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Top EB Voices 2027: Top 24 Employer Brand Leaders in the US and Canada
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CMO
Top EB Voices 2027 | US & Canada
Celebrating the 24 employer brand leaders shaping how employers are seen in the US and Canada, each ranked on public evidence across five pillars. Nobody paid to be here.
Updated November 2026Scores checked October 2026. Refreshed every year.
Top EB Voices 2027 US & Canada is Happydance’s ranked list of the 24 employer brand leaders in the US and Canada. Each person is scored out of 100 on five pillars, experience, achievements, influence, thought leadership and community, using public, linkable evidence rather than votes, follower counts or payment. Bryan Chaney ranks first with 85 out of 100, followed by Kevin W. Grossman (82) and Allison Kruse (80).
Key takeaways
- Bryan Chaney (People Brand Collective, United States) leads the US & Canada list with 85 out of 100.
- 24 ranked leaders from 2 countries, and 80 more who are also listed. Median score among the ranked: 62.
- Among them, 4 are published authors, 7 have won industry awards, 2 have headlined major stages and 7 have built communities for the profession.
- Scores use five weighted pillars, and customer status or paid placement never changes a score. Read the full method.
- Named here? Take your Top EB Voice 2027 badge and share the news.
- Key takeaways
- Take your badge
- Leaderboard
- The 24 ranked leaders
- Also on the list
- By the numbers
- How we ranked
- What great employer branding looks like
- FAQ
- Corrections and removal
- Other lists
24ranked leaders
2countries
85top score out of 100
62median score
Named on the US & Canada list? Take your badge
Everyone named on this list is welcome to show it. The badge is free, in two colourways, as a PNG for social profiles and email signatures and an SVG for websites. Each file carries its alt text, title and source in its metadata.
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<a href="https://www.happydance.love/insights/posts/top-employer-brand-leaders-us-canada-2027/" title="See the Top EB Voices 2027 US & Canada list"><img src="https://assets-happydance-marketing.happydance.website/media/p01jthvi/top-eb-voice-2027-badge-us-canada-colour.png" alt="Named a Top EB Voice 2027, US and Canada list, by Happydance" width="200" height="200"></a>The link is a courtesy, never a condition. If you would rather not link, use the badge on its own, and please keep the alt text. To point to your own entry, add its anchor to the web address, for example #hd-your-name.
Top EB Voices 2027 US & Canada leaderboard at a glance
Every ranked leader on one table. Select a name to jump to their full entry. Where scores tie, people are listed alphabetically by first name.
| Rank | Leader | Role and organisation | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Bryan Chaney | Co-founder, People Brand Collective | United States | 85 |
| #2 | Kevin W. Grossman | VP of Benchmark Research, Survale | United States | 82 |
| #3 | Allison Kruse | Senior Director, People Brand & Talent Attraction, Marriott International | United States | 80 |
| #4 | Lars Schmidt | Talent Acquisition Leader, Anthropic | United States | 78 |
| #5 | Carrie Corbin | Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Hope Leigh Marketing Group | United States | 76 |
| #6 | Susan LaMotte | VP, Employer Brand, Shaker Recruitment Marketing | United States | 72 |
| #7 | Chris Hoyt | President and co-owner, CareerXroads | United States | 70 |
| #8 | Craig Fisher | Founder and CEO, TalentNet Media | United States | 69 |
| #9 | Lori Sylvia | Founder & CEO, Rally Recruitment Marketing | United States | 69 |
| #10 | Katrina (Kat) Kibben | Founder and CEO, Three Ears Media | United States | 67 |
| #11 | Charlotte Jones | Recruitment Marketing Leader, USAA | United States | 64 |
| #12 | Kerry Noone | Global Head of Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing, Ford Motor Company | United States | 64 |
| #13 | Alex Her | Head of Global Employer Brand, GoDaddy | United States | 60 |
| #14 | Ed Nathanson | Head of Global Talent Brand and PPL Brand, Synopsys | United States | 59 |
| #15 | Kristin Backhaus | Professor of Management, SUNY New Paltz | United States | 59 |
| #16 | Arin Goldsmith | Employer Brand Lead, Blizzard Entertainment | United States | 57 |
| #17 | Camille Phillips | Senior Director, Global Talent Attraction, AIG | United States | 57 |
| #18 | Marta Riggins | Strategic Consultant, Employer Brand & Employee Engagement | United States | 57 |
| #19 | Matthew Gilbert | Founding partner, WorkingTheory Partners | United States | 57 |
| #20 | Rachel Duran | Senior Employment Marketing Manager, Rosendin | United States | 56 |
| #21 | Farrah Ekeroth | Americas Employer Brand Leader, EY | United States | 55 |
| #22 | Jocelyn S. Lai | Global Head of Talent Brand, Duolingo | United States | 54 |
| #23 | Robin Dagostino | Employer Branding & Marketing Senior Director, Boston Consulting Group | United States | 54 |
| #24 | Shannon Smedstad | Global Director, Employer Brand & Recruitment Marketing, Fresenius Medical Care | United States | 52 |
Source: Happydance Top EB Voices 2027 scoring data, checked 29 September to 2 October 2026 and updated 24 October 2026. Scores are out of 100.
