning, setting the stage for a much deeper career focus.In 2003, Richard was seconded to Australia to build Hays Procurement from the ground up. Two years later, he stepped into entrepreneurship with True North Executive—a short-lived but valuable learning curve in ownership, contracts, and operating models. Within 8 months, he pressed reset.
And that’s when Jigsaw Search was born.Jigsaw didn’t follow the crowd. While most agencies spread themselves thin across many disciplines, Richard built a vertical specialist model in procurement and supply chain.
His strategy focused on:
• 🔄 Mandated process
• ⚙️ Innovative recruitment tech
• 📚 High-level consultant training
• 💼 Profit over scale
This approach made Jigsaw one of the most profitable recruitment firms in Asia, with enduring value built into its brand, systems, and people. In 2017, Richard sold Jigsaw to Outsourcing Inc, completing the deal in 2020—cementing its legacy as a category leader that still thrives today.In 2024, Richard launched SKILLSOOP, a digital recruitment platform built to redefine how supply chain talent is connected globally.
SKILLSOOP blends:
• 🔍 AI & machine learning
• 📊 Deep supply chain domain knowledge
• 🔁 A fully integrated candidate/employer experience
• 💰 A fixed-price model that challenges traditional recruitment economics
“This platform is about more than just recruitment—it’s about building a modern, intelligent, and cost-effective talent ecosystem.”