Lars Schmidt

Global Talent Executive

Lars Schmidt delivers talent outcomes that move the business forward. He's led recruiting transformation at NPR, Magento, and Ticketmaster. He's built talent strategies for Fortune 500 companies and fast-growth startups. His experience ranges from attracting rocket scientists at SpaceX to designing recruiting programs for the Beijing Olympics—organizations where talent acquisition is mission-critical, and failure isn't an option. The track record is consistent: teams that hire faster, executive searches that close, talent systems that adapt as organizations grow. He does this by treating talent acquisition as what it is—a competitive advantage. He brings twenty years of pattern recognition to every challenge. That means knowing which best practices are actually roadblocks. Understanding where AI adds value and where it creates risk. Building hiring processes that candidates respect and hiring managers trust. The work isn't theoretical. It's operational. And it delivers the talent outcomes leadership needs to execute strategy.

Key Accomplishments

  • Built a global recruiting and talent function from zero to one at Fruitist, saving the company over $1M USD in annual agency fees by building in-house recruiting capabilities. 

  • Led the strategic transformation of NPR’s workforce, redefining the talent strategy to support its evolution from traditional broadcast operations to a cutting-edge digital ecosystem. This initiative aligned people, processes, and technology to meet the demands of a rapidly changing media landscape.

  • Recruited and closed high-impact executive talent for industry-leading organizations such as SpaceX, NPR, Fruitist, Ticketmaster, Vimeo, and Typeform. Delivered results by aligning leadership appointments with strategic objectives, enabling sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

  • Designed SpaceX’s first employer brand campaign, “Engineer the Future”, driving significant increases in targeted inbound talent pools

  • Directed the development and rollout of a global internal communication strategy to support the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger. Delivered clear, consistent messaging that unified employees and aligned stakeholders during a complex integration.

  • Designed and launched global employer brand playbooks for Hootsuite, Vimeo, Plaid, SpaceX, and Cognosante.

  • Deep media experience, including global keynote presentations, a column in Fast Company, a bestselling book - Redefining HR, and hosting the LinkedIn Presents: Redefining Work podcast. 

  • 2025 Talent100 Most Innovative Talent Leader award winner. 

Experience

Fruitist (Pre-IPO AgTech Unicorn, $2B+ Valuation with $600M+ Raised)   Los Angeles, CA/Remote Vice President, Talent Acquisition & Innovation December 2024 - Present

Fruitist is on a mission to inspire healthy snacking as a disruptor in the superfruit space. I lead our global recruiting & talent function, ensuring we hire with speed, precision, and purpose. From talent technology selection and optimization to the design of structured hiring frameworks, we're creating recruiting systems to drive talent density across our global operations. Select accomplishments include:

  • Built a global recruiting and talent infrastructure from scratch, including ATS selection and implementation (Ashby), career site design, competency-based structured interviews, and AI recruiting strategy.

  • Reduced recruiting agency spend by $1M by hiring 30+ corporate roles directly

  • Hired key executives and leaders, including Chief Technology Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, VP Financial Planning & Analysis, and Managing Directors in Egypt and Morocco.

  • Designed, storyboarded, and launched a groundbreaking industry-first AI employer brand campaign, The Quest. This was an episodic eight-video series combining AI and real video.

  • Maintained a 30-day time-to-offer across 42 global hires. 

  • Designed an AI-optimized recruiting system including custom GPTs, AI video transcription, talking job descriptions, automated pre-boarding and onboarding, agentic screening, and NLP reporting. 

Amplify Talent (Strategic Advisory & Search Firm, Private)                                        Herndon, VA / Global

Founder & CEO December 2013 - December 2024

As Founder and CEO of Amplify Talent, I have led groundbreaking talent advisory initiatives, partnering with category-leading organizations to redefine and elevate global talent practices. Select accomplishments include:

  • Designed and implemented global recruiting and talent strategies for industry leaders such as SpaceX, NPR, and Hootsuite, as well as dynamic organizations like Cracker Barrel and Dashlane. Delivered customized solutions that optimized talent acquisition and alignment.

  • Conducted successful executive searches to hire transformative people leaders for category-leading organizations, including Vimeo, Typeform, Guild Education, Acclara, GAN, Pursuit, and SpaceX, driving leadership excellence and strategic impact.

  • Developed and launched the first global employer brand playbooks for NPR, Hootsuite, SpaceX, Duo Security, Cognosante, Plaid, and West Monroe Partners. These foundational strategies elevated recruitment efforts, strengthened brand positioning, and attracted top-tier talent.

  • Built and led the Amplify Talent Community, connecting more than 900 rising HR leaders in a global network. This initiative drives collaboration, professional development, and the evolution of modern HR practices worldwide.

  • Guest faculty for IESE’s School of Founders Foundations of Scale program

  • Created various open-source resources to advance HR, including the Founder’s HR Playbook, Silicon Valley Bank Fallout Guide, Return to Workplace Guide, and more

  • Co-founded HR Open Source, a pioneering nonprofit transforming HR through scalable innovation. Expanded the community to 10,000+ members in 100+ countries in just four years, creating a global hub for collaboration and best practices.

NPR (Nonprofit Public Media, 46M+ Weekly Audience)                                         Washington, DC

Senior Director, Talent & Innovation 1/2011 - 12/2013

In this turnaround role, I was brought in to spearhead the transformation of NPR’s talent acquisition function as part of a comprehensive HR organizational rebuilding initiative. Provided strategic leadership to align talent acquisition efforts with NPR’s mission and values, transitioning from a reactive, job-posting-centric model to a progressive, proactive approach. This included leveraging social media, recruitment marketing, brand advocacy, and employer branding to attract top talent.

Magento (Open-Source eCommerce Platform, Acquired by Adobe in 2018)            Los Angeles, CA

Head of Recruiting (contract) 8/2010 - 12/2011

Responsible for full life-cycle recruiting for a broad range of technical and corporate roles and developing sustainable talent acquisition, development, and branding strategies and procedures. Helped scale the team from 30 to 100+ over that time, helping position Magento for an acquisition by eBay.

Ticketmaster/LiveNation (Event Ticketing, NASDAQ: LYV, $35B Market Cap)       Los Angeles, CA

Vice President, Human Resources 5/2003 - 8/2010

Over seven years at Ticketmaster, I held leadership roles spanning global recruiting, employee experience, performance management, and internal communications. Key achievements included spearheading the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger, designing and executing the internal recruiting strategy for the Beijing Olympics, and managing multiple M&A integrations to drive organizational growth.

Intersperse (Enterprise Integration B2B Software, Acquired by webMethods)       Los Angeles, CA

Head of Recruiting (contract) 6/2001 - 5/2003

Recruited by the CTO to design and implement a recruiting strategy aligned with a new business model following the company’s second round of funding from Kleiner Perkins. Successfully hired over 40 technical employees within 18 months, driving rapid organizational growth.

Pencom Systems (Technical Recruiting Firm, acquired by Kelly Services) New York & Los Angeles

Senior Recruiter / Account Manager 6/1998 - 4/2001

Managed account relationships and technical recruiting for prominent Southern California clients, including Geocities, IdeaLabs, Goto.com, eToys, and Netzero, delivering tailored talent solutions to drive business success.

Education

Florida State University

B.S., Marketing & B.S., International Business