LARS

SCHMIDT

Builder β€’ Community Leader β€’ Change Agent

As seen in:

About Me

My expertise is building transformative people teams and programs to drive business growth. I’ve been doing this with a range of category-leading companies around the world.

I’ve spent over 25 years in various recruiting, talent, and people roles. Over those years I’ve established myself as a trusted industry leader and advocate for progressive people practices. Throughout that time, I’ve been building global communities that are driving change in the industry, including HR Open Source and the Amplify Talent Community.

As Founder and CEO of Amplify Talent, I’ve been at the forefront of transforming HR practices with innovative talent solutions for category-leading companies including Hootsuite, SpaceX, NPR, Plaid, Vimeo, Dashlane, Duo Security, and more.

As a writer, author, podcast host, teacher, IESE School of Founders guest lecturer, LinkedIn Learning instructor, and global keynote speaker I’ve honed a nuanced perspective on what it takes to build successful businesses in today’s world of work.

Trusted by industry leaders.

Where I’ve Been


Founder & CEO

2013 - Present


Sr Dir, Talent & Innovation

2011 - 2013

Head of Talent

2010 - 2011



VP, Human Resources

2003-2010



Head of Recruiting

2001 - 2003

Account Director

1998 - 2001

Looking for a resume? You can download it here.

Redefining Work

People have always been the key to unlocking business performance. Never has that been more true than today. Redefining Work is your guide to understanding the link between business performance and progressive people strategies. Each week, host Lars Schmidt sits down with business and people leaders shaping the new world of work to share their wisdom and expertise.

Are you new to Redefining Work and wondering where to start? You can jump in on any episode from the archives. Here are a few personal favorites to give you an idea of what the show is all about.

Making time for the day after tomorrow with nexxworks co-founder and partner, Peter Hinssen.

Exploring the act of love in innovation with Pepsico Chief Design Officer, Mauro Porcini.

Arlan Hamilton

Jerry Colonna

Exploring inclusion in tech with Backstage Capital Founder, Arlan Hamilton.

Reboot cofounder Jerry Colonna shares what it means to belong in today’s world.

Mauro Porcini

Peter Hinssen

Recent Episodes 🎧

Redefining Work

Transforming People Teams to Drive Business Performance.

Redefining HR: A playbook for Modern HR and People Operations

Redefining HR is the second book by entrepreneur, speaker, and podcast host Lars Schmidt. It examines the evolution in the field of HR and breaks down many of the fundamental components of modern HR and people operations. The book is full of real stories and examples from practitioners doing the work in world-class people executives from companies including Hubspot, Vayner Media, Stripe, Reddit, Mozilla, Eventbrite, Asana, Mastercard, Stitch Fix, and more.

β€œThis book has the potential to transform the future of HR. Lars Schmidt is a beacon of light, and his bold vision may well elevate a long-marginalized field into the force for good that it deserves to be.”

Adam Grant

New York Time Bestselling Author

Writing

Lars is a writer with regular columns in Fast Company and the LinkedIn Talent Blog, past columns with Forbes, and bylines in NPR, SHRM, LinkedIn, and other press.

His work has been featured in CNN, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Mashable, TechCo, Washington Post, Fortune, Axios, and CNBC.

He’s published two books - the bestselling Redefining HR and Employer Branding for Dummies.

Read My Columns

Speaking

I’ve given talks around the world, from intimate workshops to keynotes in front of 4,000+ attendees to sessions at 30,000 attendee festivals. These engagements have taken from Stockholm, San Francisco, London, Johannesburg, Sydney, and dozens of cities worldwide. I’m available for keynotes, presentations, emcee, hosting, workshops, offsite, panel moderation, and training sessions.

Past Talks Include:

Life Is Beautiful Festival β€’ Social Media Week β€’SXSWi TalentNet β€’ LinkedIn Talent Connect β€’ Transform β€’ Unleash β€’ RecFest β€’ Talent Summit β€’ HRevolution β€’ Future Talent Summit β€’ Recruiting Innovation Summit β€’ Glassdoor Employer Brand Summit β€’ HR Tech Fest β€’ Employer Branding Conference β€’ SHRM β€’ SHRM Talent β€’ ERE Recruiting Conference β€’ Sourcecon β€’ Tru β€’ Every1 β€’ In-House Recruitment Expo β€’ Human Capital Institute β€’ Recruiting Trends Conference

Watch Past Talks

Talent Summit 2023 - Building Tomorrow’s HR (Dublin)

Lars Schmidt shares his insights into how you can futureproof your HR team. He also shares his thinking on how HR should reconsider AI, network equity and new methods of learning. Along with his views on HR's need to rise to new levels of adaptability and responsibility for success in the new world of work.

LinkedIn Talent Connect Show - Attract for Today, Hire for Tomorrow (2023)

The emergence of skills-based hiring is one of many shifts impacting today's world of work. In this panel discussion from LinkedIn's Talent Connect Show, learn how companies are adapting to identify, attract, develop, and retain talent today.

LinkedIn Talent Connect (2019) - A Fireside Chat with Katelin Holloway

Lars Schmidt sits down with former 776 Founding Partner Katelin Holloway soon after she transitioned from her Chief People Officer role at Reddit.

View additional talks and interviews on the Amplify Talent YouTube Channel.

Talent Summit 2022 - The Identity Crisis at Work (Dublin)

The world of work of March 2020 no longer exists, the motivations and values of employees have fundamentally changed after such a trauma. Lars Schmidt puts forward the difficulties for HR leaders that has never faced this situation before.