Francisco Medrano

Francisco Medrano

Associate Director, Talent Acquisition, Omnicom Health

Francisco Medrano didn’t follow a traditional path into recruiting — and that’s exactly what shaped the leader he is today.

He entered the profession later than most, stepping into recruiting at 28 after a career that spanned technical support at Dell, construction work, startup operations, and international experience living and working in Panama for over a decade. Recruiting wasn’t a planned destination — it was an opportunity that emerged when others saw his natural ability to connect with people.

“I never thought about recruiting as a career,” Medrano says. “It just happened.”

But once it did, everything clicked. Years of working across industries gave him a deep curiosity about people — what motivates them, what they value, and why they choose certain paths. Recruiting allowed him to turn that curiosity into impact.

“It’s like sales,” he explains, “but instead of someone paying you, you get to pay them.”

And when it works, everyone wins.

Learning the Craft Through Data, Trust, and Opportunity

One of Medrano’s earliest formative experiences came during a contract role supporting recruiting at Procter & Gamble. There, he encountered a leader who would permanently shape how he approached the profession.

At their first meeting, she asked a simple question: How many candidates are in your funnel?

He didn’t have the answer.

“That was the only time she ever let me show up unprepared,” he recalls.

From that moment on, Medrano became deeply data-driven — not because metrics were demanded, but because they told the story of the work. Whether results landed or not, understanding the funnel, effort, and outcomes became non-negotiable.

Later, during the uncertainty of the COVID era, Medrano was given another pivotal opportunity — this time in staffing and MSP work. A former connection extended a lifeline, bringing him into a fast-paced environment supporting enterprise clients, including large-scale hiring initiatives for Amazon operations in Costa Rica.

“I thought I knew recruiting,” he says. “That role showed me an entire side of the industry I had never seen.”

Though short, the experience expanded his perspective, sharpened his execution speed, and reinforced the value of adaptability.

A Leader Who Bet on Potential

The most defining chapter of Medrano’s career came at Omnicom Group Health, where he was hired by a leader who saw beyond résumés and labels.

At the time, Medrano didn’t fit the typical mold of a pharmaceutical agency recruiter. He wasn’t local to headquarters, didn’t come from traditional advertising competitors, and didn’t follow a linear career path.

Instead of seeing risk, his leader saw range.

“He interviewed me as a human,” Medrano says. “Not as a checklist.”

That trust defined the culture that followed. Medrano was empowered to work directly with senior executives, operate autonomously, and focus on outcomes rather than activity metrics. Even disagreements were handled with respect — something he says is rare at that level of leadership.

“For years, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop,” he admits. “It never did.”

The experience reinforced his belief that great recruiting leadership is rooted in trust, humanity, and belief in potential — not rigid definitions of what a recruiter should look like.

Recruiting With AI — Without Losing the Human Core

Medrano is an enthusiastic adopter of AI, particularly when it comes to upskilling teams and improving communication across global recruiting functions.

AI has helped translate instinct into explanation — turning years of experience into teachable insight for less-tenured recruiters. Resume analysis, job description refinement, reporting, and communication have all become more efficient.

“It helps explain what I already know,” he says.

But he also sees risk.

Over-automation and over-filtering, he believes, can eliminate candidates who don’t fit a prototype — often the very people who outperform expectations.

“If we recruit the same way every time with AI,” he explains, “we’ll keep getting the same people.”

For Medrano, technology should support judgment, not replace it. Recruiting, at its best, is about recognizing potential — especially when it doesn’t show up perfectly on paper.

Leading With Humanity Into 2026

As the industry moves deeper into 2026, Medrano believes recruiters carry immense responsibility.

“We’re in positions of power,” he says. “We understand the business — but we also sit across from people who need work.”

That power, he believes, must be exercised with empathy, care, and intention.

Transactional recruiting may be efficient, but it strips away what makes the profession meaningful. Computers can process résumés — but they can’t understand lived experience, resilience, or growth potential.

“Every person has value,” Medrano says. “Our job is to find where that value fits.”

For him, the future of recruiting isn’t about choosing between technology and humanity — it’s about ensuring one never eclipses the other.

And that balance, he believes, is what defines truly great talent leaders.