The 24 top employer brand leaders in the US and Canada
Each entry shows the leader’s share card, score on each pillar out of 5, a short reason for their place and the public evidence behind it.
#1 Bryan Chaney, Co-founder, People Brand Collective
Bryan Chaney helped turn employer branding into a practitioner profession: he co-founded the Talent Brand Alliance from a Facebook group and in 2026 co-founded its successor association, People Brand Collective.
- Led employer brand, culture and communications at IBM, Twilio, Indeed, Workrise and Crunchyroll over 20+ years
- ERE contributor: six articles 2014-2016 on employer brand measurement and talent attraction
- Talent Brand Alliance founding member Jan 2014 to Sep 2023; approx. 243K LinkedIn followers
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 5Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 5Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: recruitingdaily.com · Evidence: gohire.com · Link to this entry
#2 Kevin W. Grossman, VP of Benchmark Research, Survale
Kevin has run the most-used candidate experience benchmark in the industry for years. If you want evidence rather than opinion about how candidates are treated, it usually traces back to his research.
- Led Talent Board and the Candidate Experience Awards worldwide
- Co-authored Candidate Experience
- Author, Tech Job Hunt Handbook
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 3Influence
- 4Thought leadership
- 5Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: ere.net · Evidence: pro.eremedia.com · Link to this entry
#3 Allison Kruse, Senior Director, People Brand & Talent Attraction, Marriott International
Allison Kruse runs one of the largest people brands in hospitality, after building an award-winning global employer brand at Baxter, and co-founded the profession's newest association.
- Senior Director, People Brand & Talent Attraction at Marriott International, leading the "Be" people brand and a growing team
- Talent Brand Alliance board member and Master of Ceremonies at the Talent Brand Summit, Nashville, Sep 2023
- Co-founder of People Brand Collective, launched 31 Mar 2026
- 4Experience
- 5Achievements
- 3Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 4Community
#4 Lars Schmidt, Talent Acquisition Leader, Anthropic
Lars Schmidt co-wrote Employer Branding For Dummies, co-founded HR Open Source and is a long-running Talent Connect speaker; in 2026 he joined Anthropic to lead GTM recruiting.
- Co-author, Employer Branding For Dummies
- Author, Redefining HR
- Co-founded HR Open Source; 2,800 members and two dozen case studies
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 3Influence
- 4Thought leadership
- 3Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: wiley.com · Evidence: koganpage.com · Link to this entry
#5 Carrie Corbin, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Hope Leigh Marketing Group
Carrie Corbin built one of the first large in-house employer brand teams at AT&T, then led employer brand at American Airlines and Dell.
- Co-founder and Managing Partner, Hope Leigh Marketing Group, a talent attraction consultancy
- Global Head of Employer Brand for Dell
- Inaugural Glassdoor Talent Warrior, 2013, as Talent Attraction Associate Director at AT&T
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 3Influence
- 4Thought leadership
- 3Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: dfwtrn.org · Evidence: businesspress24.com · Link to this entry
#6 Susan LaMotte, VP, Employer Brand, Shaker Recruitment Marketing
Susan LaMotte built the employer brand consultancy exaqueo, sold it to Shaker in 2025, and since then has led Shaker's employer brand practice.
- VP, Employer Brand, on the Shaker Recruitment Marketing leadership team
- Founded exaqueo in 2011; acquired by Shaker Recruitment Marketing in Sep 2025
- On stage at TATech 2026 as VP of Employer Brand Strategy
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 2Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 4Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: shaker.com · Evidence: forbesjapan.com · Link to this entry
#7 Chris Hoyt, President and co-owner, CareerXroads
Chris keeps one of the oldest rooms in talent acquisition full and honest: he runs the CareerXroads community, hosts its podcast and turns member panels into research the rest of the field can use.
- President and co-owner of CareerXroads; the CXR community has brought TA leaders together for 30 years
- Host of the CXR Recruiting Community podcast, 170 episodes
- Host of the USA TODAY Top Workplaces National Award Summit podcast
- 3Experience
- 3Achievements
- 3Influence
- 4Thought leadership
- 4Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: unleash.ai · Evidence: podcasts.apple.com · Link to this entry
#8 Craig Fisher, Founder and CEO, TalentNet Media
Craig Fisher has convened Texas recruiting and employer brand people at TalentNet Live since 2009 and wrote Hiring Humans.
- Founder and CEO, TalentNet Media and the TalentNet Live conference series; author of Hiring Humans and Paint Your Store
- TalentNet Live Dallas 2014 was "our 7th Dallas event"
- TalentNet Live Dallas 2026, 6 Nov 2026 at Caliber HQ; "since 2009"
- 5Experience
- 3Achievements
- 3Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 4Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: talentnetlive.com · Evidence: dallas2014.talentnetlive.com · Link to this entry
#9 Lori Sylvia, Founder & CEO, Rally Recruitment Marketing
Lori Sylvia founded Rally, the largest US recruitment marketing community, and has run the Rally Awards since 2020.
