2026 March- ESIX San Francisco Roundtable

We were recently hosted by the amazing Molly Whitten & Scott McGuckin, and team, at Cisco for our ESIX: Executive Search Information Exchange San Francisco Bay Area Roundtable. Though the discussions were wide-ranging, one theme was impossible to miss: AI is on everyone's minds and participants shared how they’re experimenting with AI across sourcing, research, internal mobility, onboarding and coaching, and general workflow automation. At the same time, recruiting leaders are asking sharper questions about ROI, especially where AI accelerates some parts of TA but doesn’t always translate directly to executive recruiting.

On the other side of the table, there’s a growing focus on assessing AI literacy in executives, or at least, assessing their ability to be agile in the face of constant change. We also talked a lot about change management for our own teams, and navigating new questions around candidate authenticity and what’s “permissible” in the hiring process. All in all, a great day, largely helped by our amazing hosts and Cisco's inspiring environment!