Cindy Loggins

Cindy Loggins

Head of Global Emerging Talent, eBay

For Cindy Loggins, a career in talent acquisition began not with a deliberate plan, but with a frustrating employee experience that changed the trajectory of her professional life.

Early in her career, while transitioning into a new organization, Cindy found herself struggling as a new hire—unable to access basic benefits information, forced into call centers, and unable to get direct human support despite working in a headquarters location.

That experience left a lasting impression.

“I can do better than you,” she remembers thinking repeatedly as she tried to navigate broken onboarding systems.

What began as frustration quickly turned into purpose. Cindy realized the issue wasn’t just operational inefficiency—it was the human experience behind it. That realization pushed her toward human resources and eventually led her to pursue a Master’s degree in International Human Resources, aligning her career with her growing interest in people, systems, and organizational experience.

From there, she stepped into her first exposure to talent acquisition—learning university recruiting, diversity programs (then known as EEO/affirmative action), and early-career hiring under a director who gave her broad exposure to the full recruiting ecosystem.

That opportunity became a turning point.

She started as a coordinator, moved into a university recruiter role, and never looked back.

Building a Career Around Early Talent

Cindy’s long-standing focus has been early talent and university recruiting—an area she describes as both deeply human and profoundly impactful.

For her, the work is about helping students and early-career professionals discover direction, build confidence, and connect their potential to meaningful opportunities.

“I love engaging with students who don’t really know what their future could or should be—helping them connect the dots.”

Her definition of success is not just hiring or placement—it’s progression.

One of her most meaningful outcomes is seeing early talent grow within an organization and return with career milestones.

“The sweet spot for me is when they come back a year or two later and say, ‘I just got promoted.’ That’s when I feel like my job is done.”

This philosophy has shaped how she approaches talent strategy at eBay: as a long-term ecosystem rather than a transactional hiring function.

For Cindy, recruiting is not the endpoint—it is the beginning of a relationship built on coaching, mentorship, and growth.

The Leaders Who Shaped Her Approach

Throughout her career, Cindy credits several leaders with shaping her leadership philosophy, particularly in how she balances autonomy, structure, and inclusion.

One of the most formative influences was Michelle Smith at Adobe Systems, who gave Cindy her first opportunity in recruiting after transitioning from a coordinator role.

Michelle’s leadership style was rooted in openness, inclusion, and exposure.

“She included me in all conversations so I could understand how university recruiting fit into the larger talent landscape.”

She also modeled psychological safety and mentorship, ensuring Cindy had room to learn, make mistakes, and grow with support.

“She always had my back. Even when I made mistakes, she helped me correct course.”

Another major influence was Gary Albright at Amazon, who helped shape Cindy’s transition into leadership.

Where Michelle emphasized learning and inclusion, Gary emphasized trust and autonomy.

“I hired you for a reason. You are smart. You are talented. Build on that.”

That balance of guidance and independence became a defining influence in Cindy’s leadership style today.

A third key influence was Damien, her leader at eBay, who entrusted her with her first director-level role and expanded her scope into global early talent strategy.

Under his leadership, Cindy’s work in diversity, inclusion, and early talent intersected in new ways, shaping how she thinks about sourcing and workforce design.

He helped her broaden her perspective beyond traditional pipelines.

“It taught me how we should look at our workforce with blinders off.”

That mindset continues to influence how Cindy and her team approach early talent today—through school-agnostic recruiting, community partnerships, and a commitment to diverse candidate pipelines.

Leading Early Talent in an AI-Driven World

Cindy sees artificial intelligence as a powerful force reshaping recruiting, but one that must be applied thoughtfully—especially in early talent environments.

At eBay, AI is used to improve efficiency and streamline processes, but not to replace human decision-making.

“We are utilizing it, but we are being very thoughtful about the candidate experience and ensuring there aren’t unintended biases.”

Across the industry, she observes two extremes: organizations fully embracing automation, and others taking a more cautious, human-centered approach.

eBay falls into the latter category—focused on efficiency, consistency, and fairness while preserving human judgment in hiring decisions.

Cindy sees AI most clearly transforming areas like job description creation, application workflows, and process optimization.

But she draws a firm boundary around decision-making.

“At the end of the day, decisions are still being made by humans.”

Her concern is not just efficiency, but equity—ensuring that AI systems do not unintentionally reinforce bias or remove empathy from hiring processes.

“AI has made things more efficient, but I’m not seeing it always have the empathy we need.”

Advice for Talent Leaders

For Cindy, the future of talent acquisition is about embracing possibility while staying grounded in human judgment.

Her advice to leaders navigating AI-driven transformation is to stay curious, adaptable, and willing to challenge limitations.

“Continue to figure out the art of the impossible.”

She encourages talent leaders to rethink outdated constraints and explore how AI can unlock new ways of solving long-standing recruiting challenges.

At the same time, she emphasizes the importance of balance—leveraging technology without losing sight of ethics, fairness, and human connection.

“There is still a human component in the process that we cannot lose.”

She believes the strongest recruiting organizations of the future will be those that combine technology with empathy, efficiency with inclusivity, and innovation with responsibility.

The Future of Talent Leadership

Cindy Loggins’ career reflects a consistent commitment to early talent, mentorship, and building equitable access to opportunity.

Her leadership philosophy is rooted in a simple belief: talent acquisition is not just about hiring—it’s about shaping futures.

From her early experiences as a frustrated new hire to her current role leading global emerging talent strategy at eBay, her journey has remained centered on one idea—helping people grow into what they can become.

As AI continues to reshape the recruiting landscape, leaders like Cindy are ensuring that the human side of talent remains firmly at the center of the future of work.