- Founder & CEO, Rally Recruitment Marketing; "helping 50,000 HR, Recruiting and Marketing professionals"
- Rally Awards 2022: international winner
- Organised and hosted the 2026 Rally Awards ceremony with judges
- 4Experience
- 3Achievements
- 3Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 5Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: rallyfwd.com · Evidence: rallyawards.com · Link to this entry
#10 Katrina (Kat) Kibben, Founder and CEO, Three Ears Media
Kat has spent years on the least glamorous and most read piece of employer brand: the job post. Her advice is specific, tested and given away freely.
- Founded Three Ears Media, recruiting training and job-post writing
- Author of two books, This Was All An Accident and The Bounce Back Factor
- 5Experience
- 3Achievements
- 4Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 2Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: threeearsmedia.com · Evidence: threeearsmedia.com · Link to this entry
#11 Charlotte Jones, Recruitment Marketing Leader, USAA
Charlotte Jones led employer branding at Lockheed Martin and Stanley Black & Decker and since 2025 has led recruitment marketing at USAA.
- Recruitment Marketing Leader at Lockheed Martin, leading employment branding, digital campaigns and talent communities
- Rally Recruitment Marketing Awards 2021: 2nd place, Best Employer Brand Launch, for leading Lockheed Martin's EVP launch
- Director of Global Employer Brand, Stanley Black & Decker, after ten years at Lockheed Martin
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 2Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 2Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: rallyfwd.com · Evidence: theundercoverrecruiter.com · Link to this entry
#12 Kerry Noone, Global Head of Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing, Ford Motor Company
Kerry Noone was one of the first US recruitment marketers inside a TA team and since 2025 has led Ford's global employer brand, which swept the 2026 Rally Awards.
- Relaunched the Ford careers website in March 2026, 312 days after joining
- Ford won three first places at the 2026 Rally Awards plus a second and a third
- 2021 Rally Recruitment Marketer of the Year, as Director of Employer Branding and Recruitment Marketing at CVS Health
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 2Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 2Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: theorg.com · Evidence: rallyawards.com · Link to this entry
#13 Alex Her, Head of Global Employer Brand, GoDaddy
Alex Her runs GoDaddy's employer brand in 47 countries and founded the CommonThread community.
- 3Experience
- 3Achievements
- 3Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 3Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: ragan.com · Evidence: recruitingfuture.com · Link to this entry
#14 Ed Nathanson, Head of Global Talent Brand and PPL Brand, Synopsys
Ed Nathanson leads Synopsys's global talent brand and has keynoted LinkedIn Talent Connect.
- Founder of Red Pill Talent; SocialTalent employer branding expert with 6 learning paths
- 4Experience
- 4Achievements
- 3Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 0Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: linkedintalentconnect.com · Evidence: socialtalent.com · Link to this entry
#15 Kristin Backhaus, Professor of Management, SUNY New Paltz
Kristin Backhaus co-wrote the academic definition of employer branding that most researchers still start from.
- Co-authored "Conceptualizing and researching employer branding" with Surinder Tikoo: 995 indexed citations
- 19 papers with 1.9k indexed citations; top 0.5% in Organizational Behavior and HRM
- Published "Employer Branding Revisited", Organization Management Journal 13, Dec 2016: 118 CrossRef citations, 5,696 views
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 1Influence
- 4Thought leadership
- 0Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: researchconnect.suny.edu · Evidence: rankless.org · Link to this entry
#16 Arin Goldsmith, Employer Brand Lead, Blizzard Entertainment
Arin Goldsmith leads employer brand at Blizzard and is the top-ranked US employer-branding creator on Favikon.
- #1, Favikon Top 200 Creators, Employer Branding Professionals, United States
- BlizzCon 2026: Forging the Future of Game Development
- Two years at Blizzard Entertainment
- 2Experience
- 3Achievements
- 5Influence
- 2Thought leadership
- 2Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: app.favikon.com · Evidence: news.blizzard.com · Link to this entry
#17 Camille Phillips, Senior Director, Global Talent Attraction, AIG
Camille Phillips led Meta's global employer brand and since 2026 has been building AIG's.
- Talent Brand Alliance board member; co-led the Foundations Workshop at Talent Brand Summit, Chicago, Oct 2022
- 3Experience
- 4Achievements
- 1Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 3Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: everyonesocial.com · Evidence: podchaser.com · Link to this entry
#18 Marta Riggins, Strategic Consultant, Employer Brand & Employee Engagement
Marta Riggins is an employer brand consultant and founding board member of the People Brand Collective.
- Board member, People Brand Collective
- 4Experience
- 2Achievements
- 2Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 4Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: web.archive.org · Evidence: sessionize.com · Link to this entry
#19 Matthew Gilbert, Founding partner, WorkingTheory Partners
Matthew has spent two decades building employer brands for household names and built one of the industry's best-known agency EB practices; his Talent 100 recognition in 2026 reflects that craft.
- Talent 100 honoree, Class of 2026
- Co-founded WorkingTheory Partners with Devin DaRif
- 5Experience
- 4Achievements
- 1Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 1Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: noon.ai · Evidence: workingtheorypartners.com · Link to this entry
#20 Rachel Duran, Senior Employment Marketing Manager, Rosendin
Rachel Duran led global employer brand and recruitment marketing at HPE and in 2026 leads employment marketing at Rosendin.
