Connect with Shannon Smedstad here: Shannon Smedstad, Engagement Director and Senior Employer Brand Strategist at Exaqueo, has 20 years of talent acquisition, employer brand, and employee communications experience. Working with both U.S. and global organizations, she consults clients in the pharmaceutical, luxury hospitality, manufacturing, and financial industries.

Before joining Exaqueo in 2016, Shannon was the Employment Brand Director at CEB (now Gartner). Prior to CEB, Shannon led employer branding and built the campus and social recruiting initiatives at GEICO.

Over the course of her career, Shannon has helped to develop 14 unique employer brands, worked as an agency and corporate recruiter, directed more than 25 employer brand videos, and trained recruiting teams. She has a deep understanding of career sites, recruitment marketing, and employee referral programs.

Her work has received awards from Graphic Design USA, Potentialpark Group, and Glassdoor. She has been named a Top Employer Brand Influencer, quoted in Misplaced Talent (2015, Wiley) and The Robot-Proof Recruiter (2019, KoganPage), and featured by the Society for Human Resource Management, Cornerstone, and Business Insider.

Shannon graduated with honors and a B.A. in Speech Communication from Shippensburg University. She enjoys volunteering as a Girl Scout troop leader, and lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two daughters, and a dog named Taco.