From Reactive Hiring to Workforce Strategy with John Heyliger of Lockheed Martin

Episode notes

On this episode, Ryan Dull is joined by John Heyliger , Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition at Lockheed Martin . They discuss how one of the world’s largest defense organizations is modernizing talent acquisition, shifting toward skills-based hiring, embedding AI into recruiter workflows and tying TA outcomes directly to business performance. John shares practical insights on workforce planning, operational excellence, and what it takes to evolve from recruiter to strategic talent advisor. Key Takeaways: 00:00 Introduction. 01:00 John's journey to talent acquisition and the roles that shaped his path. 03:00 Lockheed Martin’s scale, footprint and annual hiring volume. 04:00 The team modernizes HR and TA with a new ATS and HCM rollout, plus broader enterprise transformation and AI enablement. 05:00 TA success metrics go beyond time to fill, including candidate quality signals and funnel efficiency. 07:00 Tying recruiting speed to business outcomes — including faster hiring, enabling faster revenue recognition in some programs. 08:00 Short-term priorities include AI readiness, recruiter productivity gains, candidate experience and skills-based assessment pilots.