Leaders in Talent Podcast with Adriaan Kolff

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, Adriaan Kolff sits down with Karim Gharsallah, Head of Talent Acquisition at BDR Thermea, the 7,000-person European manufacturer of boilers and heat pumps. Karim opened their prep call with three words: "Adriaan, I hate AI." The nuance is what makes this episode. Karim does not hate the technology, he hates what it is doing to how we communicate: e...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, Adriaan Kolff sits down with Tracy St. Dic, Global Head of Talent at Zapier, the fully remote automation company of nearly 1,000 people across 42 countries. Before Zapier she was Senior Vice President of Recruitment at Teach For America, responsible for the largest and most diverse teacher pipeline in the US. Zapier assesses every hire, for every r...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, Adriaan Kolff sits down with Marcus Pask, a talent acquisition leader with 20 years in the field who is now helping AI infrastructure company Nebius scale from 300 to 3,000 people in 18 months. Marcus started on an agency desk at 18, worked with investment banks at Hays, ran go-to-market hiring at Expedia, then joined Miro at around 200 people and...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, Adriaan Kolff sits down with Wesley Gilbert, Head of Talent Acquisition at Manychat. Wesley's career has been built inside some of the most talked-about scale stories in tech: Google, four years at Uber as EMEA hyperscaled from 2,000 to 20,000 people, then four years at On Running, where he led global TA as the company grew from 300 to 3,000 employ...

What does AI actually change inside the people function? In this episode of The Leaders in Talent Podcast , Adriaan Kolff sits down with Shlomit Gruman-Navot , a four-time Chief People Officer and transformation executive with 25 years of experience across tech, SaaS, consumer platforms, and banking. Shlomit shares what changed when she went deep into AI, why this is not just a technology shift bu...

In this episode of Leaders in Talent, Elizabeth Weilburg (Senior Talent Leader at Coinbase) shares how she intentionally designs her career toward becoming a Chief People Officer. We discuss ambition, mentorship, saying hard things, career ownership, and how to align personal growth with real business impact. If you're in HR, Talent, or People leadership and thinking long term about your career, t...

In this episode, Martijn Feikens, Head of Global Talent Operations at ING, shares how talent operations actually work inside a large, regulated, global organization. We talk about scale, complexity, stakeholder management, decision-making in matrix structures, and why people remain the only asset that does not depreciate. Timestamps: 02:10 Martijn’s role and global scope 04:40 Why global banks are...

In this episode of Leaders in Talent podcast , we’re joined by Kanwar Kohli , who leads global sourcing at Booking.com, supporting close to 1,000 hires per year with a team of ~20 sourcers. We go deep into what sourcing really means today, and why it’s no longer about volume, pipeline, or “more candidates.” Kanwar shares how Booking.com built its sourcing function from scratch, why sourcing is the...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent Podcast , Adriaan Kolff sits down with Yasar Ahmad , one of the most influential voices in global recruitment, for a deep, unfiltered conversation on what actually builds high-performance teams and scalable companies. This is not theory. It’s real leadership under pressure, from bootstrapping and crisis management to culture design, candidate experience, an...

In this episode, we sit down with Anastasia Pshegodskaya , Director of TA at Remote, to unpack how the company scaled from 200 to nearly 2,000 people in just four years. We explore the realities of hiring without borders, managing intense applicant volume, building culture asynchronously, navigating compensation across countries, and experimenting with AI-powered first-round interviews. Whether yo...

What if one wrong leadership hire could quietly cost you 10 months of growth? In this episode of Leaders in Talent, Adriaan sits down with talent advisor Puren Ucar (ex–Head of Talent Advisory at VC fund Earlybird) to unpack how founders should really approach leadership hiring, why she’s obsessed with retention rates, and how to use your calendar as a strategic tool instead of a stress factory. I...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent Podcast, Adriaan Kolff, co-founder and CEO of Matchr, sits down with Laura Stapleton, a seasoned talent executive with over 15 years of experience in high-growth tech environments. Laura shares insights from her tenure at companies like Bullhorn, Litmus, Mirakl, and Engine, discussing how to build resilient teams, manage C-suite expectations, and drive tale...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent Podcast, we sit down with Olive Turon, Head of People and Culture at TestGorilla. Olive shares her eclectic career journey from finance analyst in banking to leading roles at Google Cloud, Academy London, and consulting, before landing at TestGorilla. We delve into the concept of skills-based hiring, a practice that emphasizes assessing candidates based on...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent Podcast, Adriaan is joined by talent acquisition expert Rory Mullins. Rory has led recruitment functions at companies like Uber, Trainline, Wise, and TransferGo. They discuss the evolving landscape of talent acquisition, moving away from large internal teams to more strategic, smaller TA teams supported by external plugins and AI tools. Rory shares insights...

