Top 20 HR Thought Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn - Recooty

Top 20 HR Thought Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn

These profiles cover employee engagement, HR transformation, workplace culture, recruiting, DEIB, people technology, leadership, and future-of-work strategy. Use them to find voices that match a specific learning goal, then verify current roles and source material before treating a post as advice.

Key takeaways

• Employee experience and culture: Debra Corey, Claude Silver, Bruce Daisley, Katie Burke, and Steve Browne focus on engagement, culture, and the human side of work.
• HR transformation and research: David Wilson, Dave Ulrich, Jenny Dearborn, Jeanne C. Meister, and David Hanrahan cover HR strategy, transformation, technology, and evidence.

An applicant tracking system gives a hiring team one place to follow candidates and hiring stages.

• Recruiting and DEIB: Jackye Clayton, Jennifer Kim, Louise Triance, and Adam Karpiak address talent acquisition, inclusion, and candidate experience.
• Leadership and future work: Lars Schmidt, Shelby Wolpa, Joey V. Price, Jessica Zwaan, Jacob Morgan, and Mark Stelzner cover modern leadership, people operations, and changing work models.
• Verify current profiles, separate evidence from opinion, and test advice before changing a hiring or people process.

HR thought leaders to follow on LinkedIn

Choose two or three people whose current work matches your question. Read their original posts, books, research, or talks, and separate evidence from opinion before sharing an idea with your team.

Debra Corey – Chief Pay it Forward Officer, DebCo HR LTD

Debra is an author, speaker, and the Chief ‘Pay it Forward’ Officer of DebCo HR LTD.

She is an award-winning HR leader, a first-class speaker, and an author of 4 books who had been named of the top 101 global employee engagement influencers.

She provides information to her audience about a wide variety of topics namely employee engagement, culture, reward and recognition, and other relevant topics. Her thought-provoking insights on these topics will help you create a productive and engaged workforce.

**Follow Debra Corey on LinkedIn
**

David Wilson – CEO, Fosway Group

David Wilson is the founder and CEO of Fosway Group and Europe’s #1 HR Industry Analyst.

He has written more than 150 research papers and articles and speaks at events and conferences across the globe.

His way of delivering useful information is what makes him an excellent HR keynote speaker. In 2026, he was awarded the Colin Corder award for providing his exceptional services to the industry.

You can follow him to learn his deep insights on HR Transformation, Talent Acquisition & Management, Employee Experience, AI in HR, and much more.

**Follow David Wilson on LinkedIn
**

Claude Silver – CHRO/Chief People Officer, VaynerMedia

Claude is the first “Chief Heart Officer” at Vayner Media and a member of the Talent Champion Council.

She’s leading 1600 people at her company with the utmost compassion and her role is to make the agency filled with empathy.

The HR thought leader always emphasizes the importance of kindness, empathy, and true heart-leadership in every workplace. She is undoubtedly a strong believer in treating employees as humans, not numbers which make her stand apart from other HR professionals.

Claude also shares her deep insights that will help you make a healthy workplace culture sure.

**Follow Claude Silver on LinkedIn
**

Dave Ulrich – Professor, University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Dave is a speaker, best-selling author, and thought partner on HR, talent, leadership, and organization.

He is ranked as the #1 management guru by Business Week and named among the top 10 creative people in business by Fast Company.

He is named the “father of modern HR” and “HR thought leader of the decade”. The reason Dave is given these titles is that he has helped shape the HR profession by focusing on HR outcomes, governance, competencies, and practices.

Dave has made enormous contributions to the HR world during the past 35 years of his career. To know his valuable knowledge and experiences on crucial topics relevant to HR and management, make sure you follow him on LinkedIn right away.

**Follow Dave Ulrich on LinkedIn
**

Bruce Daisley – Former VP EMEA, Twitter

Bruce Daisley is a workplace culture enthusiast, #1 Bestselling Author, and former Twitter VP.

He grew Twitter’s business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He also runs a weekly newsletter on workplace culture which reaches a large number of people.

His business podcast, Eat Sleep Work Repeat, focuses on workplace culture.

In his podcasts, he interviews psychologists, neuroscientists, and workplace experts to understand how we can improve our jobs.

**Follow Bruce Daisey on LinkedIn
**

Lars Schmidt – Founder, Amplify

Lars Schmidt is the founder of Amplify, a best-selling author, and a contributor at Fast Company. He advises at Eightfold.ai and CareerPoint.

His mission is to accelerate innovation in human resources with his HR executive search, editorial projects, open source initiatives, and others.

He also has consulted, for the last 20 years, various large businesses like SpaceX, Hootsuite, Duo Security, Plaid, and Dashlane through his company, Amplify.

His posts are filled with in-depth HR knowledge that will help you deal with various challenges you might be facing at your organization.

