JP, Chief People Officer at Metropolis, emphasizes the need to reframe the return to office narrative, highlighting the irreplaceable value of human connection and collaboration that cannot be replicated through remote work alone. He shares insights on fostering a culture of access and the responsibilities that come with managing a large workforce post-acquisition. In this conversation, John-Paul Sukkar discusses the challenges and strategies involved in integrating a large organization after a significant acquisition. He emphasizes the importance of cultural shifts, change management, and the reevaluation of core values to foster innovation and ownership among employees. JP shares insights on balancing agility with necessary processes in a larger corporate environment and introduces a personal framework for decision-making that encourages long-term thinking and risk-taking.

Takeaways

In-person interactions foster serendipitous conversations that can unblock issues.
AI cannot replicate the nuances of human interactions in the workplace.
Return to office should be viewed as an opportunity, not a punishment.
Creating a culture of access encourages open communication and collaboration.
Day one changes are crucial for signaling new directions.
Ownership mentality is essential for employee engagement.
Taking risks on oneself is vital for personal and professional growth.

• Why implementation of talent management strategies is crucial.
• How succession planning is essential for organizational growth.
• Every employee should have an Individual Development Plan (IDP).
• Companies must support their managers to retain talent.
• Employees should take ownership of their career paths.

Cerence AI

Elizabeth on LinkedI n

• AI is significantly influencing the interview process.
• Defining & evaluating "vibe coding"
• Candidates often use AI tools to prepare for interviews, raising ethical questions.
• How Companies are adapting their interview processes to account for AI usage.
• Maintaining a balance between technology and traditional interviewing methods.
• There must be an unimpeachable understanding at the base of professional skills.
• Interviews are becoming more challenging due to AI tools.
• Candidates are using AI, which complicates the assessment process.
• Cheating in interviews is not solely AI-based; leaks can occur.
• In-person interviews do not guarantee the absence of cheating.
• There are services that help candidates cheat during interviews.
• Interview design must evolve to prevent cheating effectively.
• Bad actors are increasingly infiltrating the hiring process.
• Monitoring tools can help detect cheating but are not foolproof.
• Awareness and training can significantly improve the hiring process.

Links:

Mike Mroczka on LinkedIn

Mike Mroczka on Twitter

Mike Mroczka Website

Beyond Cracking the Coding Interview

Lia Economos discusses the evolution of interview processes, particularly in the context of integrating AI tools and adapting to the changing landscape of technical interviews. She emphasizes the importance of structured interviews as companies grow and the need to design interview questions that challenge candidates beyond the capabilities of AI. The discussion also touches on the ethical implications of over-employment and the necessity for candidates to network effectively during their job search.

Key Points From This Episode:

• A brief overview of her background and what brought her to Replicate.

• Lia tells us about the 18-month hiatus that she took between jobs.

• The importance of practicing interview skills even when you aren’t seeking a job.

• How to help candidates who haven’t interviewed in a while prepare for interviews.

• Lia tells us about her interview process with Replicate and the recent one she conducted.

• When companies need to consider creating a structured interview process.

• How she sees AI tools being used in candidates’ interviews.

• Why AI can make technical screenings less effective.

• How Lia would handle finding out if an employee was lying about having multiple jobs.

• Lia shares advice for people reentering their careers after a hiatus.

Quotes:

“If you’re hiring for a team and you’re hiring more than one person, you have to create structured interviews around [the] principles that you’re looking for.” — @liaeconomix [19:22]

“There are so many tools right now that exist for technical candidates to use AI without the interviewer knowing that you have to redesign your interviews to make sure that you’re allowing for and working around these tools.” — @liaeconomix [22:44]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lia Economos on LinkedIn

Lia Economos on X

Replicate

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World

In today’s fast-paced world where candidates are always looking for the next opportunity, it’s rare to find someone dedicated to growing within one organization. As today’s guest Lani Montoya demonstrates, internal growth may be the best way to develop exceptional people leaders. Lani is the Chief People Officer at Pernod Ricard, the world leader in premium international wines and spirits, and she begins by explaining her path to joining the company and why she chose to grow in it instead of seeking opportunities elsewhere. We discuss how to rise above workplace complacency, the value of persistence and commitment, whether a work-life balance is real or myth, and the role of modern people leaders. Lani also describes how she makes new hires, how she helps others realize their people-leadership potential, what Pernod Ricard has cooking in leadership development, and her advice for choosing between staying at a company and pursuing other avenues.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Lani describes Pernod Ricard and how she became its Chief People Officer.

• Why she chose to grow within the organization instead of looking elsewhere.

• How to stay at a company without becoming complacent (and still adding value).

• What Lani is busy working on today, and what she still hopes to achieve at the company.

• Why she believes in balance as a whole but not in work-life balance.

• Understanding what’s expected of modern people leaders.

• How Pernod Ricard prepares its people to become the type of leaders it needs.

• Lani’s process for helping others embrace and explore their people-leadership potential.

• Whether leadership and career growth go hand-in-hand

• Unpacking Pernod Ricard’s leadership development platform.

• Pernod Ricard’s strategy for becoming known as a skills-based organization.

• Lani’s advice for deciding whether to leave or stay at a company for personal growth.

