2026 Talent 100 Honoree

Meghan Emswiller

SVP, Human Resources, Dental Intelligence Inc.

Journey Into Recruiting & Talent Leadership

Meghan shared that her recruiting career began shortly after college during a difficult job market. She initially worked for an exceptional HR leader at Array BioPharma, where she helped bring in PhD-level candidates for scientific presentations and hiring processes.

She explained that she quickly fell in love with recruiting because of the excitement of finding the right candidate-company match and helping people begin successful new chapters in their careers. Meghan emphasized that she enjoys being part of the process that sets employees up for long-term success and values the opportunity to positively influence organizational growth through hiring.

Recruiting Leaders Who Influenced Meghan

Sherry Norland – Array BioPharma

Meghan first highlighted Sherry Norland, her original HR leader at Array BioPharma. She shared that Sherry taught her that HR is not simply a “soft” or administrative function, but rather a strategic business partner capable of delivering measurable organizational value.

According to Meghan, Sherry excelled at meeting people where they were while thoughtfully guiding the organization forward through gradual and intentional change.

Steve Goldman – Workforce Insight

The second influential leader Meghan mentioned was Steve Goldman from Workforce Insight. She explained that Steve encouraged her to think creatively and become more proactive and scrappy in recruiting efforts.

He inspired her to network aggressively, promote opportunities broadly, and approach recruiting not as “selling jobs” but as solving meaningful problems for candidates. Meghan said his mentorship reinforced the importance of authentic enthusiasm for a company’s mission when engaging talent.

Roddy Temperly – SDL / RWS

The third leader Meghan recognized was Roddy Temperly from SDL. Meghan shared that Roddy helped break down silos within HR by integrating talent acquisition more closely with broader HR business partnership initiatives.

She credited him with teaching her the importance of understanding stakeholder goals, aligning hiring processes to organizational objectives, and remaining disciplined about evaluating candidates based on agreed-upon hiring criteria rather than subjective preferences.

Thoughts on AI & the Future of Recruiting

Meghan discussed how AI has significantly improved recruiter efficiency, particularly through tools that assist with creating job descriptions and streamlining hiring workflows.

She highlighted the use of Willow, which incorporates AI-driven candidate scoring into video interview processes. Meghan explained that tools like these help hiring managers process candidates more efficiently while still preserving the human side of recruiting and candidate evaluation.

She emphasized that talent acquisition teams must balance AI-powered efficiency with genuine human connection and thoughtful candidate assessment.

Advice for Talent Leaders

When discussing advice for other recruiting leaders, Meghan encouraged organizations to approach AI adoption gradually rather than searching for a “silver bullet” solution.

She acknowledged that many recruiters worry AI may replace jobs, but she strongly believes AI is intended to enhance productivity and free recruiters to focus on higher-value work. Meghan recommended introducing AI tools incrementally so teams can become more comfortable and confident with the technology over time.

She noted that once recruiters begin experiencing productivity and efficiency improvements firsthand, they become much more open to embracing AI solutions in recruiting workflows.

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.