Talent Leadership & People Operations
Senior people leaders whose scope spans far beyond recruiting.
Jamie Adasi
Merit America
Dave Bui
ChangeMakers
Jocelyn Burbidge
CoreWeave
Christina Chan
The Talent Project
Aditi Chaudhary
Tiger Analytics
Sarah Daugherty
Julia Days
Venture Venture LLP
Abhishek De
Michael Duplessis
Support Services Group
Rebecca Foden
Sarah Hatfield
The Tipping Point Group Corporation
Monique Hermon
Serco
Kerris Hougardy
Ting
Michael Kascsak
Mark Kunaseelan
University of the Arts London
Kesh Ladwa
West Midlands Combined Authority
Coco Lloyd
Certa
Henry Martin
United States Marine Corps
Kelly Molina
Willow Bridge Property Company
Greg Muccio
Parker Nielson
Thoropass
Jennifer Rakow
CoreWeave
Vida Rangel
Government of the District of Columbia
Leah Schonberg
RWS Global
Anthony Stough
Decision Resources
Celia de la Torre
Makwa Global
Tiffany Toussaint
Strategic Education, Inc.
Danielle Tucker
Eric Villarreal
U.S. Secret Service
Candice Winter
Candice M Winter: Talent Acquisition Consulting
About this category
Talent Leadership & People Operations recognizes up to 100 honorees each year. The Class of 2026 includes 30 leaders in this category, put forward by peers or by our selection committees for the work they have done. They lead talent and recruiting work at organizations including CoreWeave, Candice M Winter: Talent Acquisition Consulting, Certa, ChangeMakers, and Decision Resources. 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.
- Technology & Digital Platforms - Talent leaders across software, cloud, and the digital platforms powering global business.
- 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.
- Founders & Independents - Founders and independent practitioners charting their own course.