Ekaterina Katya Polkhovskaya
New York
Summary
Strategic talent and workforce leader with over 20 years of experience aligning business objectives with effective talent strategies and workforce plans. Expertise in recruiting operations, organizational change, and team development across diverse sectors. Skilled in building high-performing teams and leveraging technology to drive measurable business results.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
3
3
Languages
Work History
360 Careers Lead, Associate Director
NY Metro & Atlantic, EY, Ernst & Young
New York, NY
03.2026 - Current
- Leading talent acquisition strategy and recruiting operations across Assurance and Tax 360 Careers, supporting approximately 1,000 annual hires
- Partnered with business leaders to evolve workforce strategies aligned with business needs and AI-driven transformation
- Served as change ambassador for business and recruiting team, fostering adoption of new initiatives
- Created communication strategies and roadmaps to enhance recruiting delivery effectiveness
SDC Recruiting Lead, Associate Director, Experienced and Early Careers Recruiting
EY, Ernst & Young
New York, NY
12.2021 - 03.2026
- Creating and executing Experienced and Early Careers talent acquisition strategy across the SDC (Service Delivery Center) with focus on Managed Services in Tech and Business Consulting
- Delivering approximately 350-550 hires annually while balancing quality, time to hire, stakeholder expectations, and ever-changing market trends (fraud and rise of AI)
- Developing creative sourcing and recruiting strategies in partnership with sourcing teams to attract high-quality, diverse talent for priority business areas and in support of Build vs Buy model (veterans, associate degree hiring, bootcamps)
- Translating business priorities and workforce demand into actionable recruiting plans and talent pipeline actions
- Built strong relationships with business leaders and cross-functional teams, including Talent, RM, GCO, DEI, V&I, Activation Center, other internal networks to enhance delivery and improve client and candidate experience
- Collaborating with Talent, business, and operational leaders to align hiring strategy, workforce planning, and talent investments with evolving Managed Services business priorities
- Partnered with senior internal clients as a trusted talent advisor, advising on hiring needs, market dynamics, workforce risks, and talent availability across domestic and international markets
- Promoting an inclusive, high-performing culture through coaching, change leadership, accountability, and talent development while guiding teams through significant business transformation
- Mentoring recruiters, fostering professional growth through cross deployments across hire types - Early Careers and Experienced, Service Lines, engaging with curiosity and true interest in their development
- Leveraging analytics, market intelligence and hiring trends to identify talent risks to inform workforce planning decisions
- Drove continuous improvement of recruiting processes and tools; piloted innovative approaches to enhance effectiveness
FSO Consulting Experienced Recruiting, Assistant Director
EY, Ernst & Young
New York, NY
07.2015 - 12.2021
- Acted as a strategic talent advisor to Consulting leaders, developing workforce and recruiting strategies across Technology Consulting, Business Consulting, Risk Consulting: Data & Analytics, Robotics, and Business Transformation practices.
Experienced Recruiting Lead, Assistant Director, Russia & CIS
EY, Ernst & Young
Moscow, Russia
02.2008 - 07.2015
- Progressing through multiple recruiting roles, starting as Senior Associate and becoming the Lead for Russian & CIS
- Developed and implemented targeted recruiting strategies across all service lines and regions, enhancing talent acquisition effectiveness
- Supporting global attraction initiatives
- Partnered with business leaders and talent stakeholders to address complex workforce challenges, aligning business priorities with employee experience and compliance
- Developed and piloted innovative recruiting approaches, improving candidate engagement and attracting top talent
- Facilitated financial planning to ensure optimal resource utilization.
- Supervising Associate/Sr Associate, Moscow 2008 – 2015
FMCG Recruiting Lead
Citilink Services, Executive Search Agency
Moscow, Russia
01.2005 - 01.2008
Education
MS equivalent (5 years) - Linguistics and Intercultural Communications (Spanish, English)
State University
Republic of North – Ossetia, Russia06-2003
Skills
- Workforce planning
- Project management
- Stakeholder engagement
- Strategic leadership
- Critical thinking
- Reporting
- Coaching and mentoring
- Operations management
- Process improvement
Languages
English
Spanish
Russian
Timeline
360 Careers Lead, Associate Director
NY Metro & Atlantic, EY, Ernst & Young
03.2026 - Current
SDC Recruiting Lead, Associate Director, Experienced and Early Careers Recruiting
EY, Ernst & Young
12.2021 - 03.2026
FSO Consulting Experienced Recruiting, Assistant Director
EY, Ernst & Young
07.2015 - 12.2021
Experienced Recruiting Lead, Assistant Director, Russia & CIS
EY, Ernst & Young
02.2008 - 07.2015
FMCG Recruiting Lead
Citilink Services, Executive Search Agency
01.2005 - 01.2008
MS equivalent (5 years) - Linguistics and Intercultural Communications (Spanish, English)
State University