Chris Ross
Head, Global Talent Acquisition Watts Water Technologies
Chris Ross is a seasoned Talent Acquisition leader with over 27 years of experience driving recruiting strategy, business transformation, and team development across Fortune 500 companies. Currently leading salaried talent acquisition for International Paper’s North American Packaging division, Chris specializes in executive search, commercial sales, manufacturing, tech, and R&D recruiting. His expertise spans global team leadership, skills-based hiring, and talent strategy for M&A and organizational change. A data-driven leader proficient in advanced recruiting technologies, Chris is passionate about building high-performing teams and fostering leadership cultures that empower growth. He holds a BS in Marketing from Merrimack College.
Seminars
- What are the most effective ways to diagnose inefficiencies in current TA processes and translate insights into scalable solutions?
- How can automation-first strategies (AI screening, chatbots, dynamic interview routing) improve speed while maintaining candidate experience?
- What governance and structural changes help organizations reclaim control from vendors and embed TA into workforce planning?
- How can organizations measure the ROI of TA transformation beyond cost savings, such as productivity, engagement, and operational continuity?
- Analyzing national Greenfield build activity to forecast a coming “talent crunch,” modelling how hundreds of new facilities will intensify competition for both hourly manufacturing talent and critical salaried roles such as maintenance managers, supervisors, and plant leaders
- Designing a flexible 70/30 TA team structure, 70% perm, 30% contractor, creating the ability to ramp capacity up or down within 30-60 days, reducing surge‑hiring costs by up to 25% while maintaining continuity through demand shocks
- Implementing a skills‑based recruiting approach to expand beyond the traditional competitor set, increasing accessible talent pools by 40%+ and reducing time‑to‑fill risk as Greenfield demand spikes across pharma, semiconductors, automotive, and advanced manufacturing