- Senior Employment Marketing Manager at Rosendin in 2026; at HPE led an integrated in-house, agency and RPO team to activate the EVP
- Nearly 15 years across ad agencies, RPOs and major tech companies
- 4Experience
- 3Achievements
- 2Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 2Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: cxr.works · Evidence: talentacquisitionweek.com · Link to this entry
#21 Farrah Ekeroth, Americas Employer Brand Leader, EY
Farrah Ekeroth led EY's UK and EMEIA employer brand teams before moving to the US in 2022 to lead its Americas employer brand. She spoke at Talent Acquisition Week in 2023.
- 4Experience
- 3Achievements
- 1Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 3Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: talentbrand.org · Evidence: genheration.com · Link to this entry
#22 Jocelyn S. Lai, Global Head of Talent Brand, Duolingo
Jocelyn Lai built Duolingo's recruiting team through its IPO, then founded its talent brand function, run like a marketing org.
- As Global Head of Talent Acquisition, grew Duolingo from about 100 to just over 500 employees in three years
- Building Duolingo's talent brand from the ground up, reporting into Marketing with a lean team
- 3Experience
- 3Achievements
- 3Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 1Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: noon.ai · Evidence: businessinsider.com · Link to this entry
#23 Robin Dagostino, Employer Branding & Marketing Senior Director, Boston Consulting Group
Robin Dagostino led global employer brand at SAP and in 2026 leads it at BCG.
- Judge, 2024 Rally Awards
- 3Experience
- 4Achievements
- 1Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 2Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: rallyfwd.com · Evidence: rallyrecruitmentmarketing.com · Link to this entry
#24 Shannon Smedstad, Global Director, Employer Brand & Recruitment Marketing, Fresenius Medical Care
Shannon Smedstad built GEICO's first employer brand and led EB consulting at exaqueo.
- Glassdoor Talent Warrior 2013
- Built GEICO's first employer brand; consulting from 2016 at exaqueo
- 4Experience
- 3Achievements
- 1Influence
- 3Thought leadership
- 2Community
LinkedIn profile · Evidence: businesspress24.com · Evidence: manatal.com · Link to this entry
Also on the US & Canada list
These 80 leaders met the same evidence standard and were scored on the same rubric. They sit outside the ranked group and are shown alphabetically by surname. Their share cards, scores and evidence links are below.
Natalie Ashoory, Vice President, Global Head of Employer Brand, Morgan Stanley
33 out of 100 · United States
Natalie Ashoory leads Morgan Stanley's global employer brand and launched its first EVP.
Moira Ault, Director, Talent Brand & Experiences, Nike
26 out of 100 · United States
Moira Ault leads talent brand and candidate experiences at Nike.
Rajiv Bawa, Employer Brand Manager, Netflix
28 out of 100 · United States
Rajiv Bawa wrote the core employer brand messaging, "Leave ordinary behind", for Netflix's redesigned jobs site in 2025, and ran the Netflix House Philadelphia hiring campaign.
Lance Bloomberg, Head of Talent Brand, Dropbox
23 out of 100 · United States
Lance Bloomberg has led talent brand at Dropbox since 2024 and writes about work beyond the office-versus-remote debate.
Kayla Branham, Sr. Manager, Recruitment Marketing, ADT
36 out of 100 · United States
Kayla Branham led the launch of ADT's first employer value proposition and in 2026 leads its recruitment marketing.
Ally Brown, Employer Brand Manager, VCA Animal Hospitals
49 out of 100 · United States
Ally shows what one employer brand practitioner can build at scale: a ground-up employer brand for 1,000+ veterinary hospitals, powered by employee co-created content.
Danielle Burkard, Recruitment Marketing and Employer Brand Leader, T-Mobile
35 out of 100 · United States
Danielle Burkard leads recruitment marketing and employer brand at T-Mobile, after building Dutch Bros talent attraction.
Dustin Carper, Director, Recruitment Marketing and Employer Brand, Petco
36 out of 100 · United States
Dustin Carper leads recruitment marketing and employer brand at Petco and spoke on the RecFest USA 2026 employer brand stage.
Debbie Celado, Global Head of Talent Marketing, CBRE
49 out of 100 · United States
Debbie Celado leads talent marketing and the employer brand at CBRE, after rebuilding Citizens Bank's employer brand.
LinkedIn · Evidence: globalsearchservices.com · Link to this entry
Whitney Chan, Senior Manager, Global Employer Brand & Talent Attraction, AECOM
28 out of 100 · United States
Whitney Chan leads global employer brand and talent attraction at AECOM, after employer brand work at Cisco.
Christina Yatros Collins, SVP, Head of Global Employer Brand & Creative Services, Citi
26 out of 100 · United States
Christina Yatros Collins heads Citi's global employer brand.
Michael Cope, Employer Brand Manager, Highmark Health
8 out of 100 · United States
Michael Cope is on the Highmark Health employer brand team behind the award-placed Remarkable Together EVP.
Karla Diaz, Senior Director, Talent Brand, Northwestern Mutual
28 out of 100 · United States
Karla Diaz leads talent brand at Northwestern Mutual, whose team won a 2024 Rally Award. In 2026 she presented its shift to retention marketing at Board.org's Practitioner Summit.
