Yasar Ahmad of HelloFresh hopes AI tools will finally rid the function of routine daily tasks that should have been automated long ago. This would enable them to add far more value. Indeed, an appetite to become more strategic emerged as another theme this year. Some resourcing leaders talk of a broadening remit within the talent and people function, and many are clearly demonstrating the value they can bring as a true business partner to an organisation.

As ever, our line-up demonstrates the agility and willingness to respond to change. As Toby Culshaw of Worldwide Amazon Stores highlights, AI won’t just change TA but “entire business structures” and bring transformative organisational changes. We may not yet know what future work looks like but if our 11 are an indication, there is plenty of great work going on to prepare for it.

Method: Information and data were gathered from a range of sources in the public domain. Having arrived at our selection, the individuals identified were asked what they saw as their main achievements during the past year and main objectives going forward. As always a degree of subjectivity will be in a list of this nature, but consistent with other years we aim to apply a set of criteria that qualifies a person for inclusion based on: the size, scale, scope and challenge of the position and effectiveness in the role; ability to be strategic and add value, and position the resourcing function central to the business; the degree of innovation or change brought to the current and/or previous organisation; perceived influence both internally and externally; and the extent to which the individual is considered an industry visionary, trailblazer or thought leader. Industry or company-specific challenges are also taken into consideration where appropriate.

1. Yasar Ahmad

Global vice president – people, HelloFresh

Yasar Ahmed’s main focus over the past 12 months has been transforming the TA team into versatile, multi-skilled individuals by broadening their scope to encompass total reward, global mobility and travel, and internal and group communications. By providing secondments between these teams, Ahmed explains they are no longer just talking about “other” HR areas “but truly understand and can execute these roles”. This has enhanced the team’s return on investment and boosted the recipe box company’s acceptance rates to more than 90%, as well as enable the individuals to futureproof themselves. Next up is confronting the business challenges related to talent density and to build a renewed focus on skills taxonomy. “This involves deep organisational thinking and design, particularly around developing future-oriented job catalogues.” As you’d expect from this exemplar of modern recruiting methods, he sees the biggest challenge for recruitment in the coming year as eliminating redundant daily tasks that should have been automated long ago and shift the focus to more strategic tasks and thinking, leveraging AI to optimise processes. “Adopting a hybrid approach, where work is divided between automation and human effort, is crucial,” he says. “We need to think of ourselves as centaurs (half work automated by AI, half done by humans) or cyborgs (human work with AI elements integrated throughout). Prioritising this approach will improve productivity and allow us to focus on strategic initiatives.”

2. Kevin Blair

Global head of TA, Ericsson (contract)

Kevin Blair returns to the 11 as an exponent of the great work being done by the contractor resourcing community, using his skills and experience to impact a range of organisations. He’s currently working as global head of talent acquisition at telecoms and tech firm Ericsson, where he is developing the TA capability for the next generation of telecom and cloud hiring. Before this, he worked with software-as-a-service company Celonis to scale from 500 to 3,500 people organically in two years. His tech roots go deep: previous roles include global vice president of TA at IBM and global TA leader at Cisco. This year, Blair also co-founded Exec TA Social, a community exclusively for TA executives that now has 800-plus leaders in 10 countries with a focus on supporting, learning and sharing experiences with each other – it is agnostic of vendor and event companies. He's not afraid to speak out on a range of topics, recently posting his concerns about how technology such as ATS and CRM systems are often pitched and sold to the recruitment industry. He also deserves praise as a champion of dyslexic thinking and fighting to remove “credentialism” from hiring processes. “I see recruitment’s biggest challenge as the need for TA leaders to take a firm position on the positioning of technology and automation,” he says. “This seems to be dividing the thinking much more than it is unifying it.”

3. Toby Culshaw

Global head of talent pipeline strategy & intelligence, Worldwide Amazon Stores

The demand for talent intelligence remains high at the global retailer with Toby Culshaw and his team having to remain agile to meet customer needs in the face of great change. He says talent intelligence is key to understanding how changes internally and in the bigger picture impact. Given the rise in recognition of the discipline’s importance, it’s no surprise that the Talent Intelligence Collective, founded by Culshaw, continues to grow with 2,500 members and an eager audience of 9,000 consuming the regular newsletter and other content. It also held its first ever Talent Intelligence stage at Recfest this year, attracting 1,000 people throughout the day. Close to Culshaw’s heart is the idea of creating a solid training programme for his field. “I believe it's crucial for us to have a way to recognise and validate the skills that make talent intelligence so unique,” he says. “This isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about making sure we’re all growing together and staying at the cutting edge.” He predicts AI will change entire business structures and anticipates shifts in hiring volumes, patterns, and skill requirements, alongside transformative changes in organisational structures. “These developments are likely to drive a pivot from transactional recruitment to strategic business advisory roles,” he says, concluding: “Those who can blend technological proficiency with deep business acumen will be best positioned to thrive in this new era of talent acquisition and management.”

