Jessica Wheeler went from growing up in Vancouver, Washington to building talent programs at some of the biggest names in entertainment and gaming, including Hulu, Activision, and Take-Two Interactive. Now VP, Global Head of TA Strategy at Take-Two, she shares how scaling Hulu from 500 to 3,000 employees, leading through reputation challenges at Activision, and centralizing TA across 2K, Zynga, and Take-Two shaped her leadership style.

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Intro (00:00)

Background (00:46)

Career (06:52)

Ta (29:22)

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Adam Spector’s path has never been conventional, from leaving DC for boarding school to pivoting from law school into tech and startups. Now Founder & CEO of Chore, he shares how building companies, learning from early startup failures, and obsessing over AI shaped his belief that founders should rethink hiring entirely. His message is simple: don’t hire unless you absolutely have to.

Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!

Intro (00:00)

Background (00:46)

Career (13:08)

TA (20:49)

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

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Mary Price grew up as a first-generation American, learning early lessons in grit, integrity, and trust from her family and her uncle’s shoe repair shop. Today, as the founder of Penfield Talent, she brings that same people-first philosophy to talent leadership, executive search, and helping companies build high-trust teams. In this conversation, she shares how she balances empathy with high standards, what AI can and can’t replace in recruiting, and the inside story of leading GTM hiring at Slack through the Salesforce acquisition, when her team doubled the sales organization in one year during COVID.

Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!

Intro (00:00)

Background (00:46)

Career (09:02)

TA (37:38)

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

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Katie Potter, VP of Talent Operations at Healthie, grew up in upstate New York with a deeply competitive spirit — skiing by age three and racing against high schoolers before she was even a teenager. In this episode, she shares her unconventional path from studying forensic psychology to discovering Industrial & Organizational psychology, ultimately leading her into the world of talent acquisition and helping scale hiring at high-growth startups. She also discusses how she’s leveraging AI to build faster, more thoughtful, and more candidate-centric recruiting processes in today’s evolving hiring landscape.

Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!

Intro (00:00)

Background (00:46)

Healthie (13:30)

AI (17:06)

TA (33:53)

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

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Kelsey Hersh grew up between two completely different worlds: one grounded in structure, the other filled with artists, Burning Man gatherings, and weekly fire dancing circles. Now Head of Talent Acquisition at Hometap, she brings that same ability to navigate different environments into building values-driven teams and trusted hiring partnerships. In this conversation, she shares why adaptability, human connection, and long-term fit matter more than ever in an AI-driven hiring landscape.

Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!

Intro (00:00)

Background (00:46)

Talent Acquisition (17:41)

Advice/ Growth (32:48)

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

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Liam Naughton grew up in a hyper-competitive environment, from nonstop sports to a 35-day wilderness trip that pushed his limits early on. Now Head of Recruiting at Merge, he’s applying that same mindset to building scalable, AI-driven systems while stepping into a new chapter of leadership and fatherhood. In this conversation, he shares how discipline, system thinking, and learning to push through tough moments continue to shape how he operates.

Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!

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

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Lauren Valencia grew up in a small town outside Seattle, where adventure, sports, and early problem-solving shaped a non-traditional path into recruiting. Now Head of Talent at Socket, she’s scaling teams quickly while rethinking org design, first-in hires, and what actually drives success in a startup. In this conversation, she shares why recruiters need to think like founders, how to evaluate real builders, and why picking your hires like you pick your inner circle is so crucial.

Episode mentioned: EP 187 with Joe Wilson

Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!

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

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Mallory Planck started her career in the middle of the 2009 recession, figuring things out in real time without a clear path. That grind took her from door-to-door sales into talent acquisition, where she now serves as Head of TA at Drata. She talks about managing expectations in a people-driven role, the pressure to keep up with AI, and why learning to slow down might be the hardest skill to build.

Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!

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

Follow us:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/

SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!
https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviews

Thanks for listening!