Quotes:

“I always found the work I did [at Pernod Ricard] very interesting. I love the trust, the independence that I had, and I always felt like I was making a difference.” — Lani Montoya [11:41]

“I’m not so sure that I believe in work-life balance, but I do believe in balance.” — Lani Montoya [14:57]

“Strengthening the role of the people leader is a big opportunity for driving engagement, driving results, and driving our culture.” — Lani Montoya [22:39]

“Being a people leader is as much an art as it is a science.” — Lani Montoya [25:05]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lani Montoya on LinkedIn

Learning & Development | Pernod Ricard

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World

What does it take to build a people-first hiring culture from the ground up, without sacrificing speed or scale? In this episode of Talk Talent to Me, returning guest Anna Chalon, Head of People at Runway, shares how she intentionally navigated her career from startup to acquisition and back again, fueled by a love for building and a clear sense of purpose. She unpacks her criteria for choosing the right company, the power of gut instinct balanced with measurable data, and how candidate experience can be both human and scalable. Anna also offers insights into how she assesses founders during interviews and why speed and thoughtfulness in hiring are good indicators of long-term cultural alignment. Tune in to learn how to build resilient, high-trust recruiting processes and make smarter career decisions rooted in self-awareness and intention!

Key Points From This Episode:

• An overview of Anna’s journey from Frame.io to Adobe to Runway.

• How she used Adobe’s acquisition of Frame.io as a career checkpoint.

• The importance of being clear about the size and pace of the company you want.

• Values over industry: the creative culture and visionary founders that drew Anna to Runway.

• Founder responsiveness as a hiring signal (and what to look for in the first interview).

• Reflecting on hiring wins and misses as opportunities to learn and improve.

• Blending data and intuition to ensure that a role truly excites you.

• Building scalable, human-centered hiring from scratch with speed, structure, and soul.

• The impact of timely check-ins, personal touches, and radical hiring transparency.

• Starting lean but thinking long-term: balancing agility with a premium candidate experience.

• The power of seeking out quick wins to add value in the short term.

• A simple strengths-enjoyment framework for informed career decisions.

Quotes:

“Even though I'm not going to be using the product every day, the company culture is still shaped by the type of tool you create.” — Anna Chalon [08:15]

“[Hiring] is not a perfect science. All these things are still human-based decisions at the end of the day. You do the best with the information you have.” — Anna Chalon [14:44]

“My goal when I'm building these foundations is: how do we have enough structure and repeatability that we could hire 100 people – if we need to but every single candidate [also feels] like they're alone in the process?” — Anna Chalon [19:14]

“Any kind of communication is better than ghosting. – When people are looking for a job, anxiously waiting to get a response, it's just not the right thing to do.” — Anna Chalon [26:24]

“What am I good at? What do I like? What is the overlap? And how does that apply to work?” — Anna Chalon [37:52]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Anna Chalon on LinkedIn

Runway

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World

What do the Sunday scaries have to do with how happy you are at work? Today we sit down with Molly Minczeski, the Director of Talent Acquisition & Employer Brand at MANSCAPED, the global men’s lifestyle consumer brand and male grooming category creator trusted by over 12 million men worldwide. Molly unpacks what the Sunday scaries really mean and why work-life balance looks different for everyone. She takes us inside MANSCAPED’s thriving remote culture, shares her journey into talent acquisition, and explains how she positions herself as a strategic business partner. Plus, she offers expert insights on how candidates can respectfully challenge hiring managers and assess how a company truly values them.

Key Points From This Episode:

• The correlation between job satisfaction and the Sunday scaries.

• Why it’s vital to understand that the work-life balance looks different for everyone.

• Exploring MANSCAPED’s office setup and how it keeps its remote employees connected.

• Molly’s professional history and how she ended up in her current role.

• What her day-to-day looks like and what she’s most passionate about at work today.

• How she goes beyond her job title to contribute to the business at a fundamental level.

• Why candidates should challenge hiring managers (and how to go about it).

• What Molly is looking for when she asks candidates specific questions.

Quotes:

“There might be a correlation between job satisfaction and where on the [Sunday scaries scale] you fall.” — Molly Minczeski [03:04]

“Every company is finding a rhythm that works for them. [MANSCAPED has] found that productivity has not slowed with everyone working fully from home.” — Molly Minczeski [09:36]

“I’m a fan of transparency in any opportunity that I can find. [By calling] the elephant out in the room, you can just get so much more done that way.” — Molly Minczeski [26:13]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Molly Minczeski on LinkedIn

MANSCAPED

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World

Kenzie discusses her tansition from big tech to an AI startup, and how positive hiring manager relationships are more important than specific AI upskilling.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Welcoming Kenzie (Keller) Hoelscher to the show.

• Kenzie tells us about herself and how she got into recruitment.

• A little bit about Kenzie’s fascinating career.

• The importance of building relationships with your hiring managers.

• The role AI is going to play in recruiting in the future.

• How she landed up at AssemblyAI and what it’s like working there.

• The kinds of questions she asks hiring managers when sourcing.

• How Kenzie filters resumes to narrow down her search.

• Kenzie shares some advice for anyone who wants to get into AI.

Quotes:

“With any role while you’re recruiting, as long as you’re having those conversations with your hiring manager and understanding what those main skillsets are, I do think it’s easy to go out there and source for them.” — Kenzie (Keller) Hoelscher [22:48]

“There’s definitely risks to being in a startup but I think now we’re seeing that there’s risks at being at bigger companies as well so why not take the risk?” — Kenzie (Keller) Hoelscher [30:40]

“AI is a booming industry [and] there’s a lot of energy around it right now.” — Kenzie (Keller) Hoelscher [31:24]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kenzie (Keller) Hoelscher on LinkedIn

LHH Recruitment Solutions

A Beautiful Working World