Anne Kennedy Dotson, Head of Global Employer Brand, Pfizer
28 out of 100 · United States
Anne Kennedy Dotson built and leads Pfizer's global employer brand.
Eleni Efstratiades, Leads Employer Brand, Recruitment Marketing and Sourcing, Walmart
24 out of 100 · United States
Eleni Efstratiades leads Walmart's employer brand and launched its new EVP.
Sofia Egudkina, Manager, Employer Branding and Talent Marketing, Loblaw Companies
18 out of 100 · Canada
Sofia Egudkina leads employer branding at Loblaw, one of Canada's largest employers.
Sara Erickson, Director, Experience & Recruitment Marketing, Ecolab
44 out of 100 · United States
Sara Erickson built and leads recruitment marketing and candidate experience at Ecolab and teaches data-led storytelling at RecFest USA.
Kelly Estrada, Senior Talent Brand Manager, Snowflake
36 out of 100 · United States
Kelly Estrada leads global talent brand at Snowflake and reimagined it for Snowflake Summit and Dev Day in 2026. In 2023 she hosted a dozen-plus Martec campfire sessions with EB and TA leaders.
Danyelle Felchner, Recruitment Marketing Manager, Social Media, CVS Health
20 out of 100 · United States
Danyelle Felchner runs employer brand social for CVS Health and grew its careers page to over 100,000 followers.
Amy Feldman, Talent Attraction (Employer Brand) Lead, Highmark Health
22 out of 100 · United States
Amy Feldman leads the employer brand team behind Highmark Health's award-placed "Remarkable Together" EVP.
Kristen Ferguson, Director, Talent Strategy & Activation, Inspire Brands
30 out of 100 · United States
Kristen Ferguson leads talent attraction and employer brand for Inspire Brands and its restaurant brands, including the Rally-winning Dunkin' employer brand launch.
Rian Finnegan, Employer Brand Lead, Neko Health
50 out of 100 · United States
Rian Finnegan has led employer brand at Snap and H&M Group and since Jul 2026 leads employer brand at Neko Health from New York.
LinkedIn · Evidence: alumni.northeastern.edu · Link to this entry
Gus Ford, Head of Employer Brand, Caterpillar
38 out of 100 · United States
Gus Ford leads employer brand at Caterpillar after leading it globally at Resideo.
Molly Q. Ford, VP, Talent Brand Marketing & Communications, Salesforce
28 out of 100 · United States
Molly Q. Ford leads talent brand marketing and communications at Salesforce and is building out its employer brand content team.
Adam Glassman, Director of Employment Brand + Marketing, Cox Enterprises
36 out of 100 · United States
Adam Glassman leads employment brand and marketing at Cox Enterprises, including its award-winning careers website.
Meghan Goodman, Global Employer Brand Leader, Hitachi Energy
33 out of 100 · United States
Meghan Goodman owns global employer brand strategy at Hitachi Energy, where "The Power of Connection" concept brought 43% more applications in a 2026 case study.
Briana Gosselin, Head of Employer Brand, Activision Blizzard King
38 out of 100 · United States
Briana Gosselin leads employer brand for Activision, Blizzard and King.
Shelby Grip, Director, Global Talent Attraction, Mastercard
49 out of 100 · United States
Shelby Grip leads global talent attraction, including employer brand and recruitment marketing, at Mastercard.
Audree Hall, Senior Talent Brand Program Manager, Coupa
41 out of 100 · United States
Audree Hall built Coupa's talent brand from scratch, with an EVP drawn from 300 employee conversations.
Brittni Williamson Herbert, AVP, Talent Attraction, Ochsner Health
33 out of 100 · United States
Brittni Williamson Herbert built Ochsner Health's recruitment marketing and employer brand function.
LinkedIn · Evidence: storiesincorporated.com · Link to this entry
Gabriel Hitt, AVP, Employer Brand and Culture, Nasdaq
29 out of 100 · United States
Gabriel Hitt leads employer brand and culture at Nasdaq after earlier work at Universum and PepsiCo, and contributed to Martec's round-up of leaders on measuring employer brand.
Lauren Hodgson, Global Head of Employer Brand, Qualtrics
38 out of 100 · United States
Lauren Hodgson leads global employer brand at Qualtrics and has talked about measuring employer brand impact on The Business of Alignment podcast.
Kristina Hunt, VP, Enterprise Talent Marketing, Fidelity Investments
29 out of 100 · United States
Kristina Hunt leads enterprise talent marketing at Fidelity Investments, heading the team that delivers its employer brand.
Anne Hurley, Director, Talent Branding, NBCUniversal
45 out of 100 · United States
Anne Hurley led NBCUniversal's talent branding team and its multi-brand EVP refresh.
LinkedIn · Evidence: theundercoverrecruiter.com · Link to this entry
Heather Johnson, Employer Branding Lead, Booz Allen Hamilton
30 out of 100 · United States
Heather Johnson leads employer branding at Booz Allen Hamilton.
