Christine Aldrich
Chief People Officer
Pindrop
Episode 121
Stop Deepfake Candidates: Empathy and AI Redefine People Operations.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJuly 2, 2025 · 12:59
Thesis
“The modern HR function, rebranded as 'People Operations,' must strategically lead with empathy and execution excellence to drive business outcomes while proactively leveraging 'good AI' to combat emerging threats like deepfake candidates in the hiring process.”
Show notes
Imagine your recruiter is conducting a video interview — and the candidate on the other end isn't real. The face is AI-generated. The voice is synthetic. And without specialized fraud-detection technology, your hiring team would never know. At Pindrop, a company that exists to stop exactly this kind of deception, Christine Aldrich is living this reality firsthand — and turning it into a blueprint for the future of HR.
Christine has spent her entire career in people operations, from QSR giant Dunkin' Brands to four successive startups. She leads with what she calls "execution excellence led by empathy" — a philosophy that demands both vulnerability and accountability. But perhaps her most striking observation is this: in the post-pandemic era, a small, deliberate headcount has become the ultimate CEO flex. Companies, especially startups, are no longer hiring for the sake of hiring. They're hiring for precision impact.
Her conversation challenges the notion that HR's seat at the table is the goal. The real goal, she argues, is what people operations brings to that table — the ability to ask incisive questions, forecast talent needs 18+ months out, and use "good AI to combat bad AI" before your hiring process becomes a liability.
- Why "execution excellence led by empathy" produces better teams — and what it actually looks like in practice
- The deepfake candidate threat is real and growing — what visual and auditory red flags to watch for now
- Post-pandemic headcount philosophy — how the best startups are hiring with surgical intentionality
- The evolution from HR to People Operations — and why the distinction matters for business outcomes
- How to ask better questions as a leader — and why not having all the answers is a strategic advantage
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What you'll take away
- 1Leaders should integrate 'execution excellence led by empathy,' demonstrating vulnerability and appreciation to cultivate a secure and high-performing team environment.
- 2HR and recruiting professionals must maintain heightened vigilance against sophisticated fraudulent activities, such as deepfake candidates, by 'trusting but verifying' any anomalies during video interviews.
- 3The evolution from traditional HR to strategic 'People Operations' is crucial for becoming a true business partner who deeply understands and contributes to organizational success.
- 4Organizations are challenged to utilize 'good AI to combat bad AI' as a necessity for addressing novel threats, particularly in talent acquisition security.
- 5People operations leaders achieve maximum impact when they possess a profound understanding of the business, enabling them to ask incisive questions that holistically drive the organization forward.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Post-pandemic, a 'small headcount is the new CEO flex,' indicating a shift where organizations, especially startups, prioritize strategic, impactful hiring over sheer numbers.
- •The traditional assumption that the same individual progresses through all interview stages is no longer reliable due to AI-driven identity swaps, requiring new verification protocols.
In Christine's words
“You cannot go wrong when you lead with kindness.”
A concise articulation of her empathetic leadership philosophy.
“Coming out of post-pandemic, kind of a small headcount is the new CEO flex, and that organizations, in particular startups, are no longer Hiring just for the sake of hiring.”
Highlights a contemporary trend in organizational staffing that prioritizes efficiency and strategic hires.
“Our technology was able to identify that my recruiter that is conducting the interview is completely a true live person, and that the individual on the other end is utilizing AI face swap and voice change technology in order to become a totally different person.”
Provides a real-world, alarming example of deepfake candidates in the hiring process and the effectiveness of detection technology.
“We really need to be diligent about what we're seeing on the other end. If you're seeing that there's glitches, that the voice does not match up with the lips, like those are red flags.”
Offers practical, actionable advice for recruiters on identifying potential deepfakes without specialized technology.
“It's not just about HR or people operations having a seat at the table. It's what people operations brings to the table that is such a game changer.”
Emphasizes the strategic, value-adding role of modern HR beyond mere representation in leadership discussions.
“I think that it's strong to, to lead, but know that you don't have to have all the answers and ask really good questions.”
Offers valuable parting advice on leadership vulnerability and the critical importance of effective inquiry.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Recruiters face significant challenges in identifying sophisticated deepfake candidates during remote interviews, leading to inefficiencies and potential security vulnerabilities.
- •Organizations often view HR as a purely administrative function (payroll, onboarding), preventing it from contributing strategically to long-term business goals and workforce development.
- •The human eye's inability to reliably detect advanced deepfake technology creates a blind spot in hiring processes, increasing risk without technological aid.
- •Companies struggle with proactively forecasting and hiring for future skillsets (18+ months out), leading to potential talent gaps as they scale.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Your career in HR started off a little bit differently than the traditional path
Exploring Your Career Journey
Christine talks about execution excellence with empathy in an organization
Leadership Philosophy of Execution Excellence Led by Empathy
Pindrop is a fraud prevention organization that catches deepfake candidates
How To Catch and Avoid Deepfake Programs
HR evolved from being a foundational function to becoming more of a strategic business partner
As Companies grow, HR's role has evolved
Christine shares her advice on leading with execution excellence and empathy
A Few Words on Leading With Execution Excellence
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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