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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Growing up in a small NYC apartment taught him resilience early, but traveling through Brazil and South Africa reshaped how he sees people and the world. From competing in sailing across countries to living nomadically, those experiences shaped a distinctive perspective on risk, trust, and opportunity. Colin Murphy now leads recruiting as Director at Method, where he focuses on what truly breaks through in hiring today by balancing process with creativity.

Book mentioned: The Road to Character by David Brooks

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A bad environment can make someone shut down fast. The right one can change everything. Kenzie Hoelscher, Leading Recruiting at AssemblyAI, saw that shift early and it still shapes how she thinks about people and performance today. We dive into what truly makes a great recruiter stand out, why chasing volume can quietly undermine quality, and how top candidates think differently. It’s a practical conversation on modern hiring, from product obsession to blending AI with human judgment and why staying close to leadership can be a real edge.

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What if the way people think about jobs, risk, and “security” has less to do with personality and more to do with the country that raised them? In this episode, Alison Eastaway, VP of People and Culture at Push Security, connects how Australia, France, and the US shape the way people make career moves, weigh startup risk, and decide whether to say yes to an offer. It’s part global perspective, part recruiting masterclass, with a memorable detour through a Paris wine shop that reveals something deeper about burnout, community, and choosing the right problems.

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Gabrielle Mellon grew up in a big, competitive family that shaped her instinct to act, adapt, and figure things out fast. She carried that mindset into bold career moves and high-stakes roles, eventually leading Talent Acquisition and HR Operations at Axon through a period of rapid growth. In this conversation, she tackles what most leaders avoid: why being liked can hold you back, how to be direct without losing trust, and what it really means to develop people.

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Rebecca Palmer lived in multiple places growing up, an experience that taught her to adapt fast and focus on finishing what she starts. Those instincts now shape her work as co-founder and head of financial guidance at Fruitful, where she helps people turn good intentions into automatic progress.

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Esra Huseyinzadegan grew up in Istanbul, a city that quickly teaches you to adapt, question assumptions, and see the world from multiple perspectives. Those instincts carried her from academic success in Turkey to leading Global Talent Acquisition at Namecheap, where she builds recruiting strategies for a truly global organization. In this conversation, she shares why context beats templates, how great leaders listen deeply, and what it means to practice “minimal leadership” in fast-growing companies.

Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!

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

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