4. Raj Gill

Head of talent acquisition – service, BT group

Raj Gill returns to the 11 after forming and shaping the TA team to support integration of two of BT Group’s largest units to form BT Business. She took an “arms around approach” to lead the team through change to ensure focus and energy didn’t drop as well as making sure the standard of service levels of the business remained high, all while consistently hitting TA metrics. She also led the TA Re-start Programme that helps individuals who have been on a career break for 18 months-plus. “The approach was looking at transferrable skills and challenging our line managers to be open to considering people who had great experience but had not worked for at least 18 months, supporting their transition,” she says. “In some instances, we recruited individuals who had been out of work for 22 years and to see the joy on their faces when the arrived on their first day was amazing – definitely one of my proudest projects within my TA career.” Gill credits her dedicated team who have also helped to increase employee engagement by more than 20% even during times of uncertainty. There are ambitious targets for inclusion and diversity ahead, an ongoing skills shortage for niche/critical roles to tackle and the challenge of AI: “Our challenge will be how we implement AI tools into the right parts of our process to ensure we do not lose the human element.”

5. Louise Griffiths

Talent intelligence manager, UKI EY

Louise Griffiths’ mission is clear: to support her colleagues as the professional services firm’s TA function drives to become “intelligence-led”. She says she and TI senior associate Stephen Pitman get out of their “comfort zone” every day and learn but there is little doubt about the contribution they’re already making to the business. Projects delivered in the past 12 months range from simple salary analysis through to high value research projects that cover multiple data and research activities such as location strategy, competitor intelligence, and reward. She credits direct boss Sam Ramsay and EY talent supremo Matthew Jeffery with trusting them to try things. A key focus has been their work with employer brand and candidate engagement teams in key projects to provide a joined-up approach when it comes to hiring strategies and viability of hiring. The team also launched a brand-new tool across TA that supports EY’s ability to understand sentiment and labour market data, straight from their conversations with the talent market. “We’re converting casual recruiter-candidate dialogues into a structured data repository.” One of the biggest challenges they face as a function is capacity but says the demand for their services is a nice challenge to have and she wants to continue to build on TI’s positive reputation. “If we can support our recruiters to enhance their data and insight-led mindset, I’ll be delighted that there will be more future potential TI specialists in the industry who can forge their own path in this space.”

6. Jacqui Harris

Head of talent acquisition, Mission Mars

With the hospitality industry notorious for high turnover rates, multi-concept operator Mission Mars’ aim over the past 12 months has been to build a world-class recruitment process and reduce employee turnover. It implemented a robust talent attraction strategy, enhanced the candidate journey and put in place a comprehensive training programme, which includes leveraging its own Pizzaiolo Academy. Jacqui Harris can feel it’s a case of mission accomplished having delivered a 26% reduction (exceeding the ambitious target of 20%). Mission Mars delivers food, drink, entertainment and hospitality experiences “through innovation, people and sustainability”, and its brands include the Alpine dining experience Albert’s Schloss and Rudy’s Pizza. The work done this year also aligns with what Harris sees as hers and recruitment’s big challenge: to change the perception of careers in hospitality industry from ‘stop-gap jobs’ to long-term career paths. Her strategy to tackle this includes showcasing the potential for growth by highlighting the company’s core values of Fun, Authentic, Positive, Initiative, Neighbourly and Committed (values she communicates perfectly and with great energy in her own online postings), sharing employee success stories of those who have advanced through the business and continuing to enhance training and development. “Overall, our goal is to shift the narrative around hospitality careers, making it clear that this industry offers not just jobs, but opportunities for meaningful and fulfilling professional growth.”

