Brian Gillingham — decade in HR compliance, training, and applied research. Built Mermoid because every other AI hiring tool fails the one test that actually matters.
Most AI hiring tools can't defend their own decisions. I've watched care homes, accountancy firms, and education trusts pay £1k+/month for ATS plugins that produce a candidate ranking and can't tell you why Sarah ranked #3 instead of #7.
That's a problem at the best of times. It's a critical problem if you ever face an Employment Tribunal claim, an ICO inspection, or an Equality Act 2010 challenge. "The AI told us she wasn't suitable" is not a defence.
The test isn't whether AI can rank candidates. It's whether the rank survives scrutiny.
So I built Mermoid — a deterministic scoring engine where every score points to the specific CV passages that drove it. Same inputs, same outputs, every time. Citation evidence per criterion. An audit trail you can actually hand to a tribunal.
I'm Brian Gillingham. I live in Lincoln. I've spent the last decade working across HR functions in regulated industries — care, finance, public sector training. CIPD Level 7 (the postgrad-equivalent qualification for HR professionals). PGDip in Social Research Methods, BA Criminology.
I'm not a tech founder. I'm an HR practitioner who got tired of watching colleagues use tools that couldn't explain themselves. So I learned to build one that could.
Mermoid scores candidates across four weighted categories — Skills (35%), Experience (30%), Cultural Fit (20%), Motivation (15%) — with weights you can adjust per role. Each score points to the specific CV passages that drove it.
It's deterministic because the engine is rule-based, not LLM-based. Same inputs always produce the same outputs. No drift, no hallucination, no random temperature.
It's citation-backed because every score includes the supporting evidence inline — ready to defend at interview, at offer stage, or (if it ever comes to it) at tribunal.
It's compliance-aware because each report runs the relevant sector pack: CQC fitness for care, FCA SMCR for finance, KCSIE for education, etc. Missing certifications surface BEFORE you waste an interview slot.
If you're considering a cohort review, hiring across regulated sectors, or just want to challenge the methodology — book a 30-minute call. I read every email.
Book a free 30-minute consultation — Microsoft Teams or phone, your choice. Or just place your first £99 cohort order.