LinkedIn · Evidence: rallyrecruitmentmarketing.com · Link to this entry
Liz Kempinski, Director, Global Employer Brand & Marketing, ADP
38 out of 100 · United States
Liz Kempinski leads global employer brand and marketing at ADP and was named one of Comparably's 50 Standout Employer Brand Leaders in 2020.
Audra Knight, Head of Employer Brand, Foundation Medicine
33 out of 100 · United States
Audra Knight has led the Foundation Medicine employer brand for seven years and speaks regularly on internal comms and talent branding.
Lauren Kort, Associate Director, Global Talent Brand, Regeneron
33 out of 100 · United States
Lauren Kort leads global talent brand at Regeneron, including a 100-employee story project in 2026, and co-hosted Indeed's "Women in the Workforce" live clinics.
Katerina Le, Talent Marketing Manager, Samsung Semiconductor
25 out of 100 · United States
Katerina Le is a talent marketing manager at Samsung Semiconductor and spoke at RallyFwd in 2024.
Tiffany Lee, Employer Brand Leader, R1 RCM
37 out of 100 · United States
Tiffany Lee has led talent brand at Vrbo and talent engagement at Zoom, and is known for a candid, funny style that makes employer branding human.
Heather Leszczewicz, Recruitment Marketing and Employer Brand Manager, Conagra Brands
29 out of 100 · United States
Heather Leszczewicz built the recruitment marketing and employer brand function at Conagra Brands.
LinkedIn · Evidence: heatherleszczewicz.com · Link to this entry
Connor Lynch, Manager, Talent Brand, Panasonic North America
25 out of 100 · United States
Connor Lynch leads talent brand at Panasonic North America, where he launched its new careers website in 2024 and a new-hire welcome kit programme.
Meghan Magette, VP, Corporate Recruitment & Employer Brand, Hilton
43 out of 100 · United States
Meghan Magette leads employer brand at Hilton, including the "Every Job Makes the Stay" campaign.
LinkedIn · Evidence: stories.hilton.com · Link to this entry
Charlotte Marshall, Author / Speaker
48 out of 100 · United States
Charlotte Marshall led global employer brands at Danaher and Intuitive over more than 15 years and is now an independent author and speaker on employer brand.
Laryssa Martinovich, Global Employer Branding Lead, Sage
21 out of 100 · United States
Laryssa Martinovich leads global employer branding at Sage and designed its new careers website, launched in 2024.
Claire Mason, Manager, Employer Branding, EVP and Experience, BASF Corporation
30 out of 100 · United States
Claire Mason leads employer branding, EVP and experience for BASF in North America. She was a featured guest on the CareerXroads podcast on strategic employer branding.
Kellie McCann, Head of Recruitment Marketing, Radiology Partners
36 out of 100 · United States
Kellie McCann leads recruitment marketing and employer brand at Radiology Partners and spoke at both TA Week and RecFest USA in 2026.
LinkedIn · Evidence: talentacquisitionweek.com · Link to this entry
Cristal Mikenas, Head of Employer Brand & Recruitment Marketing, Takeda
37 out of 100 · United States
Cristal Mikenas leads Takeda's employer brand through a distributed community embedded across its business units, and judged the 2024 Rally Awards.
LinkedIn · Evidence: rallyrecruitmentmarketing.com · Link to this entry
Colleen Molloy, Employer Branding Program Manager, Roblox
30 out of 100 · United States
Colleen Molloy runs the employer brand programme at Roblox and built its playable careers experience.
LinkedIn · Evidence: ererecruitingconference.com · Link to this entry
Christy Mommsen, Head of Talent Marketing, Cisco
38 out of 100 · United States
Christy Mommsen leads talent marketing and employer brand at Cisco after heading employer brand at AWS.
Chrystal Moore, Head of Talent Attraction, Pinterest
39 out of 100 · United States
Chrystal Moore leads talent attraction, including talent brand, at Pinterest and speaks on employer brand at ERE and Talent Acquisition Week.
LinkedIn · Evidence: ererecruitingconference.com · Link to this entry
Amy Morris, Director, Communications and Employer Brand, Microsoft
38 out of 100 · United States
Amy Morris leads employee communications and employer brand at Microsoft.
Taylor Nash, Director of Recruitment Marketing, Hertz
29 out of 100 · United States
Taylor Nash leads recruitment marketing and employer brand at Hertz.
Jessica Nelson, Senior Manager, Employer Brand & Social Media, Charles Schwab
33 out of 100 · United States
Jessica Nelson has led employer brand and social media at Charles Schwab since 2021, building its first full-funnel recruitment marketing strategy and, in 2026, its India careers website.
Stef Nikitas, Director of Talent Acquisition, Ace Hardware
42 out of 100 · United States
Stef Nikitas rebuilt recruiting, the careers website and the EVP at Ace Hardware. She shares the Ace approach on podcasts such as Chad & Cheese and at Board.org's 2026 summit.
Ugo Nwankwo, Recruitment Marketing Manager, GM Financial
32 out of 100 · United States
Ugo Nwankwo, a 2022 Rally Recruitment Marketing Rising Star, is a recruitment marketing manager at GM Financial and judged the Rally Awards in 2023.
