MARCH 2026
Team,
Let me start with the obvious. The market is challenging right now. Decision cycles are longer, budgets are tighter, and uncertainty is the backdrop to almost every client conversation. None of that is news to any of you.
But here is what I keep coming back to.
We deploy thousands of professionals across four countries, deep relationships with some of the biggest organisations in Europe, and the operational muscle to pivot into new markets and services quickly. That is not a position most companies are in right now. When the market shifts, we do not wait for it to come back. We go where the demand is.
And there is genuinely a lot to be excited about. Belgium is deepening strategic partnerships. Swisslinx is rebuilding with serious commercial hunger. Germany is scaling through complexity. The Netherlands is dominating government tenders and leading the way on automation. Every label in this newsletter is proving what this group can do.
On Atlantic: the transaction is still in its integration phase. We will be sharing a full update with you shortly. In the meantime, the focus remains the same. Deliver for our clients, grow the business, and show Atlantic exactly what they invested in.
One more thing. We recently filmed our Aston Martin corporate film and I cannot wait to share it with all of you. Stay tuned.
The market is tough. We are tougher. Let us keep going.
Guus Franke FOUNDER & CEO, CIRCLE8 GROUP | EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, ATLANTIC INTERNATIONAL CORP
CEO:GUUSFRANKE
Over the next few months, Circle8 Global is focused on bringing the group much closer together, turning a strong collection of specialist brands into one connected platform for Talent across Europe and beyond. By tightening collaboration between countries and business lines, and using flagship partnerships like Aston Martin Aramco to create shared campaigns and assets, we aim to unlock more cross border opportunities for clients, more international careers for our professionals and a stronger, more unified culture inside the group
Our main focus currently is aligning websites, data and marketing technology into a common architecture, and standardising analytics with group dashboards that give leadership a real time view of performance
Re-engineering marketing into a ‘performance’ department as well as defining the forward group narrative and go to market strategy The aim is positioning Circle8 as a leading Global IT talent partner and Swisslinx as the premium Swiss specialist in financial and technology staffing C
Chief Communications Officer
Delivering on the Aston Martin partnership with actual Talent & roles in 2026, bringing commercial teams closer together through shared objectives and coordinated activation
Working with Martin and Patrick to capture and apply their deep bid and tender expertise, embedding best practice across the group The focus is on creating a unified approach to sponsorship delivery, commercial excellence and client engagement that raises performance and reinforces our credibility at the highest level of partnership
IErna stepped up during the Atlantic transaction and managed every moving part between stakeholders and the senior team with total control. What she delivered under that level of pressure and complexity is not just good work. It is exactly what the business needed at exactly the right time.
Over the past few weeks we travelled across the labels to film the Circle8 / Aston Martin Aramco corporate film. It was brilliant to see our leaders step in front of the camera, own the narrative, and put themselves front and centre of what this group represents. That is exactly the kind of visibility and confidence we want from every brand in this group Stay tuned for the final cut D I G I T A L / M A R K E T I N G
MD: Martin Westerhof
The Netherlands is on a roll. We are crushing the Nationale Politie migration: 75% conversion versus Harvey Nash's 25% Fee contracts already at 70 of 700 target 14 new hires in two months AI tools cutting manual work across operations. Scale with precision.
H E R O W I N
Nationale Politie: 75% vs 25%
Working alongside Harvey Nash as dual brokers, Circle8 has converted 75% versus their 25%. That is not a win. That is domination.
Margin Infrastructure
Supply chain policy enforced. Pre-negotiated positions locked in Indexation processes standardised FixedToday established as key supplier Every lever pulled to protect and grow margin.
M A R G I N
The fee contract initiative has been picked up fast. Target: 700 paid fee contracts. Already at 70 and accelerating Margin improvement is real and measurable
Hiring demand and freelancer availability in the Dutch market are both tightening. We are offsetting that contraction with growth built over the past period and more tenders on the horizon. M A R G I N
Custom AI recruitment agent in development. "Bid Buddy" AI tool already reducing manual bid processing time AI hour processing and contract services mail agent rolling out across operations.
Swisslinx is being rebuilt from the ground up. Financial control locked in. Five new accounts opened. Key hires poached straight from competitors The Swiss market is brutal right now, but this team is outworking and outperforming everyone around them. H E R O W I N Full Financial Control Achieved
Year-end closure and reporting deadlines met. For the first time, Swisslinx has complete visibility and control over its financial reporting
Margin Optimisation
13 clients identified where margins can be improved. Initiative rolled out across the sales team. Every basis point matters.
Ines Silva Finance Manager
Five new client accounts opened with real contractor potential 50% of the team are outperforming top billers at competitors
Full-year event plan in motion. First "Data Frontiers" event pulled 40+ attendees. Next: "Women in IT" breakfast in March. University partnership secured.
In a few weeks, Ines took full control of the financial department and drove transformations that were previously considered impossible. What she accomplished is not a step forward. It is a leap compared to December.
Cancellation rates are up
Decision cycles are longer Volume is down versus 2024 That is the environment. What matters: over 50% of our team are outperforming competitor top billers in a harder market.
MD: Myranda Dyck
Belgium is locking down partnerships and building governance that scales. The Atos relationship has levelled up from transactional to strategic. Capgemini governance has been completely redesigned. This is what operational maturity looks like
Stabilised delivery, aligned governance frameworks, and hosted a Partner Day that combined strategic planning with an end-to-end process walkthrough. The Atos relationship is no longer a contract. It is a platform for scalable growth across 2026
The entire end-to-end process with Capgemini has been rebuilt Structured weekly governance calls, quarterly business reviews, and immediate improvements in transparency and delivery performance. Already generating positive feedback from the client side
Yasmine De Witte
Contracting & Invoicing Team
Joined in January. Already running across multiple client accounts. Takes ownership and delivers. Clear asset.
Soade El Homani
Operations Manager
Led the Atos MSP programme go-live under serious time pressure Delivered it clean
Organisations across Belgium are moving toward modular workforce solutions Flexibility, faster deployment, scalable delivery models That plays directly into our strengths
MD: Holger Königstein
Germany is scaling fast. E.ON framework renewed on improved terms New FPT framework signed Three new salespeople in the first two months of the year The compliance landscape is getting stricter, but this team is using that complexity as a competitive advantage.
New framework agreement with FPT. Signed. More growth on the table. Strategic positioning strengthened, additional revenue channels open. 3
H E R O W I N E.ON Framework Renewed
E.ON framework extended on improved terms. Not just renewed. Improved. That is what happens when you deliver consistently and the client trusts you to scale.
P E O P L E S P O T L I G H T
Marco Weiss
Operations Manager (from 01.01.2026)
MAJOR FRAMEWORKS SECURED
N E W F R A M E W O R K FPT Framework. Signed.
Took over operations at the start of the year. Steady hand during a growth phase. Critical hire at the right time.
Mariusz Domanski
IT Recruiting
Outstanding engagement and exceptional results A significant contributor to Circle8 Germany's success this year
SUPERPOWER: RECRUITMENT MACHINE
M A R K E T I N T E L L I G E N C E
German clients are tightening compliance around Scheinselbstständigkeit (bogus self-employment) and taking longer to commit. Higher bar, stickier deals. Circle8 Germany is built for exactly this complexity.
CIRCLE8 GROUP | AN ATLANTIC INTERNATIONAL CORP COMPANY
IT Global Talent-Matching Partner | Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team
newsletter is for internal distribution only. March 2026.