How Talent Acquisition Is Being Completely Reinvented in 2026

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Blair Bennett, Senior Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition at PepsiCo, to unpack how talent acquisition is being completely redefined in the age of AI, hyper-personalization, and constant change.

Blair explains why simply adding AI tools into outdated recruitment models doesn’t work, and how PepsiCo redesigned its entire talent acquisition operating model to move faster, stay agile, and deliver better outcomes for both the business and candidates.

She shares how the function is shifting from execution to strategy, enablement, and intelligence, embedding design thinking, talent intelligence, and co-creation with recruiters to build systems that actually scale.

Most importantly, Blair reveals why the future of talent acquisition belongs to leaders who embrace uncertainty, collaboration, and continuous iteration, replacing command-and-control leadership with a model built around problems, not predefined answers.

🎓 In this episode, Blair discusses:

1. Why talent intelligence and external data are critical for future hiring decisions
2. How hyper-personalized candidate experiences are becoming the new standard
3. How leaders must shift from command-and-control to collaborative problem solving
4. How PepsiCo restructured talent acquisition into strategy, enablement, and execution
5. Why adding AI to outdated recruitment models fails without redesigning the operating model

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