Lori Swafford

Lori Swafford

Sr Technical Recruiter Sourcer II - Palo Alto Networks

For Lori Swafford, a career in talent acquisition didn't begin with recruiting—it began with medical sales.

Early in her career, Lori was working in academia-focused medical sales, but she quickly realized it wasn't where she wanted to spend her future.

Looking for a new direction, she walked into a staffing agency hoping to find her next opportunity.

Instead, the staffing agency offered her a job.

"So I was like, okay, this could be interesting."

She accepted.

Within ten months, she had already been promoted into management.

From there, her career accelerated quickly.

At one point, Lori was leading six offices and managing more than thirty direct reports while still running a full recruiting desk herself.

The experience gave her something she still values today: a complete understanding of how businesses operate.

"Staffing is a different animal," she says.

From sales and operations to HR and P&L management, staffing forced her to understand every part of the business while simultaneously delivering results in the trenches.

Eventually, she transitioned into recruitment process outsourcing before ultimately moving in-house.

That's where she found her true home.

Over the years, Lori has recruited for some of the world's most recognizable organizations, including Nike, Microsoft, Deloitte, and today, Palo Alto Networks.

This year marks her twenty-seventh anniversary in talent acquisition.

After nearly three decades in the industry, she still approaches recruiting with the same excitement she had on day one.

"What I love about recruiting is that you're changing people's lives."

For Lori, every hire represents an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on someone's future.

The work remains deeply personal.

It also remains endlessly interesting.

As a technology recruiter focused on cybersecurity hiring, she spends her days recruiting for AI, cybersecurity engineering, red teaming, and some of the most innovative technical work happening anywhere in the market.

Contrary to popular assumptions, she says technical recruiting is far more than matching keywords.

"You would think it's just plugging in keywords. It's not."

The work requires curiosity, continuous learning, and the ability to understand highly technical environments that evolve almost daily.

For someone who proudly describes herself as a "gadget girl," it's the perfect fit.

At Palo Alto Networks, she found something equally important: purpose.

The company's mission to protect organizations and individuals from cyber threats gave her a sense that her work was contributing to something bigger than recruiting itself.

"I do believe that this company really makes changes in the world."

The Leaders Who Shaped Her Career

Throughout her career, Lori credits several leaders whose influence continues to shape her approach to recruiting and leadership.

One of the most influential has been Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora.

During one company roundtable, Lori asked him a question she often asks candidates to consider themselves:

"What motivates you?"

His answer stayed with her.

"I am motivated by what other companies do right, and I want to do what they do right better."

For Lori, the response captured something unique about both his leadership style and the company's culture.

Rather than focusing on competitors' weaknesses, he focuses on learning from their strengths.

That mindset created an organization built on positivity, healthy competition, and collaboration rather than internal politics.

"I haven't experienced that in my tenure of working — everybody building each other up instead of tearing each other down."

Lori also credits her current manager, Shilpa, as one of the best leaders she has worked with.

An exceptional sourcing leader in her own right, Shilpa creates an environment where people feel both safe and challenged.

Employees are supported, but they're also encouraged to stretch beyond their comfort zones and continue growing.

Another major influence was Kelly Molina, whom Lori worked with during her time at Korn Ferry.

Beyond becoming a close friend, Kelly impressed Lori with her operational excellence and ability to manage complexity with precision.

"She could be doing a thousand things at the same time and do them perfectly."

Building AI Readiness

As someone recruiting directly within cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, Lori sees AI transformation happening in real time.

At Palo Alto Networks, AI readiness has become one of the company's biggest strategic priorities heading into 2027.

The expectation is clear:

Future employees must know how to work with AI.

Recruiters are no exception.

"We also have to be AI ready."

Lori believes talent acquisition leaders have a responsibility to understand and embrace the technology themselves.

Training, experimentation, and continuous learning have become essential parts of the role.

She embraces AI both professionally and personally.

At home, she relies heavily on ChatGPT.

At work, Gemini has become a daily tool for sourcing, communication, reporting, and stakeholder management.

The technology helps her create sourcing strings, draft candidate outreach, summarize hiring activity, and communicate more effectively with hiring managers.

"It really will make your life so much easier."

For Lori, AI is not replacing recruiters.

It is making recruiters better.

Technology allows talent professionals to spend less time on repetitive administrative work and more time focusing on relationships, strategy, and business partnership.

At the same time, she believes the human element remains essential.

"I don't see it functioning without a human yet."

While AI will continue becoming more sophisticated, Lori believes human judgment, context, and decision-making will remain irreplaceable for the foreseeable future.

Advice for Talent Leaders Heading into 2027

If Lori could offer one piece of advice to talent leaders, it would be simple:

Learn AI now.

Every industry will be affected.

Healthcare.

Banking.

Energy.

Manufacturing.

Technology.

Cybersecurity.

No profession will remain untouched.

The leaders who invest time learning AI today will be significantly better positioned tomorrow.

More importantly, Lori believes AI should be viewed as an enabler rather than a threat.

For recruiters especially, it creates opportunities to work smarter, communicate more effectively, and provide better experiences for candidates and hiring managers alike.

As someone who openly admits she isn't a natural writer, she appreciates how AI can elevate communication and improve efficiency.

"It comes off as being more polished, and I don't have to think about it."

Looking ahead, Lori sees two industries growing together:

Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

As AI capabilities expand, the need to secure those systems will only become more important.

"I think cybersecurity is a very stable place to be right now in tech."

Fortunately, she has no plans to leave the profession anytime soon.

"I'm happy to be along for the ride."

After twenty-seven years in talent acquisition, Lori Swafford remains just as excited about recruiting as she was when she first walked into that staffing agency decades ago.

For Lori, recruiting has never simply been about filling jobs.

It's about changing lives, solving problems, and helping build the teams shaping the future of technology.