LinkedIn · Evidence: rallyrecruitmentmarketing.com · Link to this entry
Kristin Oravec, Global Employer Branding and Candidate Experience Leader, Eaton
46 out of 100 · United States
Kristin Oravec leads Eaton's global employer brand and was Rally's 2025 Recruitment Marketer of the Year.
LinkedIn · Evidence: linkedintalentconnect.com · Link to this entry
Sarah Osborne, Senior Recruitment Marketing Specialist, Mutual of Omaha
32 out of 100 · United States
Sarah Osborne, a 2024 Rally Recruitment Marketing Rising Star, led the launch of Mutual of Omaha's Be At Your Best employer brand.
LinkedIn · Evidence: rallyrecruitmentmarketing.com · Link to this entry
Neha Patel, Global Head of Employer Brand, Uber
29 out of 100 · United States
Neha Patel leads Uber's global employer brand and launched its EVP and careers website.
Lin Pham, Director, Employer Brand & Talent Marketing, ServiceNow
26 out of 100 · United States
Lin Pham leads employer brand and talent marketing at ServiceNow.
Jennifer Pickard, Global Head of Talent Attraction and Marketing, General Motors
29 out of 100 · United States
Jennifer Pickard leads talent attraction and marketing at General Motors.
Dana Nielsen Reardon, Talent Attraction and Employer Brand Manager, Safelite
34 out of 100 · United States
Dana Nielsen Reardon runs talent attraction and employer brand at Safelite and launched its new careers website and referral platform.
LinkedIn · Evidence: employers.builtin.com · Link to this entry
Michael Rizzi, Leads Recruitment Marketing & Employer Brand, DraftKings
35 out of 100 · United States
Michael Rizzi leads recruitment marketing and employer brand at DraftKings.
Whitney Schellenberg, Head of Brand Strategy and Marketing, Enterprise and Talent, Northrop Grumman
20 out of 100 · United States
Whitney Schellenberg leads enterprise and talent brand at Northrop Grumman.
Justin Scruggs, Director of Recruitment Marketing, Tenet Healthcare
29 out of 100 · United States
Justin Scruggs leads recruitment marketing for Tenet Healthcare.
Neha Sinha, Talent Brand Lead, Waymo
35 out of 100 · United States
Neha Sinha led Thermo Fisher's global employer brand and since 2026 has led Waymo's talent brand.
Georgia Smith, Sr Manager, Recruitment Marketing & Employment Brand, Delta Air Lines
38 out of 100 · United States
Georgia Smith leads the team that activates Delta Air Lines' employer brand and launched Delta's recruitment CRM in 2025.
Antonio Stephens, Director, Talent Brand Marketing, Levi Strauss & Co.
41 out of 100 · United States
Antonio Stephens leads culture communications and talent brand marketing at Levi Strauss & Co.
Mary Streetzel, Head of Employer Brand, Google
43 out of 100 · United States
Mary Streetzel built and leads Google's employer brand team.
Monica Suffal, Head of Global Employer Brand & Candidate Experience, Hilti
35 out of 100 · United States
Monica Suffal leads global employer brand and candidate experience at Hilti, where she led the 12-month development of its "Made Real at Hilti" EVP.
LinkedIn · Evidence: careers.hilti.group · Link to this entry
Lane Sutton, Global Employer Brand Manager, monday.com
42 out of 100 · United States
Lane Sutton leads employer brand at monday.com and speaks at US employer brand events.
Shavonne Thomas, Associate Director, Employer Brand & Recruitment Marketing, AbbVie
49 out of 100 · United States
Shavonne Thomas leads employer brand and recruitment marketing at AbbVie and spoke on the RecFest USA 2026 Innovate Stage. She was also a 2026 Rally Awards judge.
LinkedIn · Evidence: ebunfiltered.podbean.com · Link to this entry
Chrissy Thornhill, Head of Global Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing, MetLife
51 out of 100 · United States
Chrissy runs global employer brand at MetLife and turned its tech hiring from one-off campaigns into an always-on programme that won Brandon Hall Gold in 2026. That is the shift most in-house teams are trying to make.
Liz Tierney, Employer Brand Leader, Deloitte US
29 out of 100 · United States
Liz Tierney leads employer brand at Deloitte US (title to confirm).
Michael Tresca, Director, Global Talent Attraction, GE Vernova
33 out of 100 · United States
Michael Tresca leads global talent attraction, including employer brand, at GE Vernova.
Kate Velardo, Senior Manager, Recruitment Marketing & Employer Brand, QXO
29 out of 100 · United States
Kate Velardo leads employer brand at QXO after six years in EB at ADP.
Kayla Washington, VP Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing, Synchrony
34 out of 100 · United States
Kayla Washington leads employer brand and recruitment marketing at Synchrony and is a regular Talent Acquisition Week speaker.
Sam Wood, Director of Employer Branding, VEG ER for Pets
33 out of 100 · United States
Sam Wood leads VEG's employer brand and was Rally's 2026 Recruitment Marketer of the Year.
Erin Wozniak, Global Head of Employer Brand, ZS
29 out of 100 · United States
Erin Wozniak leads global employer brand at ZS, about 13,000 people in 35 offices, and has shared how to build an always-on brand on a Built In panel.
