Founders & Independents
Founders and independent practitioners charting their own course.
Avetis Antaplyan
HIRECLOUT
Gail Audibert
Inc.
Ellis Livingston Briery
Michael Brown
Counsel Health
Nick Burns
TrustedHire
Thais Cacador
Talent Centric
Jennifer Candee
Candid Talent Consulting
Dawn Carter
New Dawn Strategy Group
Stephanie Colores
Strategic Connexus
Tamsin Colsey
Beacon Talent
Caitlin Cooke
People Culture Talent
Gerry Crispin
CareerXroads
Amy Crook
Strativis
Vas Demian
Dana Dillard
Zoox
Gabe Dillon
Grid Talent
Debbie Douglas-Henry
LLC
James Ellis
Employer Brand Labs
Kaylee Estes
Estes Group
Dom Farnan
Stealth Startup
Brian Fink
The ReWork Group
Keely Flood
The Honest Salesperson
Kristi Gage-Linderman
Gage Talent & Business Solutions
Oscar Galliers
Buzzima
Matthew Gilbert
WorkingTheory Partners
Michael Goldberg
Hiring Transformed
Dayna Gray
Graystone Partners
Keirsten Greggs
TRAP Recruiter, LLC
Meghann Hanvey
Aurora Talent Lab
Jen Hulme
Jen Hulme Hiring & Partnerships
Alison Humphries
Recruitment Leadership Ltd
Kevin Jarvis
Hire With Jarvis
Tianna Johnson
People Culture Talent
Sharon Kardam
Foster + Partners
Kimberly Kelly
AVENNI Consulting
Gary King
Collins King & Associates
James Lambert
Engage to Succeed
Lionel Lee
Conexse Executive Search
Katia Mahiddine
ChinUp
Lewis Maleh
Bentley Lewis
Chris Mannion
Meander
Katie Marks
Patrice & Associates
Michelle Martin
Workforce Solutions Firm
Danielle Mathis
Rocklin Management Advisors
Lindsey McCracken
Conekt Legal
Anna Morgan
EVOLVE
Bronwyn OShea
Jobz Cafe Inc
Mary Price
Penfield Talent
Martin Rowinski
Boardsi
Peter Sanders
identifi Global
Isaac Schild
Scion Staffing
Gino Scialdone
American Recruiters
Emma Storey
Hera
Punith Suvarna
PS Talent Advisors
Tony Teshara
Handle
Louise Triance
UK Recruiter
T. Tara Turk-Haynes
Equity Activations
Katie Wagner
Talent By Design Collective
Matt Walsh
Blue Signal Search
Cammy Wang
Phoenix Arising College and Career Consulting (PAC3)
Thomas Warner
GroTech
Clark Willcox
The Digital Recruiter
Mike Williams
Carnegie Search
Nate Wylie
Infinate Talent
Stacy Zapar
Tenfold
Julie Zimmerman
Higher Education and EdTech Advisory
About this category
Each Talent 100 category recognizes up to 100 honorees. 66 of the honorees in the Class of 2026 belong to Founders & Independents. They lead talent and recruiting work at organizations including People Culture Talent, American Recruiters, Aurora Talent Lab, AVENNI Consulting, and Beacon Talent. Each profile covers how they got into recruiting, how their team hires today, and what they think is changing about the work.
Honorees are selected through a dual-path process: about half are nominated directly by fellow people and recruiting leaders, and the rest by selection committees of senior talent practitioners and industry advisors who seek out leaders who may be under-recognized. Nominations are free and selection is based on merit. See the Talent 100 overview for the full process, or browse every category of the class.
Other Talent 100 categories
- Enterprise Technology - Talent leaders at the world's established technology companies.
- Startups & Venture-Backed Tech - The people building teams at startups, scaleups, and venture-backed companies.
- AI, Data & Security - Talent leaders shaping hiring at AI, data, and cybersecurity companies.
- Financial & Professional Services - Talent acquisition across banking, fintech, insurance, legal, and consulting.
- Healthcare & Life Sciences - The talent leaders behind healthcare systems, biotech, and pharma.
- Consumer, Retail & Hospitality - Hiring leaders across consumer brands, retail, travel, and hospitality.
- Industrial, Energy & Manufacturing - Talent leaders powering industrial, energy, logistics, and manufacturing teams.
- Agency & Staffing - The standout talent leaders at agencies and staffing firms.
- Executive Search - The people trusted to place leadership at the highest levels.
- Recruiting Operations & Enablement - The builders behind recruiting operations, tooling, and enablement.
- Talent Leadership & People Operations - Senior people leaders whose scope spans far beyond recruiting.