How HR Can Lead AI Implementation with CHRO Einav Lavi
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Show Notes & Key Takeaways Show Notes EnterpriseDB CHRO Einav Lavi shares how she transformed from finance instructor to business-focused HR leader by speaking the language of executives—revenue, costs, and ROI. She details challenging a COVID-era 20% layoff mandate with data-driven alternatives that saved nearly $1M, leading company-wide AI implementation, and positioning HR as "builders of the business" rather than policy enforcers. The conversation covers earning executive credibility through commercial fluency, courage to challenge leadership decisions, and viewing HR as a...
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Career Control with Virta Health CPO Dr. Lucia Guillory
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Show Notes Lucia shares her unconventional career philosophy: choose companies over jobs. With experience at Yahoo, Patreon, and six years at Virta, she argues that job titles, managers, and compensation frequently change, but company mission remains stable. The conversation explores Virta's unique hiring challenge of needing 20-50 healthcare coaches and providers within weeks due to unpredictable patient enrollment. Their solution: a 4,500-person talent community (4x their workforce) maintained through regular communication, cohort-based hiring, and radical transparency to enable rapid...
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Evaluating the C-Suite with CHRO & Advisor Gianna Driver
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Gianna Driver, a seasoned Chief People Officer shares her stance on eliminating cover letters and resumes, the mutual evaluation process during job searches, and the critical questions candidates should ask to assess company culture. Gianna emphasizes the importance of in-person interactions and offers valuable advice for job seekers navigating a challenging market. Takeaways Should we eliminate cover letters and resumes? Job searches are a mutual evaluation process. Asking the right questions to gauge company culture. Tuning in to subtle cues during interviews. Knowing your worth...
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Owkin Global Talent Director Helen Burns
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Helen Burns, the Global Talent Director at Owkin, about her unique journey in talent acquisition. Helen shares her transition from freelance consulting to an in-house role, the importance of long-term talent strategies, and the challenges of building a talent team in a rapidly changing industry. They discuss the significance of employer value propositions, company culture, and navigating imposter syndrome in career growth. Helen emphasizes the need for clarity in attracting talent and the importance of being open to learning and adapting in a new environment. The Global Talent Scout role...
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Open Role Triage with Gynger Head of Talent Jonathan Graber
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Summary In this episode, Rob interviews Jonathan Graber, the head of talent at Gynger, discussing his journey from agency recruiting to in-house talent acquisition. They explore the challenges and rewards of transitioning roles, the importance of setting deadlines in hiring, and the diverse responsibilities that come with working in a startup environment. Jonathan shares insights on managing priorities, the significance of people operations, and how to navigate the complexities of talent acquisition in a fast-paced setting. Takeaways The 10 80 10 rule illustrates how people respond to...
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Betting On Yourself with Metropolis CPO John-Paul Sukkar
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JP, Chief People Officer at Metropolis, emphasizes the need to reframe the return to office narrative, highlighting the irreplaceable value of human connection and collaboration that cannot be replicated through remote work alone. He shares insights on fostering a culture of access and the responsibilities that come with managing a large workforce post-acquisition. In this conversation, John-Paul Sukkar discusses the challenges and strategies involved in integrating a large organization after a significant acquisition. He emphasizes the importance of cultural shifts, change management, and the...
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Endless Insight via Succession Planning with Elizabeth Egan
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Elizabeth explains how succession planning reveals far-reaching insights about the state of talent in an organization. As Director of Talent Management and Organizational Development at Cerence AI, Elizabeth has prioritized generating individual development plans (IDPs) for all employees. Elizabeth emphasizes that employees should take ownership of their careers and seek out opportunities for growth, while companies must create supportive environments to retain top talent. The conversation highlights the need for open communication, feedback mechanisms, and the role of managers in...
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Detecting Interview Cheaters with Mike Mroczka
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Mike Mroczka is an interview coach, author, software engineer, and consultant specializing in helping hiring organizations eliminate cheating in their interview processes. Mike shares the challenges posed by AI tools in coding interviews, the distinction between using resources and cheating, and the necessity of evaluating candidates' foundational knowledge. Mike shares insights on how organizations can design interviews to deter cheating and the tools available for monitoring candidates. The discussion concludes with a hopeful outlook on the future of technology in hiring, emphasizing the...
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AI-Proof Your Interviews with Replicate's Lia Economos
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Lia Economos discusses the evolution of interview processes, particularly in the context of integrating AI tools and adapting to the changing landscape of technical interviews. She emphasizes the importance of structured interviews as companies grow and the need to design interview questions that challenge candidates beyond the capabilities of AI. The discussion also touches on the ethical implications of over-employment and the necessity for candidates to network effectively during their job search. Key Points From This Episode: A brief overview of her background and what...
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Leadership & Career Growth with Pernod Ricard Chief People Officer Lani Montoya
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In today’s fast-paced world where candidates are always looking for the next opportunity, it’s rare to find someone dedicated to growing within one organization. As today’s guest Lani Montoya demonstrates, internal growth may be the best way to develop exceptional people leaders. Lani is the Chief People Officer at Pernod Ricard, the world leader in premium international wines and spirits, and she begins by explaining her path to joining the company and why she chose to grow in it instead of seeking opportunities elsewhere. We discuss how to rise above workplace complacency, the value...
info_outlineWhat does it take to build a people-first hiring culture from the ground up, without sacrificing speed or scale? In this episode of Talk Talent to Me, returning guest Anna Chalon, Head of People at Runway, shares how she intentionally navigated her career from startup to acquisition and back again, fueled by a love for building and a clear sense of purpose. She unpacks her criteria for choosing the right company, the power of gut instinct balanced with measurable data, and how candidate experience can be both human and scalable. Anna also offers insights into how she assesses founders during interviews and why speed and thoughtfulness in hiring are good indicators of long-term cultural alignment. Tune in to learn how to build resilient, high-trust recruiting processes and make smarter career decisions rooted in self-awareness and intention!
Key Points From This Episode:
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An overview of Anna’s journey from Frame.io to Adobe to Runway.
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How she used Adobe’s acquisition of Frame.io as a career checkpoint.
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The importance of being clear about the size and pace of the company you want.
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Values over industry: the creative culture and visionary founders that drew Anna to Runway.
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Founder responsiveness as a hiring signal (and what to look for in the first interview).
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Reflecting on hiring wins and misses as opportunities to learn and improve.
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Blending data and intuition to ensure that a role truly excites you.
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Building scalable, human-centered hiring from scratch with speed, structure, and soul.
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The impact of timely check-ins, personal touches, and radical hiring transparency.
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Starting lean but thinking long-term: balancing agility with a premium candidate experience.
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The power of seeking out quick wins to add value in the short term.
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A simple strengths-enjoyment framework for informed career decisions.
Quotes:
“Even though I'm not going to be using the product every day, the company culture is still shaped by the type of tool you create.” — Anna Chalon [08:15]
“[Hiring] is not a perfect science. All these things are still human-based decisions at the end of the day. You do the best with the information you have.” — Anna Chalon [14:44]
“My goal when I'm building these foundations is: how do we have enough structure and repeatability that we could hire 100 people – if we need to but every single candidate [also feels] like they're alone in the process?” — Anna Chalon [19:14]
“Any kind of communication is better than ghosting. – When people are looking for a job, anxiously waiting to get a response, it's just not the right thing to do.” — Anna Chalon [26:24]
“What am I good at? What do I like? What is the overlap? And how does that apply to work?” — Anna Chalon [37:52]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: