Built to help organisations unlock their Talent
Our Journey
Like most great ideas, ELAN was born over coffee.
Two founders. One conversation. A shared frustration that had been building for years. Craig and Paul have both spent enough time working with businesses to know that three of the most important things an organisation does - hiring people, developing them, and planning for the future are rarely backed by data. Interview processes vary by manager, development conversations rarely lead anywhere and succession plans are built on gut feel and a spreadsheet.
They both knew it could be done better. So they started talking about how. The idea was simple in its logic, ambitious in its scope. What if every role had a clear competency matrix, a precise definition of what great looks like? What if that same framework could power a structured, bias-free interview, give every employee a visible pathway to their potential, and give every leader a real-time, data-driven view of their succession risks?
Not three systems bolted together. One connected platform. Built around the competency matrix that sits at the heart of everything.
Craig and Paul didn't set out to build another piece of HR software. They set out to change the way organisations think about their people. To replace inconsistency with structure. Guesswork with evidence. Missed potential with clear, achievable pathways.
ELAN is what happened when two people refused to accept that it couldn't be done better.
Mission
To connect every hiring decision, every development conversation, and every succession plan to the competency framework that makes them all work.
Vision
A world where the right person gets the right opportunity.
Meet the Founders
Craig Ellis
Operations and Implementation Director
Craig's career perspective on talent is informed by six years in the Royal Air Force as a Logistic Supplier, where he developed an instinct for process and precision. He moved into the engineering recruitment sector before building a decade-long career at Briggs Equipment, leading both recruitment and L&D functions. In 2026, he founded EVARI Talent Partners to provide practical, commercially grounded advice based on genuine end-to-end expertise in the people lifecycle.
Paul Nolan
Co-Founder & CTO
Paul has spent over twenty-five years helping organizations reach their potential through intentional development. Starting his career in management at Orange, he discovered the dramatic impact of structured training. He built an extensive L&D portfolio through Penguin Learning, delivering transformational programmes for brands like Ralph Lauren and Virgin Media. As a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor, he advocates for caring for the whole person alongside performance metrics.
Structured Hiring
Replace intuition with evidence-based assessments for repeatable talent success.
Bias-Free Technology
Remove unconscious bias from your recruitment funnel with objective data-driven insights.
Better Outcomes
Drive meaningful hiring ROI through quality-of-hire metrics and retention analysis.
SaaS Scalability
Our B2B platform evolves with your organization, supporting local or global scale.