Hiring On All Cylinders

The days of Talent Acquisition operating as a reactive, order-taking engine are officially over. In today’s hyper-competitive tech landscape, headcount is no longer a vanity metric for success—quality of hire is everything. In this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders , we sit down with Frankie Greenwell , Early Stage Talent Lead at EQT Group (one of the world's largest private equity and ventur...

Candidates aren't clicking on your carefully curated career site anymore. Instead, they’re asking ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude what it’s really like to work at your company—and the answers might surprise you. In this episode of Hiring On All Cylinders, host Matt Staney sits down with Duarte Mendonça, Director of Global Talent Systems and Operational Enablement at PayPal, to unpack a massive beh...

Efficiency in recruiting isn’t just about working faster; it’s about working smarter by knowing where to let the machines take over and where to double down on human connection. In this episode, Mary Price, an enterprise talent leader with experience at LinkedIn and Apple, reveals how her teams are leveraging AI to reduce administrative burnout while driving a 32% decrease in attrition through bet...

When a company scales from 5,000 to 17,000 employees overnight, the traditional HR playbook doesn't just need an update—it needs a total transformation. Barbara Gaillard shares how she moved TA from a purely transactional function to a "People as a Product" model that balances rapid execution with deep long-term strategy.

How can corporate talent acquisition teams replicate the high-stakes, "white-glove" service of executive search for every role in an organization? Join host Matt Staney and Neil Crumpton, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at TransUnion, as they discuss transforming recruitment from a reactive function into a strategic partnership powered by human judgment and AI efficiency. In this e...

The holiday season is here, and we're taking a look back at some of our favorite podcast moments of the year. We hear from some of the TA leaders who have joined us in 2025: James Lafferty, Manjuri Sinha, James Footman, Jocelyn S. Lai, Lars Schmidt, Kobi Ampoma, Jonathan Beaney, Jamie Edwards, Tracy St. Dic, Jerome Leclerq, Tommy Hansen, Samantha Perlman, Karen Arnold and Anastasia Pshegodskay...

Hosted by Kathryne Friend, VP Community at HIGHER, this episode of  Hiring on All Cylinders  features Kathrin Holzfurtner, a 3× Regional and Global Head of Talent who has led hiring at Google, Microsoft, and Ideals. With more than 5,000 hires across 40+ countries and new-market launches on three continents, Kathrin reveals why global hiring breaks when companies treat it like copy-paste recruiting...

Join host  Matt Staney, ( VP Community, HIGHER )  on  Hiring on All Cylinders  as he sits down with  Lars Schmidt , the innovative  Head of Talent at Fruitist , to unpack one of the most creative employer brand campaigns of the year. Lars shares the origin story behind  The Quest for Fruitist —a wildly inventive, AI-generated video series starring Barry, a blueberry-obsessed Bigfoot—built on a pro...

How do you scale from 3,000 to 13,000 employees — and raise the bar on quality while doing it? In this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders, host Kathryne Friend (VP of Community, EMEA) speaks with Jonathan Beaney, Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Revolut, about how the company built a high-performance hiring engine designed for hyperscale. Jonathan shares how Revolut developed its own ATS, embe...

Host Matt Staney, VP Community at HIGHER, sits down with Jennifer Anker Kaufman, VP of Talent Acquisition at Illumio, for a rich, honest conversation about how recruiting becomes a trusted business partner. Jennifer shares her unexpected start as a dolphin trainer, how she built credibility across hyper-growth tech companies, and why she believes in “talent partners,” not “order takers.” They disc...

In this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders , Matt Staney talks to James Lafferty, VP of Global Talent Acquisition and Mobility at Epicor. James shares how he’s built a global TA function that makes 1,200+ hires a year across 32 countries—while staying consistent, human, and adaptable. They discuss what it really takes to lead modern TA: building systems that scale, earning trust across cultures, a...

How do you hire fast without creating long-term problems? In this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders , Jerome Leclercq , Global Head of Talent at Wise, shares his playbook for scaling talent teams sustainably — avoiding “talent debt” while still moving at the pace the business demands. We cover: Why short-term fixes create long-term challenges in hiring How to balance speed with thoughtful, strate...

