Nominees for the 2026 TA20 Award

“The core of talent will always be people and innately human, we’re built to connect. We’re also built to seek, create, and use tools. I view AI as a tool that has an unbelievable opportunity to augment our abilities.”

“Duarte elevates recruiters into strategic advisors by mentoring talent, streamlining operations, and using AI to remove friction so people can focus on people.”

“Steve is constantly pushing to utilize the latest AI technology around high-volume hiring and conversational applications. Building the next-generation AI TA stack at The Gap.”

“Nominating Tugba Ö. Åkesson at IKEA. She's the one who turned Values-Based Recruitment from a slide deck into a global community people genuinely show up for every year, and when SocialTalent's CEO sat down with her, his takeaway was that IKEA 'balances AI innovation with human connection' across 31 markets. That's not an accident, that's her fingerprints on it.”

“AI helps us move faster and focus our time where it matters most: connecting the right people with the right opportunities.”