**Follow Lars Schmidt on LinkedIn
**

Shelby Wolpa – Founder, Shelby Volpa Consulting

Shelby Wolpa is a people leadership advisor who provides consulting services to CEOs, People Leaders, and Venture Capital Firms.

As an advisor and mentor, she partners with Series A to C companies during stages of high growth.

Her specialization is in helping companies create a robust people operations foundation, bring in top-notch people programs, and plan for the future.

She guides HR & TA professionals with her profound understanding of topics like startups, remote work, and people ops. Shelby is among the top hr thought leaders who are actively sharing their experiences in the HR world. Surely follow her on LinkedIn so you don’t miss the helpful posts she posts regularly.

**Follow Shelby Wolpa on LinkedIn
**

Joey V. Price – CEO, Jumpstart: HR

Joey V. Price is the founder and CEO of Jumpstart: HR, an HR consultancy firm that offers services to startups and small businesses.

He has been named in the “Top 30 HR Professional Under 30” by SHRM’s HR Magazine during his tenure as the CEO of Jumpstart.

Joey runs a weekly podcast named “While We Were Working” with his co-host Sommer Ketron. It covers employee engagement, workplace culture, and modern workplace topics for HR professionals and people leaders.

He is also among the most valued members of the Forbes HR Council, Arena Analytics AI Ethics Advisory Board Member, and UKG Workforce Institute. His insights will help you significantly in your entrepreneurial journey, so following him on LinkedIn is a great idea.

**Follow Joey Price on LinkedIn
**

Adam Karpiak – President, Karpiak Consulting

Adam is a resource person on critical subjects for businesses like candidate & employee experience and recruiting.

He is among the foremost thought leaders in HR who are redefining the way to hire the best people greatly.

His emphasis on the importance of treating the candidates in a more human way can be seen in his social media posts. Adam is helping job seekers discover their real value and assisting them in their job search journey.

Check him out on social media platforms to learn about how you can make a supportive environment where employees would like to stay

**Follow Adam Karpiak on LinkedIn
**

Jessica Zwaan – Chief Operating Officer at Whereby

Jessica Zwaan is a trusted panelist, speaker, and among the top human resources leaders, presenting her thoughts at local and international events.

The Whereby COO speaks about how work culture affects the employee experience.

She speaks on improving employer brand, strategizing a modern people function, how to make a positive impact on work culture, and so on.

Find her on LinkedIn where she is showcasing her experiences in the future of work, leadership, people operations & much more.

**Follow Jessica Zwaan on LinkedIn
**

Jacob Morgan – Author, Futurist, & Keynote Speaker

Jacob is a 4x Best-Selling Author, TED and keynote speaker, and a futurist who founded the Future of Work podcast and BYOB Podcast.

The HR leader invites senior executives and leaders around the world and has in-depth discussions with them on the future of work.

He also runs The Future of Work newsletter and takes part in various thought leadership programs. You will always find him sharing and engaging with the best content on the top social media channels.

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**Follow Jacob Morgan on LinkedIn
**

David Hanrahan – Advisor, PeopleTech Partners

David is a senior HR leader who’s an expert in building high-potential teams and ingenious talent practices in growing companies.

He is an excellent strategic partner and a brilliant speaker, known for creating processes to drive high performance and responsibilities.

The HR thought leader holds expertise in topics like performance model design & adoption, HRIS implementation & talent analytics, Leadership & management development, etc.

Certainly, you should follow him on his social handles so you don’t miss the valuable HR-related posts he actively shares.

**Follow David Hanrahan on LinkedIn
**

Jenny Dearborn – Member Board of Directors, beqom & Plum

Jenny Dearborn is an entrepreneurial leader, award-winning HR leader, author, and speaker.

She is recognized as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech for 5 years in a row.

For the past 2 decades, she has worked with top companies including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Sun Microsystems, and SAP.

She is among the best HR experts who talk about a variety of topics such as HR tech, data analytics, HCM, and the Future of Work. Following her on LinkedIn will be great if you want to learn her in-depth knowledge on these topics.

**Follow Jenny Dearborn on LinkedIn
**

Jackye Clayton – VP of Talent Acquisition and DEIB at Textio

Jackye Clayton is the Vice President of Talent Acquisition and DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) at Textio.

She has years of experience in discovering potential candidates and hiring them successfully in creative ways.

Jackye is a firm believer and supporter of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She truly highlights the benefits and importance of creating inclusive workplaces which are free from biases. Her unique views on diversity, leadership, and diversity & inclusion are highly appreciable.

**Follow Jackye Clayton on LinkedIn
**

Jeanne C Meister – Founder, Future Workplace Academy

Jeanne C Meister is a workplace learning author and speaker with experience in corporate learning.

