Ronnie Kedrin
Ronnie Kedrin
Sr. Director - Head of Talent Acquisition & Contingent Workforce - Samsung Electronics America
For Ronnie Kedrin, recruiting began as an unexpected opportunity that quickly became a lifelong career.
As a teenager, Ronnie joined a staffing firm in New York City as an administrative assistant and intern. Just a few months after joining, the team found itself short-staffed and asked her to help recruit for a growing number of technical positions.
That unexpected assignment sparked a passion that has stayed with her ever since.
"I really, really enjoyed it from the first moment and have been doing that ever since," she says.
Since then, Ronnie has spent much of her career recruiting technical talent, helping organizations hire software engineers, program managers, and other highly specialized professionals.
Learning From Great Mentors
Throughout her career, Ronnie credits strong mentorship with shaping the leader she has become.
One of her earliest and most influential mentors was the Head of Talent Acquisition at SunGard (now Capco), where she transitioned from agency recruiting into her first in-house recruiting role.
She not only taught Ronnie how to become a true strategic partner to the business, but also invested significant time developing her communication skills and expanding her responsibilities beyond technical recruiting into executive hiring and broader talent acquisition initiatives.
Another influential leader has been Vivian, whom Ronnie worked with during her time at Amazon.
Even after they stopped working together directly, Vivian continued mentoring Ronnie, offering guidance through career decisions and leadership challenges. Their relationship eventually led to Ronnie's current opportunity at Samsung after Vivian connected her with her professional network.
For Ronnie, long-term mentorship has been one of the greatest drivers of her personal and professional growth.
Embracing AI in Talent Acquisition
Having worked closely alongside teams building AI-powered recruiting tools during her time at Amazon, Ronnie has had a front-row seat to the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence in talent acquisition.
She has watched AI progress from simple internal chat tools to sophisticated recruiting solutions capable of sourcing candidates, generating outreach, matching resumes to job descriptions, producing market insights, and improving recruiter workflows.
Today, she also sees AI influencing market intelligence, talent mapping, and applicant tracking systems as organizations look for new ways to improve recruiter efficiency and candidate experience.
For Ronnie, AI is not about replacing recruiters.
Instead, it is about removing repetitive work so recruiters can spend more time building relationships with candidates and business leaders.
Advice for Talent Leaders
Ronnie encourages talent leaders to embrace AI rather than resist it.
She believes automation should handle administrative tasks such as interview coordination, candidate outreach, and ongoing engagement, allowing recruiters to focus on the human side of hiring.
"I don't believe it will replace human interaction," she says.
Candidates still want trusted advisors who can answer difficult questions, negotiate offers, and guide them through important career decisions.
Those human connections, she believes, will remain at the heart of successful recruiting.
Looking Ahead
As talent acquisition continues to evolve, Ronnie remains excited about the future.
She encourages recruiting professionals to stay connected with their peer networks, keep learning, follow industry trends, and remain open to new technologies that improve both recruiter effectiveness and candidate experience.
By combining strong relationships, continuous learning, and thoughtful adoption of AI, Ronnie Kedrin represents the kind of talent leader helping shape the next generation of recruiting.
