Hiring On All Cylinders

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 episode, Neil shares his journey from executive recruiting to corporate leadership, revealing how to build high-touch experiences for candidates and hiring managers alike.

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 Pshegodskaya.

Discussion topics include:

• Human connections in hiring
• Authenticity in employer branding
• Defining quality of hire
• What makes a 5-star recruiter?

We've got so many great guests lined up for the podcast next year. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out!

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 — and what high-growth teams should do instead.

Together, Kathryne and Kathrin unpack the pillars of successful international scaling: how to use talent intelligence to shape location strategy, how to choose the right operating model when entering new markets, how to build TA capacity and enablement ahead of demand, and how to avoid the common pitfalls that derail global growth.

Required listening for any TA leader driving global expansion in 2026 and beyond.

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 production budget of under $500.

In this episode, Matt and Lars dive into how generative AI is transforming employer branding, why humor and storytelling win candidates’ attention, and how TA leaders can leverage creativity and personal brand to elevate their impact across the business. A must-listen for talent leaders looking to break the mold and build awareness in bold new ways.

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, embedded Quality of Hire as a measurable, operational metric, and built a data-driven model that balances speed, precision, and excellence.Tune in for practical insights on redefining TA efficiency, elevating hiring quality, and designing systems that scale without compromise.

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 discuss Illumio’s shift to Ashby, how data reshapes executive conversations, and the future of AI and capacity planning in TA. Along the way, Jennifer reveals her NICE framework and the leadership lessons that turn small wins into lasting impact.

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, and finding the right balance between tech and the human touch.

Highlights:

• Building a global TA model that works across time zones and teams

• Why recruiters need to be partners, not just process owners

• How AI is changing the role—but not replacing it

• Leading through acquisitions without losing what makes teams great

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, strategic decision-making
• Using data to improve both quality and efficiency in recruitment
• Designing talent teams that can scale up or down with business demand
• Embedding a “hiring is a team sport” mindset across the business

Whether you’re leading a talent team, managing rapid growth, or rethinking your hiring strategy, this episode offers practical insights on smarter, sustainable scaling.

This episode is sponsored by  Talentful - Subscription talent solutions for the world’s most innovative companies.

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, redefines success beyond offers, and applies AI only after rethinking the process itself.What you’ll learn:- How product thinking can reshape recruiting-- Why hiring should start with candidate research- Key product maxims for TA (nail it then scale it, don’t automate until it hurts)- Shifting culture: from “candidates should feel lucky” to “we’re selling them”- Actionable advice for TA leaders to start small and scale impactIf you’re in Talent Acquisition, HR, or People Ops and want a fresh blueprint for the future of hiring, this conversation is packed with insights you can put into practice today.

This episode is sponsored by  Talentful - Subscription talent solutions for the world’s most innovative companies.