Nyala Khan grew up on an orchard farm in Northern California before navigating diverse environments across the U.S., shaping both her independence and her ability to read people. Now leading People and Talent at Slang AI, she’s built her approach through scaling organizations and developing high-performing teams, grounded in pattern recognition and data-informed decision making. In this conversation, she explains why great hiring mirrors hospitality, how small signals often outperform resumes, and why the best recruiters treat intuition as structured insight, not guesswork.

Restaurant mentioned: Limusina

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From a multicultural upbringing to leading talent acquisition at Juniper Square, Felicia Menon has built her career around curiosity, storytelling, and a strong focus on people. She shares how asking better questions, investing in others, and embracing different perspectives have shaped her approach to hiring and leadership. This conversation explores how today’s TA leaders can combine human insight with evolving tech and AI to build stronger teams.

Book mentioned: Alchemised by SenLinYu

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With a background in philosophy and logic, Polina Arkhipova approaches talent acquisition through clarity, structure, and continuous learning. At Monta, she’s exploring AI and automation to make recruiting more efficient while staying grounded in what really matters. This conversation unpacks how to thoughtfully evolve TA without losing its human core.

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Daryl Escoto started with a mindset shaped by constant motion and perspective, and carried that into a career spanning Amazon, Microsoft, Uber, and now leading Talent Acquisition at Bill. In this conversation, he explains that the real opportunity with AI isn’t automation; it’s building a continuous system that identifies objectives, implements solutions, drives adoption, and constantly asks what’s next. It’s a look at how TA evolves from a reactive function into a strategic arm of the business, powered by repeatable learning, smarter workflows, and a relentless focus on impact.

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Raised in a close Italian immigrant family, she grew up fascinated by people and what drives them. After a brief detour into law, she found her true calling in recruiting where she discovered that behavior often matters more than credentials. Now as VP of Talent Acquisition at Human, Valerie Vadala shares how to read real signals in hiring and why so many companies still get it wrong.

Restaurants mentioned: Pianostrada, Roscioli

Books mentioned: Do What You Are by Paul D. Tieger, Bullshit Jobs by David Jaeber

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Victoire Marty grew up in Paris, surrounded by art, history, and a culture that values intuition, which later shaped her approach to hiring for potential rather than pedigree. After studying art history, she went on to become a Talent Acquisition Lead at Lemlist, helping the company scale rapidly while managing an ambitious hiring load with a lean team. This conversation explores how trusting your gut, maintaining high standards, and staying hands-on can drive real impact as teams grow fast.

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Growing up as the oldest of five, Tristan Mackrory was a teacher long before the classroom, a dynamic that still shapes how he leads today. That path took him from teaching into talent acquisition, and now into his role as VP of People & Talent at Almedia, where he’s helped scale teams through hypergrowth. In this conversation, he shares what breaks first at 100+ employees, what to build early to avoid it, and why unconventional talent often outperforms the expected path.

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Rona Shoaienia, grew up in Toronto after moving from Munich, and being surrounded by diverse cultures shaped how she sees people and potential. She studied psychology, traveled widely, and later experienced anxiety, an experience that reshaped how she leads and shows up at work. Now, as Head of Talent at Nue.io, she’s focused on building a well-oiled talent machine in hyper-growth where speed and quality have to coexist.

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Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible!

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