Harry Zapata
IQPC
“AI won’t replace recruiters. The recruiter who learns how to use AI will.”
Harry Zapata 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 Harry's story.
For many talent leaders, recruiting is a career they discover along the way. For Harry Zapata, Talent Director at IQPC, it evolved naturally from a passion for helping people and creating meaningful opportunities.
Today Harry serves in a global talent leadership role, but his journey began far from the corporate recruiting world. While attending college in Las Vegas, he worked nights as a bartender in casino bars, spending hours in conversation with people from all walks of life. Those conversations shaped his understanding of human connection, the quality that would later become the foundation of his recruiting philosophy.
After graduation, Harry entered a sales role where he quickly discovered a talent for building high-performing teams. Promoted into management, he inherited a struggling group with low retention rates, and he set about rebuilding it by hiring the right people, developing talent, and creating a supportive environment. The turnaround was significant enough that leadership took notice, and before long he was helping improve hiring practices across the broader organization.
“That’s when it became more than just a job,” Harry recalls. “It became a passion to serve others. We help people find opportunities that can completely change the trajectory of their lives.”
That passion has remained central throughout his career. Harry spent a decade helping build recruiting strategies for a software company before returning to an organization that had played a pivotal role early in his professional development. Having first worked there more than a decade earlier, he had maintained strong relationships with the leadership team, and he eventually came back in a global talent leadership capacity.
Using Technology to Create More Human Conversations
While many talent leaders discuss AI primarily through the lens of efficiency, Harry sees its greatest value in something surprisingly human. “The biggest benefit has been getting time back,” he explains. “The administrative work that once consumed so much of our day can now be automated, allowing us to focus on what really matters, having meaningful conversations with people.”
By implementing automation, note-taking tools, and AI-assisted workflows, he has helped create space for recruiters to engage more deeply with candidates. Instead of rushing from one task to the next, they can spend more time understanding people, their goals, and what truly motivates them. For Harry, technology should enhance relationships rather than replace them.
“Now we can really get into conversations with people,” he says. “Those conversations are becoming more engaging and more valuable because we’re not constantly worried about the administrative work waiting for us afterward.”
The Evolution of Talent Acquisition
Having worked in recruiting across multiple decades of technological change, Harry has watched the profession evolve dramatically. He remembers a time when recruiters relied almost entirely on phone calls to connect with candidates, when email was rarely the first point of contact and platforms like LinkedIn did not yet exist. “Back then, if you got a résumé, you picked up the phone and called the person,” he says. “That was how relationships started.”
Today candidates communicate through multiple channels, from text messaging to social media and professional networking platforms. Yet despite all the technological advancement, Harry believes the core of the work remains unchanged, a conviction captured in a quote from a fellow talent leader that resonates deeply with him: “AI won’t replace recruiters. The recruiter who learns how to use AI will.” In his view, the future belongs to professionals who embrace innovation while maintaining the human elements that make recruiting effective.
Advice for Talent Leaders Heading into 2026
As talent acquisition continues to evolve, Harry encourages recruiters to avoid making decisions based solely on résumés or technology. “If we could identify every great hire just by reading a résumé, we’d all be millionaires,” he says. Instead, he advocates evaluating candidates holistically, weighing communication skills, curiosity, professionalism, mindset, and overall potential alongside experience.
He also encourages talent professionals to remain lifelong learners. Whether through webinars, conferences, peer conversations, vendor demonstrations, or industry communities, he believes recruiters should constantly seek out new perspectives and ideas. “There are so many ways to learn,” he says. “Lean forward. Stay curious. Keep learning.”
At the heart of that advice is the simple principle that has guided his career from the beginning: recruiting is ultimately about people. Technology will continue to evolve, processes will continue to change, and new tools will emerge, but the ability to connect with others, understand their aspirations, and help them discover opportunities remains the foundation of great talent acquisition. For Harry Zapata, that mission is what continues to make the work meaningful every day.
The Talent 100 exists to celebrate the people shaping the future of how the world hires, and few embody that better than Harry. We are honored to welcome Harry Zapata to the Talent 100, Class of 2026, and grateful for the experience, perspective, and craft they bring to this community. Congratulations, Harry. 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.
