Donisha Diagne
Jamf
“We have to really jump into the tools and understand how to best utilize artificial intelligence while also remaining human.”
Donisha Diagne has been named to the Talent 100, Class of 2026, the annual award recognizing up to 100 leaders in each category of talent acquisition. Honorees are nominated by peers or found by committees that look for excellent work wherever it happens, then chosen for the depth of their craft and their impact on hiring. This is Donisha's story.
For Donisha Diagne, Vice President, Talent & Engagement at Jamf, recruiting wasn't the starting point of her career, it was the natural evolution of more than two decades spent helping organizations develop people, shape culture, and strengthen employee experiences.
Before stepping fully into talent acquisition, Donisha built her career across a wide range of HR disciplines, including learning and development, talent management, employee engagement, and employee experience. Those experiences gave her a deep understanding of how organizations grow, how teams evolve, and what employees need in order to thrive long term.
While she had previously “dabbled” in recruiting throughout her HR career, it wasn't until the end of last year that she officially transitioned into a dedicated talent acquisition leadership role. That move offered her an entirely new perspective on the hiring process and on how recruiting influences the broader future of work. “It has been an absolute learning experience,” she shared. “Especially where we are today with AI and all of the changes coming with artificial intelligence.”
For Donisha, talent acquisition is far more than simply filling open roles. It's about understanding how talent strategy connects to business growth, organizational culture, and long-term workforce planning. Her extensive background across multiple HR functions allows her to approach recruiting through a uniquely holistic lens, one that balances operational effectiveness with employee-centered leadership.
How AI Is Reshaping Recruiting
Donisha believes artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming recruiting, not just through automation, but by redefining the role recruiters play inside organizations. Recruiting, in her view, has steadily evolved away from being seen as a purely transactional function and toward becoming a far more strategic business partner, and AI and recruiting technology are accelerating that shift.
“One of the biggest changes is the level of tools and technology now available,” she explained. Today's platforms allow recruiting teams to move faster, create greater transparency, improve collaboration with hiring managers, and gain deeper talent insights earlier in the hiring process. Rather than manually searching through large candidate pools with limited information, recruiters now have access to tools that help identify stronger alignment between talent and organizational needs much earlier in the process.
For Donisha, that changes not only the speed of recruiting but also the skill set recruiters themselves must develop. “It's no longer just about getting a job description and going out to find candidates,” she said. Modern recruiters must understand workforce trends, organizational strategy, and emerging technologies, and know how to leverage AI tools effectively while still maintaining authentic human relationships. The recruiters who succeed moving forward, she believes, will be the ones who combine technical fluency with emotional intelligence and strategic thinking.
Advice for Talent Leaders in 2026
As AI adoption continues accelerating, Donisha encourages talent leaders to actively engage with emerging technologies rather than resist them. At the same time, she believes leaders must remain intentional about preserving the human side of recruiting. “We have to really jump into the tools and understand how to best utilize artificial intelligence while also remaining human,” she explained.
For Donisha, AI should be used to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and handle tasks that don't necessarily require direct human interaction. That creates more space for recruiters to focus on the deeper relationship-building, communication, and strategic advising that organizations increasingly need. She also believes the rapid pace of change means recruiters must continuously learn and adapt, and that understanding both organizational needs and evolving technology platforms will become a defining advantage for recruiting leaders moving into the future.
Ultimately, Donisha sees the future of recruiting as a balance between innovation and humanity, where technology enhances recruiting effectiveness without replacing the empathy and connection that make great hiring possible. It is a thoughtful, future-focused perspective, and one shaped by more than two decades of watching how people, culture, and strategy come together inside growing organizations.
The Talent 100 exists to celebrate the people shaping the future of how the world hires, and few embody that better than Donisha. We are honored to welcome Donisha Diagne to the Talent 100, Class of 2026, and grateful for the experience, perspective, and craft they bring to this community. Congratulations, Donisha. Welcome to the Talent 100.
About the Talent 100
The Talent 100 is an annual list spotlighting the leaders who push HR and talent acquisition forward, organized by Noon AI. Honorees are selected through peer nominations and independent selection committees. Selection is entirely merit-based, with no fees or pay-to-play requirements.