Eliana Holm Yamshon, VP, Global Head of Employer Brand, BlackRock
29 out of 100 · United States
Eliana Holm Yamshon has led BlackRock's global employer brand since 2024 and gave a guest talk on employer brand to an NYU Stern brand strategy class in 2026.
The US & Canada list by the numbers
The leaders come from 2 countries, with the most in United States (104), Canada (1). Here is how the scores spread and where the leaders are based.
| Score band | Leaders |
|---|---|
| 80 and above | 3 |
| 70 to 79 | 4 |
| 60 to 69 | 6 |
| 50 to 59 | 14 |
| Below 50 | 78 |
Source: Happydance Top EB Voices 2027 scoring data. Counts include everyone shown on this page.
How we ranked the Top EB Voices
Anyone whose work is mainly about employer brand, talent brand, EVP or recruitment marketing is eligible. Each person is scored from 0 to 5 on five pillars, weighted into a total out of 100, and every score has to be backed by a public, dated source. The Global list has a threshold of 50. Regional lists are sized by their pool. Customer status and paid placement never change a score.
| Pillar | Weight |
|---|---|
| Experience | 15% |
| Achievements | 25% |
| Influence | 20% |
| Thought leadership | 25% |
| Community | 15% |
Source: Happydance Top EB Voices methodology, version 0.9.
Happydance is a careers website platform built by employer branders. Our founder, Bryan Adams, is on the list because he scored on the same rubric as everyone else, and his entry says so. We also run the Employer Brand Atlas expert directory, which we used only as a starting pool, never as evidence. The full method is on the how we rank the Top EB Voices page.
What great employer branding looks like in 2027
Employer brand leaders in the US and Canada often run the work at scale, across large enterprises with many business units and hiring teams. The pattern that stands out is a clear promise to employees that holds up in the details, written once and used everywhere. If that is your challenge, see Fortune 500 careers website best practices and what makes a good careers website, and browse real-world employee value proposition examples for ideas worth borrowing.
Learning the craft yourself? The Happydance Academy teaches the employer brand strategy course and the storytelling course used by many of the people on these lists, and it is open to anyone.
Top EB Voices 2027 US & Canada: frequently asked questions
Who are the top employer brand leaders in the US and Canada in 2027?
The top five on the Top EB Voices 2027 US & Canada list are Bryan Chaney (85); Kevin W. Grossman (82); Allison Kruse (80); Lars Schmidt (78); Carrie Corbin (76). Scores are out of 100 and based on public evidence.
Who is number one on the Top EB Voices 2027 US & Canada list?
Bryan Chaney, Co-founder, People Brand Collective, ranks first with 85 out of 100.
How many people are on the Top EB Voices 2027 US & Canada list?
24 leaders are ranked and a further 80 are also listed, from 2 countries. The median score among the ranked is 62 out of 100.
How is the US & Canada list ranked?
Each person is scored from 0 to 5 on experience (15%), achievements (25%), influence (20%), thought leadership (25%) and community (15%), giving a total out of 100. Every score is backed by a public, dated source.
Can anyone pay to be on the list or move up it?
No. Paid placement and customer status never affect a score. Happydance founder Bryan Adams is on the list because he scored on the same rubric as everyone else.
How do I use the Top EB Voice 2027 badge?
Download the US & Canada badge from the badge section of this page as a PNG or SVG and add it to your website, email signature or social profile. The embed code includes a link back to this list. The link is optional and never a condition of being listed.
How can I correct or remove my entry?
Email [email protected] with the change you would like, including your name and the list. We re-score corrections within 30 days, and we remove entries or swap a photo for initials on request.
Where can I see the other Top EB Voices 2027 lists?
There are Global, US and Canada, UK, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World lists. The other lists are: Global, UK, Europe, APAC, Rest of the World. They are linked at the end of this page.
Corrections, photos and removal
We scored public evidence, not private information. Photos on the share cards are public profile photos. If anything is wrong, outdated or you would prefer not to appear, email [email protected] and we will fix it, swap a photo for initials or remove the entry. Corrections are re-scored within 30 days. Scores reflect public sources checked 29 September to 2 October 2026 and updated 24 October 2026 and are refreshed once a year. This is a reading list, not a verdict on anyone’s work.
Curious how your careers website compares?
If these leaders have you thinking about your own employer brand, a free careers website audit shows where your site stands today.
Explore more Top EB Voices lists
Top EB Voices: all listsHow we rank the Top EB VoicesTop EB Voices 2027: GlobalTop EB Voices 2027: UKTop EB Voices 2027: EuropeTop EB Voices 2027: APACTop EB Voices 2027: Rest of the WorldEmployer branding experts to follow in 2027Best careers websites of 2026
Sources
- Happydance Top EB Voices 2027 scoring data (US & Canada), checked 29 September to 2 October 2026 and updated 24 October 2026.
- Happydance Top EB Voices methodology, version 0.9: https://www.happydance.love/insights/posts/how-we-rank-employer-brand-leaders/
- Each leader’s own LinkedIn profile and evidence links are on their entry above.
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