Why Relationships Still Matter in AI-Powered Recruiting with Ankur Anand of Harvey Nash
Disruptive Innovators: Champions of Digital Business - CIO & IT Leader Interviews, Digital Transformation, Digital InnovationShow Notes
What does it take for new technology to stick inside a people-first business? David Wright speaks with Ankur Anand, Group CIO and Member of the Executive Council of Harvey Nash, about framing AI around real business problems and bringing people into every decision.
Ankur traces his path from Citibank and ManpowerGroup to Harvey Nash. He explains why clean data, human judgment and lasting relationships shape the future of recruiting and why strong leadership rests on clarity.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
00:00 The question that decides whether any new technology earns its place. 05:45 The one piece of career advice that outlasts both experience and skills. 08:56 What a move from banking to staffing teaches about unlearning. 14:32 Why leadership rests on clarity instead of certainty. 17:25 The gap between solving a business problem and deploying a shiny tool. 21:32 An early-career lesson about outcomes that comes at a cost. 25:45 What seeing a real quantum computer reveals about the risks of AI. 30:42 Why people-focused industries struggle to capture clean, usable data. 35:23 How the recruiter's role changes as technology takes on administrative work. 37:16 The advice for a younger self that favors curiosity over looking smart.
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RESOURCES MENTIONED
Harvey Nash website, the technology talent partner where Ankur leads as Group CIO: https://www.harveynash.com/
IBM Quantum, the cloud-accessible quantum computing Ankur saw firsthand at an IBM event: https://www.ibm.com/quantum
“Bhagavad Gita,” the text Ankur studies to balance learning new technology with questions of right and wrong: https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/
Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford commencement address, the source of the "stay foolish" advice Ankur gives his younger self: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2005/06/steve-jobs-2005-graduates-stay-hungry-stay-foolish
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