Exceptional Hiring Doesn’t Happen By Accident. It Happens By Design.
I build the hiring systems behind industry-defining companies. Twenty years designing how ambitious organizations find, win, and keep exceptional people.
Exceptional hiring doesn't happen by accident.
It happens by design.
I build the hiring systems behind industry-defining companies. Twenty years designing how ambitious organizations find, win, and keep exceptional people — now doing it at the frontier of AI.
The Record
Operator, founder, and advisor. The through-line: turning recruiting from a reactive cost center into infrastructure a business can bet its roadmap on.
Anthropic
Leading recruiting for Marketing, Brand & Communications — building the team that tells the story of frontier AI.
Fruitist
Built the global recruiting function — structured hiring frameworks and talent systems across international operations.
Amplify
A decade advising SpaceX, Plaid, Hootsuite, Vimeo, Duo Security, and Guild on how they attract and keep talent.
NPR
Rebuilt talent acquisition from reactive to proactive — powered by employer brand and recruitment marketing.
Ticketmaster · Magento
Hypergrowth scaling — including 30 → 100+ at Magento ahead of its acquisition by eBay.
Operating Principles
How I build talent systems. The full argument is in Redefining HR — this is the working version.
Structure isn't bureaucracy — it's what frees interviewers to assess instead of improvise. The system carries rigor so people can carry judgment.
AI compresses the work. It doesn't compress the trust. Automate aggressively; reinvest every saved hour into the moments that close great people.
Metrics keep a talent function honest. Pattern recognition from thousands of hires keeps it great. Use both — and know which one is speaking.
The companies that win their markets win their talent markets first. Predictable access to exceptional people is a competitive moat — and it can be engineered.
Speaking
Keynotes from the operator's seat — what's actually happening inside frontier companies, not what the conference circuit thinks is happening.
“Consistently ranking among our top-rated speakers... a true expert at delivering world class keynotes, emceeing, panel moderation, and beyond.”Jen Gronski — Influence & Analyst Relations Lead, LinkedIn Invite me to speak
What it's actually like building recruiting inside a frontier AI company — and what every talent leader should be doing about it now.
The systems, frameworks, and operating discipline that separate great talent functions from busy ones.
How the most innovative people teams in the world are rebuilding the function from first principles.
What Leaders Say
“Lars' book Redefining HR 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 of good that it deserves to be.”Adam Grant — New York Times Bestselling Author, Host of the TED Podcast WorkLife
“Lars' ability to see clearly the best ways to make human resources a superpower within your organization is his superpower. He brings heart-centered sensibility together with experienced-drawn insights to unlock the very best of organizations: their people.”Jerry Colonna — CEO, Reboot.io
“Lars is a gifted storyteller and harnesses his own unique voice and those of many other people leaders to paint a picture of what great HR can be.”Katarina Berg — CHRO, On
“The field of HR is evolving dramatically and it's never been more important to be on the front end of the curve. Lars pulls together some of the greatest minds in the industry to pose the questions we should all be asking ourselves of what it means to be great at People.”Maia Josebachvili — Chief Revenue Officer of AI, Stripe
“Lars literally changes the game wherever he goes. He is living the future of recruiting. He leads as a business executive who has a superpower in recruiting. He's plugged into the best talent networks in the world and puts his genius to work pairing the company to the best person for the job.”Scott Domann — Chief People Officer, Fruitist; Investor
“Lars is far more than a recruiting executive — he was my trusted thought partner on building an advanced AI and machine learning technology team from the ground up. He thinks holistically about talent — not just who to hire, but how to structure teams and elevate capability.”Jim Trahanas — Chief Technology Officer, Fruitist
“The thing I love most about Lars is his unique ability to listen, synthesize, and then articulate — very simply — some of the most interesting, forward-thinking trends in the industry.”Katelin Holloway — Founding Partner, 776
“Lars is the compassionate People & Culture crusader of our time. What he shares in his 'next' practices is truly a gift to the industry.”AJ Thomas — Founder & General Partner, Good Trouble Ventures
“Lars has been a standout partner for LinkedIn's Talent Connect events year after year, consistently ranking among our top-rated speakers. His ability to engage, inform, and energize an audience is unmatched. I couldn't recommend Lars more highly — he is a true expert at delivering world class keynotes, emceeing, panel moderation, and beyond!”Jen Gronski — Influence & Analyst Relations Lead, LinkedIn