Frank Gasca III

Frank Gasca III

VP, Global Talent Acquisition, DoubleVerify

Frank Gasca III didn’t fall into recruiting by accident — he arrived through curiosity, psychology, and a deep interest in how people and organizations work together.

His path began in psychology. After earning an undergraduate degree in developmental psychology, Gasca spent a year working as a behavioral counselor in San Diego. The work was meaningful, but emotionally heavy — especially working so closely with children. He knew he wanted to stay connected to human behavior, just in a different environment.

That realization led him to pursue a master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology — a discipline that blends psychology, business, and organizational design.

“It sounds complicated,” he jokes. “But it’s really about how people behave at work.”

From Psychology to Recruiting Leadership

While completing his graduate program in Chicago, Gasca landed an internship with Verizon. That opportunity became the foundation of his career. After graduating, he was accepted into Verizon’s HR leadership program — a rotational experience designed to expose early-career leaders to every corner of HR.

His rotations spanned HR analytics, employee experience, and talent management, with relocations that took him from Chicago to Denver. It was during his time working closely with recruitment teams — particularly on early-career and future leadership programs — that something clicked.

Recruiting, he realized, sat at the center of business growth.

That spark led him to Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo, where he helped build management training and recruitment programs during a major U.S. expansion push. His work scaled globally, supporting talent initiatives across Australia, Canada, and France as the brand sought to grow its international footprint.

Pivotal Moments at High-Growth Brands

After a brief but eye-opening stint at WeWork, Gasca found himself at a defining inflection point — both professionally and personally. While the experience was fascinating, the cultural misalignment ultimately pushed him to seek a place where values, trust, and integrity were non-negotiable.

That next chapter came in 2016, when he joined Spotify just before its IPO.

His initial mandate was clear: build out finance, legal, and accounting teams to prepare the company for going public. From there, his scope expanded rapidly — into executive recruiting, U.S. and global technology hiring, and eventually building a brand-new advertising sales recruiting function from scratch.

“We were hiring engineers, product teams, sales, and marketing across New York, London, and Stockholm,” he recalls.

Spotify’s hypergrowth environment sharpened Gasca’s leadership instincts — especially around trust, autonomy, and scaling teams without losing quality.

Building Trust at Scale

Five years ago, Gasca stepped into his current role, where he once again found himself in hypergrowth mode — this time with the challenge of rebuilding confidence in talent acquisition at the executive level.

“When I joined, there wasn’t a lot of trust that recruiting could deliver quality hires on time,” he says.

His focus became consistency, credibility, and execution. Today, he leads a globally distributed TA organization spanning Tel Aviv, London, and New York — supporting hiring needs across multiple regions and business units.

What he loves most is the global nature of the work.

“Different cultures, different markets, different expectations,” he says. “That complexity is what keeps it exciting.”

Leaders Who Shaped His Approach

Throughout his career, three leaders stand out as especially influential.

The first was Katie Magus, his earliest HR leader in Chicago, who took the time to teach him the fundamentals — not just what to do, but why it mattered. From relationship-building to thoughtful communication, she created space for him to grow without micromanagement.

The second was his first TA leader at Spotify, a consensus-driven leader who challenged Gasca to step outside his comfort zone. Despite Gasca never having recruited engineers before, he was encouraged to apply for — and ultimately lead — the engineering and product recruiting function.

“That trust changed everything,” he says.

The third is his current CHRO, Rose Velez Smith, whose leadership style is built on autonomy, accountability, and business ownership. With responsibility for managing a multimillion-dollar budget, Gasca operates with the mindset of a business leader — not just a functional specialist.

“She trusts the plan,” he explains. “And she trusts that I’ll raise my hand early if something needs to change.”

Recruiting in an AI-First Era

As talent acquisition continues to evolve, Gasca believes the key isn’t chasing every new tool — it’s focus paired with curiosity.

“Have a strategy,” he says. “Stick to it. But always stay curious.”

His teams take a deliberate, phased approach to technology adoption — stabilizing each tool before moving on to the next. From scheduling automation to AI-powered selection tools, the emphasis is on maximizing value, not collecting platforms.

“I’ve seen teams with the best AI tools in the market who aren’t really using them,” he says. “Consistency and depth matter more than novelty.”

Advice for Talent Leaders Heading Into 2026

Looking ahead, Gasca believes successful TA leaders will be the ones who balance discipline with exploration.

Have a playbook. Earn trust through execution. But never stop learning.

“If you’re not curious, you’ll always be behind,” he says.

For Gasca, talent acquisition has never been about hype or visibility. It’s about building systems that scale, relationships that last, and teams that deliver — quietly, consistently, and with intention.

And in an industry that’s constantly changing, that mindset may be the most durable advantage of AI