7. Andy Headworth

Deputy director, talent acquisition, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

Andy Headworth is confronting the AI challenge head on and trailblazing the use of generative AI tools across the TA, recruitment and HR departments. “AI is a primary objective for me this year,” he says. “Having assembled a small AI team in TA, we are focused on enabling as many colleagues as possible across both CPO [chief people office] and the wider business to use AI in their daily work.” The biggest challenge has been that they are all new ways of working to the Civil Service, so it takes a little longer to get buy-in and to build the trust, says Headworth, but “persistence, belief and great products overcame that” with hiring managers now using two new AI tools. Nobody will be surprised Headworth is taking a lead in this area given he was also one of the first to provide practical advice on how to integrate social media in recruiting 10 years ago with his book, Social Media Recruitment. Over the past year, the TA team has also delivered a new CRM to enable it to build talent pipelines and rolled out a new EVP and Headworth will continue to build the capability of the TA team to empower them to recruit the ever-changing skills mix that HMRC needs to meet its objectives. There is another challenge that AI is bringing though: the increasing number of AI-driven applications is adding up to 10-20 times the normal number. How these are managed “fairly, ensuring minimal bias and maximum inclusivity” is the challenge, he says.

8. Matt Reeves

Head of TA, global functions, senior hiring and early careers, Philip Morris International

Matt Reeves’ talent at building high-performing teams has been used to maximum effect at Philip Morris International (PMI), the company whose mission it is to create a smoke-free future. He moved into his current role in September 2022, having joined the company in 2019 as global head of TA delivery, products and life sciences, with a proven track record built at multinationals like AstraZeneca and The Co-op, as well as private equity-backed businesses. He is now responsible for driving delivery across all of the global functions and over the past year has been central to a global TA transformation programme that included integrating 90-plus markets into a global TA delivery team to achieve a standard globalisation of processes. He’s also led the development of a regional early careers model to provide greater visibility of global programmes, and a TA digitalisation programme to realise efficiencies. Priorities going forward include further standardising of global processes with “local fluidity and flexibility”, introducing greater governance and data-driven decision-making and more AI intervention at all stages of the TA processes. But he reminds the world of recruitment that it is also a case of getting “back to basics”. As he explained: “Given the fast pace of change, revisiting and reminding TA and the business of some fundamentals to ensure a quality experience for candidates and hiring managers is paramount.”

9. Lisa Scales

Talent acquisition director, Royal Mail

A “monumental team effort” over the past 12 months resulted in Royal Mail making more than 20,000 permanent hires and hiring roughly 40,000 contingent workers for its Christmas peak. Scales arrived in April 2023 and said her initial months were the most challenging yet rewarding of her career. She re-engineered hiring processes to address operational needs and, amid a tight labour market, managed to hire and onboard up to 1,000 new hires weekly. “This experience was incredibly humbling, providing employment opportunities across the UK and supporting a business critical to the nation’s infrastructure,” says Scales, who also sampled life on the frontline as a postie after which she described them as our “everyday heroes”. She also built a team of in-house executive search professionals and technology specialists. Next on the agenda is a comprehensive TA transformation programme, which includes bringing in more automation to reduce the burden of administrative tasks so the team can focus on strategic activities. She says integrating AI will augment the team’s effectiveness, enabling more data-driven decision-making and personalised interactions with candidates but acknowledges AI also brings its challenges. Political and economic volatility also pose another major challenge and she says with a new government in place they must be prepared for changes in employment practices, particularly regarding flexible worker rights: “Our ability to quickly adapt will be key.”

10. UA92 Superteam

Ian Turner, Chief of people & place; Helen Finlay, people director; Katie Smith, Ta & retention business partner; Elen Jones, HR & recruitment executive

University Academy 92 (UA92) does things differently when it comes to education (there are no traditional end of year exams and students choose when they start their study) and the approach to recruitment aims to be equally fresh. The team has grown the headcount from 80-145 over the past 12 months.

Katie Smith and Elen Jones are constantly looking for innovative ways of engaging talent and hold dear the principles of diverse and ethical recruiting. “The main aims of UA92 have been to build a truly diverse workforce that resonates with our students and community,” says Smith. UA92 was founded by the Class of 92, members of the stellar Manchester United Football team from the Sir Alex Ferguson era (including Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scoles, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs), alongside Lancaster University.

