WorkTech Podcast

In this episode of the *WorkTech Podcast*, host George LaRocque sits down with Laura Kunz, President and Co-Founder of Spirence, for an insightful check-in following her victory at last year's HR Tech Pitchfest. Grounded in seventeen years of clinical and residential behavioral healthcare experience, Kunz shares how Spirence is disrupting the $60 billion employee wellness space by introducing a tr...

In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque sits down with David Hain, Founder and CEO of Gotham Growth, for a masterclass on the state of M&A, valuations, and investment across the Human Capital Management (HCM) ecosystem. As the head of the largest M&A advisory firm exclusively serving human capital, Hain brings thirty years of hands-on experience as an operator, founder, and b...

In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque sits down with serial entrepreneur Jeff Wald, Founder and CEO of BoomerangHR, for an exclusive look behind the company’s recent $12.7 million Seed funding announcement. Wald, whose previous ventures include Spinback (acquired by Salesforce) and Work Market (acquired by ADP), steps out of stealth to discuss why traditional enterprise alu...

In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque sits down with Sean Barry, CEO of Harver, to explore major M&A news transforming talent acquisition: Harver’s strategic acquisition of Symphony Talent. Backed by Rubicon Technology Partners, Harver is bringing together nearly a century of combined domain expertise. By uniting Harver’s IO psychology, data science, and anti-fraud candidat...

In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque digs into major M&A news shaping the human resources and talent management ecosystem: Stadium’s acquisition of Confetti. Joining the conversation are Shaunak Amin, co-founder and CEO of Stadium (the platform behind Swag Magic and Snack Magic), and Lee Rubin, founder and CEO of Confetti. Together, they share an exclusive look at why this...

In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque sits down with Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Founder and Managing Director of Where You Work Matters and Managing Director at the Schultz Family Foundation, for an unvarnished look at a fundamental paradigm shift in human resources: the death of the "employee sentiment" era. Chandrasekaran, a former senior journalist at The Washington Post who...

hackajob CEO Mark Chaffey joins George LaRocque to reveal how a pre-apply AI recruitment agent delivers verified, GDPR-compliant candidates directly into enterprise ATS workflows without triggering automated hiring liabilities.  In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque sits down with Mark Chaffey, CEO and co-founder of hackajob, to explore how enterprise talent acquisitio...

Voice AI, Platform Gravity, and Governed Workflows: Reimagining the Modern ATS Ecosystem Greenhouse CPO Meredith Johnson unpacks how cross-industry insights, the Ezra acquisition, and the new Model Context Protocol are moving enterprise talent acquisition away from passive record-keeping into a secure, hyper-connected orchestration network.  In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host Georg...

Cadient CEO Bill Mastin discusses the rise of AI-generated resumes, deep-fake interviews, and the new modular tools designed to protect recruiters.  In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque is joined by Bill Mastin, the CEO of Cadient, a highly seasoned operator with a career-long history in HR tech, learning, and talent management spaces. Mastin dives into the staggering...

In this high-velocity edition of Up Next @ WorkTech, George LaRocque (WorkTech) and Kate Achille (The Devon Group) reunite for a comprehensive cross-pod. Together, they break down the critical intersection of legal friction, evolving corporate staffing strategies, multi-million-dollar government tech overhauls, and sweeping shifts rewriting the rules of HR management. The IBM Lawsuit: Age Discrimi...

In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque sits down with Mahe Bayireddi, Co-Founder and CEO of Phenom, to unpack the strategy behind the company's recent acquisition of Plum. Marking Phenom's second assessment-focused deal in ten weeks following their acquisition of BeApplied, this conversation explores how behavioral science is rewriting the future of talent acquisition and ta...

Welcome to a packed episode of Up Next @ WorkTech, the premier crossover podcast featuring George LaRocque (founder of WorkTech) and Kate Achille (host of The Devon Group’s Up Next at Work podcast). In this edition, George and Kate break down the rapidly shifting intersections of AI, employer leverage, and the major technological shakeups redefining the modern workplace. The Gen Z Dilemma: The hos...

In this episode of the WorkTech Podcast, host George LaRocque sits down with Einat Steklov, co-founder and co-CEO of Kashable, to discuss their monumental $60 million Series C funding round led by the Goldman Sachs Impact Fund. At a time when middle-market funding has been scarce, this deal stands out not only for its size but for the powerful validation it provides for the financial wellness cate...

