Manish Shekhawat — CEO
💬 About 👋🏼 Hi, I'm Manish — a people-first builder and global talent strategist with around 9 years of experience scaling high-performance teams and cultures across 20+ countries and 60+ cities. At Fireflies.ai, I’ve built the entire People function from scratch — zero external recruiters, zero vendors — powered purely by 💡 creativity, 🔍 precision sourcing, and 🎯 relentless execution. Whether hiring for tech, GTM, or operations, I work hand-in-hand with leadership to turn bold hiring plans into high-impact results. 🌐 What I Do: 1️⃣ Design and execute global hiring strategies with by maintaining a consistent 90%+ offer-to-join ratio for consistent 10 quarters. 2️⃣ Architect remote-first culture and async-friendly engagement models 3️⃣ Source unicorns via GitHub, X-ray, niche communities, groups & outbound hacks 4️⃣ Drive data-led people ops, DEI programs, and process optimization 5️⃣ Build scalable HR playbooks and workflows using lean tooling 📈 The Impact: 1️⃣ Built an elite team with 10x growth across global geographies 2️⃣ Saved $330K+ in agency fees via internal sourcing & ATS automation 3️⃣ Scaled diverse teams across 6 continents 4️⃣ Hosted a global offsite fully organized internally with 0 vendor cost 5️⃣ Achieved industry-best candidate satisfaction and employee happiness as core pillars 💡 My Leadership Style: 1️⃣ Emphasize transparent communication and consistent feedback loops 2️⃣ Focus on outcomes and metrics-driven people strategies 3️⃣ Operate with a builder’s mindset and a systems-thinking approach 4️⃣ Act as a cross-functional partner aligned with business impact 5️⃣ Design human-first programs with empathy at the core 🎵 Beyond Work: 1️⃣ 🏃🏽♂️ Endurance runner & fitness enthusiast 2️⃣ 🏀Basketball & ⚽soccer junkie 3️⃣ 🎧 Music lover & hobbyist musician — currently learning 🎸 guitar but on a patience check 4️⃣ 🍳 Passionate home chef 5️⃣ 📚 Avid reader — Working on building daily learning & creative habits 6️⃣ 🌍 Explorer of cultures, ideas & human potential 7️⃣ 💪 Calisthenics & wellness advocate ✨ Philosophy: I believe the future of work is global, remote, and deeply human. Let’s connect and build organizations where people and purpose thrive — together.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a Talent Acquisition expert in the SaaS industry with a focus on global recruitment.
Location: Gurugram, Haryana, India
Experience: 9 yrs 3 mos
Skills
- Talent Acquisition
- People Operations
- Project Management
- Employer Branding
- Recruitment Strategy
- Talent Sourcing
- Product Development
- End-to-end Recruitment
Career Highlights
- Built entire People function from scratch
- Achieved 90%+ offer-to-join ratio for 10 quarters
- Scaled diverse teams across 6 continents
Work Experience
Fireflies.ai
Global Lead – Talent, People Ops & Culture | Fireflies.ai (2 yrs 7 mos)
Recruiting & HR Manager | Talent, People Ops & Culture (1 yr 1 mo)
Lead Talent – Engineering & GTM (1 yr)
Founding Recruiter – Tech & GTM (6 mos)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
Taken time off (2 mos)
Pesto Tech
Talent Acquisition Specialist – Tech & Non-Tech (11 mos)
OYO
Senior HR – Tech & Non-Tech Hiring (8 mos)
Anzy Careers
Senior Recruitment Specialist – Tech (6 mos)
Recruitment Specialist – Tech (11 mos)
Confidential (In stealth mode)
Co-Founder – EdTech (Stealth Mode) (9 mos)
Astra HR Services
Technical Recruiter – Tech Hiring (11 mos)
Education
Bachelor of Engineering (BE) at Visvesvaraya Technological University
High School Diploma at Kendriya Vidyalaya