Offering degrees in business, digital, media and sport, it is the epitome of a purpose-driven organisation, committed to delivering not just a qualification but preparation for life and the world of work (it describes itself as ‘industry-inspired’). Given its roots, it’s no surprise that the team ethos clearly runs deep across the organisation. At the top of the people team are the highly experienced duo of Ian Turner and Helen Finlay. Turner was previously talent director at TalkTalk and Finlay head of people transformation at tech company Restore. “Our purpose is what made the decision to join UA92 a very easy one,” says Turner. Going forward, Smith sees candidate experience and retention rates as huge priorities as well as having a truly inclusive, accessible recruitment process, “supported with strong people-centric processes. She adds: “I think with economic/external factors, there may be a slowdown on the candidate market, meaning it’s essential to retain staff and ensure they feel valued and engaged.”

11. Chris Wray

Business manager, talent & capability development, Sainsbury’s

After more than six years as group head of recruitment strategy at Sainsbury’s, Chris Wray is stepping up to his next challenge with his characteristic high-energy, enthusiasm and passion for people. Wray’s new role involves supporting the new director of talent and capability development in bringing together a brand-new team that combines DE&I, wellbeing, colleague engagement, people development, talent and performance, as well as recruitment, to drive strategy, productivity and key outcomes between the Centres of Expertise. The broader remit aligns with Wray’s desire to be involved in the end-to-end talent lifecycle: his career-long belief is the importance of co-creation and working collaboratively across various teams, “be it people or technology”. It’s been a busy 12 months for Wray; he has overseen significant changes, including the transition to Oracle, providing a single system for recruitment, and the launch of a new ‘video-first’ careers site, internally and externally. “I always consider how we give candidates the best understanding of what it’s like to work for Sainsbury’s and its culture, purpose and strategy,” says Wray. In the bigger picture, he feels recruitment still needs to become more two-way for the candidate. “It’s an ever-changing landscape and we cannot lose the human-centric approach in certain parts of the journey. It’s important for candidates to understand what capabilities they need to make the right career choice. It's as much their journey as it is ours.”

HALL OF FAME

Cath Possamai

EMEA talent acquisition director, Amazon stores

Cath Possamai is responsible for all mid to senior-level hiring for the Amazon retail and logistics businesses, which translates as around 20,000 hires in 2024 across roughly 25 countries, with a team based across 16 of those countries. She says working for Amazon means being “customer-obsessed” and “extremely data-driven”. “Like many other organisations we are having a lot of fun right now working out how best to utilise the gift that is GenAI to best effect and seeking to optimise our external candidate experience plus innovate around internal mobility,” she says.

Jon Hull

Head of talent, Nominet

Jon Hull joined Nominet, a tech firm at the heart of the internet operation, in January this year. The company aims to be a force for good in the UK digital economy. “I’m hiring talent for a company that delivers security for critical infrastructure of the UK. If the internet stops working, everyone notices,” says Hull. “This is a varied role helping a small company really punch above its weight hiring scarce talent for a public benefit company.”

Paul Maxin

Founding director, Max Intalent

Paul Maxin continues to advise companies on talent acquisition strategy and transformation. He’s also continuing his push for carbon strategies to be known in job descriptions and sustainability goals to be shared in campaigns. He also wants to support the reduction of carbon footprints and increasing carbon offsetting in the recruitment process. People are being receptive to this, he says, and the next level will be how to harness AI to enhance sustainability. Maxin also added another string to his bow this year, becoming a professional celebrant.

Matthew Jeffery

Head UKI talent attraction & acquisition (TA2) leader, EY

Jeffery reports “massively exciting times” for EY, with a new CEO, Janet Truncale, the first female CEO of a Big 4 Company, now in place, promoting bold ambitions to take the $50bn (£39.2bn) company to $100bn. Recruitment will be critical to Truncale’s huge ambitions. Despite the challenging economic conditions, Jeffery’s UKI recruitment team hired more than 2,000 experienced hires, over 2,000 students (graduates and apprentices) and 700 contingent workers in the past financial year, with similar plans for the year ahead.

Adrian Thomas

Director of talent acquisition/resourcing, board adviser, retained consultant

Adrian Thomas’ current focus is ensuring that leaders within the industry are equipped to seize the initiative and are able to drive not just hiring success, but also to influence the direction of travel on a range of other activities such as the use of AI and building new roles within their teams like talent scientists. “I am also looking forward to continuing to influence government on all TA matters and to support (pro-bono) recruitment initiatives that help our most important public services deliver for the citizens of the UK.”

Image credit | Redactive-Will-Williams