Stef Nikitas
Stef Nikitas
Director of Talent Acquisition - Ace Hardware Corporation
Like many talent acquisition leaders, Stefanie Nikitas never planned to build a career in recruiting.
Growing up in Bavaria, Germany, she completed an apprenticeship in office administration before moving to the United States after marrying her husband, who was serving in the military. Her first role in America was as an HR Assistant at Pier 1 Imports' distribution center—a position that introduced her to nearly every corner of human resources.
"I started taking applications, administering assessments, handling workers' compensation claims, payroll, and employee relations," she recalls. "I realized people actually build careers around understanding and helping other people."
That realization sparked a passion for talent acquisition.
While working full-time, Stefanie spent seven years earning both her associate's and bachelor's degrees through an adult education program, studying organizational development, organizational psychology, compensation, recruiting, and every major discipline within HR. As her knowledge expanded, one area stood out.
"Talent acquisition really clicked for me because you're the ambassador for the organization from the very beginning. You're helping shape the company by bringing in the right people."
Shortly before graduating, she accepted her first recruiter position with Bosch, where she already understood the business and its culture. From there, her recruiting career took off.
Today, Stefanie leads Talent Acquisition for ACE Hardware's corporate business, helping shape recruiting strategy, technology adoption, and candidate experience across the organization.
Leaders Who Shaped Her Career
When reflecting on the people who influenced her journey, Stefanie immediately points to leaders who believed in her long before she had years of recruiting experience.
Her first recruiting manager at Bosch, Mike Borgen, gave her the opportunity to enter talent acquisition and helped build the foundation of her recruiting career.
"He really helped me figure out where I wanted to go within talent acquisition."
Another significant influence has been her current leader, Mary Donato, Corporate Vice President of Human Resources at ACE Hardware.
Having worked together for more than a decade, Mary has challenged Stefanie to think beyond recruiting transactions and instead approach talent acquisition strategically.
One of the biggest lessons she learned was the importance of focusing on candidate experience long before it became an industry-wide priority.
"She pushed me to think two steps ahead and to use data to influence decisions instead of relying on anecdotes."
That mindset has helped Stefanie lead organizational change, secure investments in recruiting technology, and continue advancing into leadership roles.
She also credits Whitney Bardelleben as both a mentor and friend throughout her leadership journey.
During the COVID era, Whitney encouraged Stefanie to explore talent acquisition operations, helping shape many of the organizational structures and technology decisions that continue to support ACE's recruiting function today—including the adoption of Paradox.
Embracing AI Before It Became Mainstream
Long before generative AI became an industry buzzword, Stefanie and her team were already exploring how automation could improve recruiting.
ACE implemented Paradox during the COVID era, using conversational AI to automate candidate support, application workflows, and interview scheduling.
The results were immediate.
Scheduling automation removed significant administrative work from recruiters while dramatically reducing candidate ghosting and improving the overall hiring experience.
Today, AI is integrated throughout the recruiting organization.
Recruiters use Microsoft Copilot to capture interview notes, summarize conversations, and eliminate the distraction of manual note-taking. AI also helps generate structured interview questions, create standardized candidate assessment reports, improve sourcing efforts through LinkedIn Hiring Assistant, and streamline recruiter workflows.
"It's given our recruiters back hundreds of hours each year."
The team is also preparing for its next phase of innovation by evaluating enterprise CRM platforms that leverage AI for talent pipelines, candidate nurturing, sourcing, and personalized communication.
For Stefanie, AI isn't replacing recruiters—it allows recruiters to spend more time building relationships and making better hiring decisions.
The Next Challenge: Responsible AI
While many conversations today focus on adopting AI, Stefanie believes the next major challenge will be implementing it responsibly.
Although organizations are rapidly deploying new technologies, she sees governance, compliance, and data privacy becoming equally important over the next several years.
"Everyone jumped on the AI train—and rightly so—but now legal, compliance, and IT teams are catching up."
As state governments continue introducing AI-related employment legislation, organizations will need to understand data flow, integrations, candidate privacy, disclosure requirements, and compliance obligations before expanding AI even further.
Rather than slowing innovation, Stefanie believes this next phase will create stronger, more sustainable AI strategies.
Advice for Talent Leaders Heading into 2026
For talent leaders looking ahead, Stefanie encourages balancing innovation with responsibility.
She believes AI will remain an essential part of recruiting, but success will depend on building the right governance alongside the technology itself.
"My advice is simple: make sure you have the right infrastructure, policies, and compliance framework in place before scaling AI."
Organizations that thoughtfully combine innovation with responsible implementation will be best positioned to improve both recruiter productivity and candidate experience while earning the trust of employees, candidates, and business leaders alike.
For Stefanie, the future of talent acquisition isn't just about adopting the latest technology—it's about using it thoughtfully to build stronger teams, better hiring experiences, and more resilient organizations.