In this episode, Jamie Edwards —VP Talent & Org Development at Deliveroo and former tech founder—shares how applying product principles to Talent Acquisition can transform hiring. Hosted by Kathryne Friend, we explore Jamie’s journey from engineer and founder to TA leader, and unpack a practical roadmap for building a user-centric hiring function: one that designs with candidates in mind, rede...

In this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders, host Matt Staney is joined by Tommy Hansen , Head of Recruiting at Juniper Square , to explore how Talent Acquisition can move from a support function to a true driver of business growth. Tommy shares how his team is embedded directly into Juniper Square’s core operations — from participating in weekly revenue forecasting to earning recognition at the Pr...

In this episode of  Hiring on All Cylinders , we’re live from San Francisco with a powerhouse guest:  Manjuri Sinha , VP HR and Global Head of GTM Org Success & People Partner at  Miro . Together with host Kathryn, Manjuri unpacks what it really means to build a modern, tech-enabled talent function—from rethinking your TA operating model and integrating tools strategically, to enabling recruit...

In this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders , host Matt Staney sits down with Samantha Perlman, Head of People at OneSignal, for a powerful conversation on how Talent Acquisition can — and must — operate as a strategic business driver. From her early days scaling teams at Airbnb and Fastly to now leading both TA and People strategy at OneSignal, Samantha shares what it takes to build a strong talen...

Recorded live in  San Francisco  at the  HIGHER Altitude Summit , this special episode of  Hiring on Cylinders  brings the summit’s biggest themes to life — from tech-enabled TA and global delivery to AI fluency and what it really takes to be a  next-gen TA leader . Hosts  Kathryne Friend  (VP Community, EMEA @ HIGHER) and  Matt Staney  (VP Community, USA @ HIGHER) are joined by four world-class T...

Inclusive hiring isn’t just a buzzword — it’s the future of building high-performing teams. On this episode of Hiring on All Cylinders , Kobi Ampoma, Head of Talent Acquisition at Heineken Netherlands joins Kathryne Friend and shares how he’s rethinking talent strategies across industries — from fashion and tech to FMCG. With two decades of experience at companies like Nike, ASICS, PVH, and Getir,...

Duolingo is famous for its TikTok presence — but can it become just as iconic as an employer brand?  On this episode of  Hiring on All Cylinders , Jocelyn S. Lai, Global Head of Talent Brand at Duolingo, shares how she’s building the Talent Brand function from the ground up with bold ambition. From reporting into Marketing and leading with a lean team, to attracting top-tier tech talent in Pittsbu...

Get an exclusive sneak peek into how Duolingo built its iconic employer brand with insights from Jocelyn S. Lai, Global Head of Talent. In this trailer, discover the bold strategies, creative risks, and data-driven decisions behind one of the most recognized talent brands in the world. Full episode drops tomorrow 👀 3rd June 2025

Join Chris Abbass on Hiring in All Cylinders as he discusses the future of recruitment with Charles Henrich, CTPO at Talentverse. Discover how Talentverse transforms hiring with a talent-first model, sophisticated matching algorithms, and a streamlined application process. Learn about the challenges of hiring in today's market and how Talentverse aims to solve them. Whether you're an engineer seek...

Get ready to rev up your end-of-year reflections with the ultimate highlight reel from Hiring on All Cylinders! In this milestone 50th episode, we’re diving into the most impactful conversations of the year—where talent strategy meets innovation, and leadership transforms the future of work. From mastering quality hires to embracing AI, from authentic leadership to building unstoppable teams, thes...

Join host Chris Abbass and guest Christine Ng , Head of People at Quantum Motion , as they delve into the intricacies of hiring for niche and deep tech talent. In this episode, Christine shares her insights from working with various technical environments, including her current role in quantum computing. She discusses the challenges of sourcing specialized talent, building targeted sourcing strate...

Join us on Hiring on All Cylinders as we sit down with Allison Allen , co-founder at Leadership Rewired and strategic advisor at Texni, to discuss the paradigm shift in Talent Acquisition leadership. Allison shares her insights on how the role of TA Leaders is transforming in response to recent challenges like the Great Resignation, the move towards skills-based hiring, and the integration of AI i...

Join Chris Abbass as he explores the evolving recruitment industry with Dominic Joyce. From the importance of feedback and human-centric methods to the groundbreaking role of AI, we delve deep into modern challenges and solutions in talent acquisition. Discover how empathy, transparency, and technology can transform candidate experiences and boost hiring outcomes. Tune in for actionable insights o...