In this episode of The Leaders in Talent Podcast, host Adriaan welcomes Balazs Paroczay, founder of Source Code Agency and a renowned keynote speaker, to discuss the evolution and future of sourcing in recruitment. Balazs elaborates on the noticeable decline in traditional sourcing, the impact of economic downturns, and the transformational changes in the recruitment industry. He offers insights o...

In this episode of The Leaders in Talent Podcast, we welcome Alex Her, a global employer branding leader and co-founder of the EB Space community. Alex shares his expertise on the importance of employer branding, strategies for engaging employees as ambassadors, and how to measure the return on investment (ROI). Alex discusses building a sustainable employer brand, navigating changes in a post-pan...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, host Adriaan interviews Rolando Jessurun, Global VP of Talent Acquisition at BackBase, at their new HQ in Amsterdam. Rolando shares the strategies and nuances of building large-scale development centers in Krakow and Hyderabad, including their unique challenges and successes. Rolando emphasizes the importance of cultural alignment, strategic planni...

Join us on the Leaders in Talent podcast as we dive into the intricate world of strategic workforce planning with Thomas Waldman, the Global Head of Talent Acquisition & Contingent Workforce at Action. With a rich background in companies like Shell, TomTom, Getir, Just Eat Takeaway, and currently Action, Thomas shares his insights on managing tremendous growth, the importance of a clean organi...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, join us as we welcome Alli Trussell, SVP at Bilt Rewards, who shares her unconventional journey from theater to tech. Alli discusses the importance of having the right people in your team, the similarities between recruiting and sales, and the impact of pushing teams under pressure. She recounts her experience at Wunderkind during COVID, handling r...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, we dive deep into DeepL's hiring philosophy and principles with Amanda Johnson, Head of Talent Acquisition at DeepL. Amanda shares her extensive experience and the innovative steps taken at DeepL to align hiring processes with core values, growth mindset, and subject matter expertise. From defining hiring principles to implementing structured hirin...

In this episode, we dive deep into the benefits and challenges of flexible and hybrid working models with Nikki Scarr, a global HR leader with extensive experience in human resources and veterans from the British army. Nikki shares her insights on why the five-day office mandate may backfire and the critical role of trust, purpose, and inclusive workplaces in retaining top talent. Discover practic...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, host Adriaan welcomes Joy Sybesma, founder and CEO of SkillJoy, who shares her invaluable insights on leveraging networks for career and personal success. Joy discusses the importance of being good at what you do, integrating integrity into your brand, and focusing on both professional and personal relationships. Joy also provides practical strateg...

Join us in an engaging episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast as host Adriaan Kolff interviews Annie Wickman, the Head of People at Character. AI. Annie details her career journey from Google to Character. AI, sharing operational and people-focused challenges she faced during a significant transaction with Google and the transition to an employee-owned company. Discover strategies for onboarding...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, we welcome Anne Brandt, co-founder of Invested and a veteran in senior leadership roles at companies like Uber, TomTom, Mollie, and more. Anne discusses the pivotal differences between evidence-based solutions and personal convictions in organizational leadership. Anna shares insights into the foundational aspects of successful onboarding processes...

In this episode of the Leaders in Talent podcast, Lucy O'Brien, Head of Talent and Ecosystem at Eight Roads, joins us to share her extensive experience in executive search and her current role driving value in a global venture fund. Lucy offers insights into the importance of network building, the challenges of scaling organizations, and the strategies she employs to advise founders on talent acqu...