Becky McCullough
VP, Talent Acquisition & Mobility
REGISTER NOW for UNCUT by Gem
Uncut
by Gem
October 8th, 2026
New York City, NY
Speakers
Kelsey Bigg
Head of Global Talent Acquisition
Michael Barella
Senior Director, Global Head of Talent Acquisition Operations (ex-Airbnb)
Agenda
3:00–3:45
Registration, networking & happy hour
Kick things off with drinks and casual conversation. Connect with fellow TA leaders and take in the NYC skyline at Glasshouse Chelsea before we dive in.
3:45–4:00
Welcome from Steve Bartel, CEO of Gem
Welcome to Uncut NYC. The recruiting function is being rebuilt in real time — and to kick things off, Gem CEO Steve Bartel is bringing the view from the ground: what he's seeing across 1,000+ TA teams, where AI is actually changing the work, where the hype hasn't caught up yet, and what the best teams are doing differently.
4:00–5:00
The Recruiter's New Edge: From Order-Taker to Irreplaceable Judgment
For years, recruiters were handed a req and told to fill it — and now AI is quietly clearing away the repetitive work that made that dynamic possible in the first place: sourcing, screening, scheduling, first-pass outreach. What's left isn't less important, it's more consequential. This session tackles both sides of that shift — how recruiters earn a seat at the table as strategic advisors, and where human judgment becomes the thing AI can't replace. Practitioners get specific: building credibility with hiring managers before the req even opens, using data to push back on bad decisions, reading a candidate's real motivations, and navigating the moments that actually determine whether a company hires well.
In this panel discussion hear from TA executives at Gong, Hubspot and The Trade Desk.
5:00–6:00
Networking & refreshments
Keep the conversation going. More time to connect, compare notes, and swap strategies with other recruiting leaders.
Highlights from 2026 Uncut Virtual
Opening keynote with Steve Bartel, CEO of Gem
The recruiting function is being rebuilt in real time. Gem CEO Steve Bartel opens the summit with what he's seeing across more than 1,000 TA teams — where AI is actually changing the work, where the hype is still ahead of reality, and what the highest-performing teams are doing differently right now.
Redefining the TA team: what great recruiters look like now
AI is reshaping what recruiting teams actually do. The skills, roles, and expectations that defined the function for years are changing fast. This session examines how leading TA teams are evolving in real time: which competencies matter most now, how roles are being restructured around higher-value work, and what that means for hiring and developing your team. You'll leave with a modernized framework for TA roles and the skill sets that will define your function's impact going forward.
Stop guessing, start fixing: a framework for TA leaders and RecOps to find their highest-impact opportunities
With an overwhelming number of AI and technology solutions competing for your attention, knowing where to invest is harder than ever. This session walks TA leaders and RecOps teams through a practical end-to-end audit of workflows and tech stack, helping you identify where your function is losing time and where the right technology can make the biggest difference. You'll leave with a prioritized view of your opportunities and a clear first step to act on them.
Hiring at the edge: winning the most competitive technical talent
AI hiring is the hardest technical hiring motion right now, but the same pressures are reshaping how companies compete for scarce, high-demand technical talent across the board. This panel brings together practitioners who've built hiring motions on the frontier: AI and ML engineers, applied scientists, security, quant, and the infrastructure roles underneath them. You'll leave with concrete strategies for defining roles, evaluating candidates without a clear rubric, and convincing the best people to choose you when they don't have to.