She has been awarded the Distinguished Contribution in Workplace Learning Award by the ATD and Colin Corder Award by Learning & Performance Institute.

You can find her articles in leading business publications including Forbes, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and SHRM.

Through her social media posts, you can indeed learn about the latest work trends and the future of work.

**Follow Jeanne C Meister on LinkedIn
**

Jennifer Kim – Founder, Startup Recruiting Bootcamp

Jennifer is a startup advisor who teaches hiring through her company, Startup Recruiting Bootcamp.

She chiefly helps startups to easily approach People Ops as a crucial business function.

Making meaningful work possible for more people through education and entrepreneurship is her primary mission. Furthermore, in her free time, she finds and mentors high-potential talents.

Jennifer’s awesome way of telling info on social media about tech, startups, recruiting, and more will surely make you follow her.

**Follow Jennifer Kim on LinkedIn
**

Katie Burke – Chief People Officer, VP Culture & Experience, Hubspot

Katie Burke is one of the most influential and impactful HR leaders who are making a positive change in the Human Resources world.

She is presently working in HubSpot and has held senior HR positions there for almost a decade.

Her passion is in combining culture, innovation, leadership, and inclusiveness to create workplaces and employee experiences that people admire. She also starts interesting discussions around the future of work, leadership, DEI, and much more on her social media handles.

You will find her contributing her experience & knowledge on Inc., about being an HR leader, and topics like job burnout, performance management, etc.

**Follow Katie Burke on LinkedIn
**

Mark Stelzner – Founder/Managing Principal at IA

Mark is the founder of IA HR, a management consulting firm, a member of Forbes HR Council, and co-founder of The Advisor Collective.

In his career, Mark has spent most time building meaningful relationships with the elements of curiosity, humor, and attention to detail.

Most renowned media outlets namely the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN & NPR have featured him. Mark is also one of the most recognized HR thought leaders who has been a practicing HR professional for the past 25 years.

For his audience on social media, he generally shares dynamic tips on subjects like employee well-being, HR best practices, etc.

**Follow Mark Stelzner on LinkedIn
**

Louise Triance – Managing Director, UK Recruiter Ltd.

Louise Triance is one of the best HR thought leaders who are bringing the HR and recruitment community together.

Her specialties lean towards topics including psychometric analysis, recruitment research, consulting, and more.

For the past 2 decades, she has been hosting several events for recruiters along with blogging for many years. She hosted lots of recruitment events and technology showcases as well.

Do you want to learn about recruiting tech, recruiting, and networking? Then she is certainly the right person you can completely rely on who can guide you on these topics.

**Follow Louise Triance on LinkedIn
**

Steve Browne – Chief People Officer, LaRosa’s, Inc.

Steve is a committed HR practitioner helping company executives to completely integrate HR across the workplace.

He is among the most acknowledged HR leaders who have years of experience in the field and shares the same with others as well.

Steve usually speaks about HR strategies, workplace culture, and also the HR community on his social media handles. He is quite active on LinkedIn and engages with industry peers quite often so surely check his profile.

**Follow Steve Browne on LinkedIn
**

How to evaluate HR thought leaders on LinkedIn in 2026

A current HR influencer selection guide uses relevance, demonstrated expertise, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions as useful selection criteria. Apply the same logic to LinkedIn profiles, then read the person’s own source material before repeating a claim.

LinkedIn is a useful discovery channel, but it is not a substitute for primary guidance. For AI or automated hiring topics, compare recommendations with the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and the EEOC guidance on artificial intelligence and the ADA. Recooty’s resources on recruitment techniques and AI in recruitment can help turn ideas into a controlled process.

A focused LinkedIn learning routine

1. Choose one HR or recruiting question for the month.
2. Follow two or three people whose current work addresses that question.
3. Save one claim and its source instead of saving every post.
4. Compare the idea with your team’s data, constraints, and candidate experience.
5. Test one change, assign an owner, and review the outcome.

Summing up the list of HR thought leaders

Follow a small group that covers your current question, save the source for any important claim, and test one manageable change before updating a policy or process. You can also compare these voices with Recooty’s list of HR tech influencers and the wider blog library.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the roles and employers in this list still current?

Not necessarily. The profiles were written at an earlier point in time, so verify each person’s current role and employer through the linked LinkedIn profile or official website.

How should I choose an HR thought leader to follow?

Start with one learning goal, such as recruiting technology, employee experience, leadership, workplace culture, or people analytics. Follow people whose current work directly matches that goal.

Should I copy advice from a LinkedIn post into company policy?

No. Treat social content as a prompt for research or a small test. Review policy changes with the appropriate HR, legal, privacy, accessibility, and compliance owners.

How can I avoid following too many HR voices?

Keep a small, role-specific list and review it every few months. Remove accounts that no longer publish relevant, current, or evidence-based material.