Melica Moshiri: The Apprentice 2025 Candidate and Global Talent Partner in AI
Melica Moshiri has rapidly become a recognised name in the fields of executive recruitment, talent acquisition, and entrepreneurship. Best known to the wider public for her appearance as a candidate on BBC’s The Apprentice 2025, she is also the founder of SkillTorch, a search firm specialising in talent acquisition for AI and technology companies across North America and Europe.
With Persian heritage and a strong UK upbringing, Melica has built a career that bridges cultures, industries, and continents. Her story combines academic achievement, international professional experience, entrepreneurial ambition, and a growing media presence. This article explores her age, ethnicity, career journey, educational background, and her role as a speaker and thought leader in the world of artificial intelligence and recruitment.
Early Life and Background
Age and Ethnicity
Born in the early 1990s, Melica Moshiri is 32 years old as of 2025. She grew up in the United Kingdom in a family with Persian (Iranian) heritage, a background that has shaped her outlook on culture, resilience, and ambition.
Her heritage and upbringing gave her both a deep connection to British life and a global outlook, preparing her for the international career she would later build.
Education
University of Brighton
Melica studied Law with Business (LLB Hons) at the University of Brighton, graduating with a 2:1 honours degree in 2013. Her studies provided her with a solid foundation in both legal frameworks and commercial principles.
Early Academic Foundation
Before university, she attended Worthing College, where she studied Business, Law, and Economics, and previously Davison CE High School. This academic path reflected her interest in business and problem-solving from an early age, paving the way for her future career in executive recruitment and entrepreneurship.
Career Journey
The Beginning
Melica began her professional career at Pareto Law in 2013 as a Business Development Executive. This role gave her hands-on experience in traditional recruitment and B2B sales. She quickly developed skills in cold calling, deal closing, and candidate management.
In 2014, she joined Experian Data Quality UK as an Account Manager, where she worked with NHS Trusts and other key clients, strengthening her skills in relationship management and strategic sales.
Rise in Recruitment
Her breakthrough came when she moved into executive search at expand executive search in Brighton in 2015. Over three years, she established herself as a top performer, headhunting senior candidates in AdTech and MarTech across North America and EMEA. By 2017, she was the company’s number one biller, surpassing even senior directors.
Expanding to the United States
In 2017, Melica relocated to the United States, joining Energize Group in Santa Monica, California. She launched and scaled their U.S. operations, recruiting across AI, gaming, adtech, and big data. She held several promotions, including Senior Consultant, Principal Consultant, Lead Account Executive, and finally Head of Business Development. She earned multiple awards, including Employee of the Year in 2020.
Senior Talent Roles
Her career also included roles as Talent Advisor and Talent Acquisition Manager for companies such as GoGuardian, Dandy, System1, Carbonated Inc., Voxel, and Sparteo. These roles saw her hiring across technical, commercial, and leadership positions, as well as embedding within startups to build internal hiring processes and improve candidate experiences.
SaaS and Sales Experience
In 2022, she joined Braze, a customer engagement platform, as an Account Executive. Though her tenure was brief, she was one of the most active outbound prospectors in the North American team, further diversifying her professional portfolio.
Founding SkillTorch
In August 2022, Melica founded SkillTorch, a specialist executive search and talent consultancy working with some of the most innovative companies in artificial intelligence.
Services Offered
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Executive Search: Helping companies secure C-suite and senior leadership talent.
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Embedded Talent Support: Acting as a fractional Head of Talent, embedding within companies to design and manage hiring processes.
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Contingency Recruitment: Partnering flexibly to help scale-ups hire across go-to-market, technical, and leadership roles.
Global Reach
SkillTorch has worked with companies across the United States, UK, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. Melica has supported hiring across industries including machine learning, SaaS, gaming, and data-driven enterprises.
Thought Leadership
She is also the host of SkillTorch Disrupt, a podcast exploring the intersections of leadership, hiring, and the evolving world of AI.
The Apprentice 2025
Appearance on BBC One
Melica became widely known in 2025 as a candidate on Series 19 of The Apprentice UK, which aired on BBC One and iPlayer.
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She reached Week 8 of the competition.
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She secured five task wins, including one as Project Manager.
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She appeared in the final episode, gaining visibility as one of the standout candidates.
Media Features
Her story and performance were covered by BBC News, The Mirror, The Daily Mail, The Argus, Yahoo News, and Recruiter Magazine, among others. Her ability to combine business acumen with leadership skills made her one of the more memorable figures of the series.
Public Speaking and Media
Speaker Engagements
Melica has spoken at high-profile organisations including Spotify, NBCUniversal, Worthing Chamber of Commerce, and the University of Brighton. She also has a TEDx talk scheduled, further establishing her presence as a thought leader in entrepreneurship and AI hiring.
Podcasting
Her podcast, SkillTorch Disrupt, has become a platform for exploring the future of hiring, leadership, and AI-driven industries.
Personal Life
Outside of work, Melica enjoys staying active. She has completed two half marathons, runs Parkrun by the sea most weekends, and enjoys gym classes. Her interests include travel, Netflix, EastEnders, and spending time with family and friends.
She has also shared personal resilience stories, including overcoming challenges such as a traumatic dog attack in her youth, which contributed to her determination and focus.
Recognition and Legacy
At only 32, Melica Moshiri has already achieved a career trajectory that many aspire to. From her early sales roles to founding her own consultancy, from competing on national television to speaking on international stages, she represents the modern female founder: resilient, globally minded, and deeply connected to the industries of the future.
Her combination of Persian heritage, UK education, international work experience, and entrepreneurial spirit sets her apart as a unique voice in both recruitment and AI.
Conclusion
Melica Moshiri is more than just a television personality from The Apprentice. She is a business founder, AI recruitment expert, speaker, and thought leader. Her professional journey demonstrates the power of adaptability, global perspective, and entrepreneurial courage.
With her consultancy SkillTorch, her speaking engagements, and her growing media profile, Melica continues to expand her influence across industries and continents. Whether she is helping a startup hire its first senior engineer, advising founders on candidate experience, or inspiring audiences with her story, she embodies ambition and leadership in the modern business world.
