AI in Recruiting: The Hype, the Noise, and the Truth—A Focus on the Hiring Manager

Rob held leadership roles at global companies like SAS, Capital One, Aimia and Aon. He has led large-sized recruitment teams of up to 55 recruiting professionals within RPO and internal corporate recruitment functions across Canada, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

As a proven Talent Acquisition leader, Rob has designed, built and executed creative and scalable recruitment strategies to support up to 18,000 hires per year. He has also led the design and implementation of various innovative recruitment and sourcing tools including: application tracking systems, data analytics, media cloud, CRMs, assessments, text recruiting and video interviewing. Based in Toronto, Rob lives with his partner of 17 years and their beautiful Chocolate Labrador dog, Summer. He loves to travel and is a big believer in health & fitness so when not at work, you can find him discovering a new city, country or at the gym putting in a great workout.

Trent Cotton is the Head of Talent Insights and Analyst Relations at iCIMS, where he empowers recruiting organizations with data-driven strategies to hire smarter and faster. With over 20 years of experience as an HR and Talent executive, Trent is known for translating complex workforce trends into clear, actionable insights that drive business results.

He is the author of the books High Performance Recruiting and Sprint Recruiting, which provide practical frameworks for transforming recruiting into a high-impact function. Passionate about bridging data with human decision-making, Trent continues to challenge traditional recruiting models and champion innovative approaches that meet the demands of today’s talent economy.

With twenty years of experience in leadership, business development, consulting, and management within the realms of Talent Acquisition and Human Capital services, Jason brings a wealth of expertise. In his role as a trusted advisor, he aims to assist clients in optimizing their recruitment and staffing processes by identifying opportunities for scalability and standardization through innovative, value-driven solutions. Through collaborative efforts and a thorough analysis of a client's hiring procedures, workforce, cost framework, and systems, Jason works in partnership to question and enhance their existing delivery structure. He strategically explores the use of recruitment outsourcing and assessments to achieve superior outcomes. Additionally, Jason actively contributes as an Advisory Member to the RPOA, offering guidance for the association's growth and development. 

Mission first. People always. Agile Leader, Team Builder, and Mentor. I am purpose driven and passionate about working with great people; together we will make a difference. An innovator and developer of high-performance teams and people in technology, cyber security, fitness and the military, I know how to engage and hire talent that drives enduring growth and productivity. Collectively, leaders and peers agree, I have a strong reputation for collaborative problem solving and completing tough challenges.