Why Greenhouse acquired Ezra AI Labs, what it signals for voice AI in HR tech, and how the hiring interface is about to change. In a WorkTech exclusive, George LaRocque sits down with Greenhouse CEO and founder Daniel Chait just after the announcement that Greenhouse has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Ezra AI Labs, a foundational voice AI interviewing platform built to deliver structure...

In this comprehensive April 2026 edition of the Up Next @ WorkTech crosspod, George LaRocque (founder of WorkTech) and Kate Achille (The Devon Group) reunite after a season of travel and industry events to dissect the complex, often contradictory state of the modern workplace. The conversation strikes a balance between human-centric news, including Kate’s recognition as a Top Woman in PR and Commu...

In this episode of WorkTech, George LaRocque sits down with Crosschq CEO Mike “Fitz” Fitzsimmons to break down a strategically significant acquisition in the HR Tech market: Crosschq’s purchase of Traitify, the behavioral and cognitive assessment provider known for its scientifically validated, highly visual, candidate‑friendly assessment experience. Fitzsimmons reveals why the timing is ideal, ho...

In this episode, George LaRocque sits down with Clément Lhommeau, co‑CEO and co‑Founder of Blify, the Paris‑based learning startup that just raised €1.8 million/$2.08 million in pre‑seed funding. Blify embeds learning directly into Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp, creating an AI‑powered learning layer that eliminates the need for employees to log into a traditional LMS. Clément explains how t...

In this episode of Up Next @ WorkTech, George LaRocque and Kate Achille navigate a packed week of industry turbulence, from Workday’s ongoing age‑discrimination lawsuit to Senator Hassan’s public rebuke of data‑broker practices at Findem. They explore rising anxiety around AI’s impact on jobs, including Meta’s acquisition spree, rumors of major layoffs, and new research from Brookings and AIR fore...

In this episode, George LaRocque breaks down why 2026 marks a turning point for Work Tech, driven by architectural rigor, agentic AI, and a shift away from generic wrappers toward real business value. He explores the evolution of strategic workforce planning, the rise of autonomous agents as part of workforce capacity, and the escalating risks tied to agent complexity. George also outlines the fou...

A fast-moving conversation on AI‑driven promotions, frontline automation, agent security risks, reverse recruiting, and the funding wave reshaping HR Tech in 2026. In this episode, George and Kate unpack how AI is reshaping work—from Accenture tying promotions to AI usage (“use of our key tools will be a visible input to talent discussions.”) to Burger King’s voice agent Patty tracking upsells and...

In this episode, George LaRocque unpacks new data from the 2025 Global WorkTech Report, revealing why investment capital continues to rise even as deal volume declines. He explains the “squeezed middle” dynamic affecting growth‑stage vendors, the surge in early‑stage AI innovation, and the strategic bets shaping the market. George also breaks down the hype and hidden risks of vibe coding and warns...

In this episode, George and Kate unpack a turbulent week across Work Tech, starting with Workday’s CEO transition and workforce reductions, which arrive just ahead of its earnings call . They explore the hype and hazards of vibe coding, including security breaches and enterprise‑scale limitations . The conversation shifts to DEI transparency as Fortune 500 participation in the Corporate Equality I...

2026 kicks off with a jolt as George and Kate unpack a wave of developments reshaping HR tech. They dive into the new class action lawsuit against Eightfold, exploring what it signals for AI transparency, compliance, and vendor accountability. The conversation widens to worker power, including Microsoft’s landmark agreement with Australian unions, and the heated rhetoric coming out of Davos about...

Exploring venture capital paradoxes, Workday’s agent ambitions, payroll automation risks, workplace safety, and HR’s evolving role in the future of work. George and Kate dissect the paradox of HR Tech funding, Workday’s PipeDream acquisition, payroll automation failures, workplace safety concerns, and The Economist’s claim that HR has “taken over the world.” This episode blends market intelligence...

Workday’s acquisition of Paradox marks a pivotal moment in HR Tech, combining enterprise scale with conversational AI to transform recruiting workflows. CEO Adam Godson joins George LaRocque to unpack the deal’s strategic rationale, market impact, and future of hiring across ecosystems and industries. In this episode, we look at: HR Tech innovation, M&A strategy, conversational AI, frontline hirin...