Lars Schmidt is the Founder of Amplify Talent, an employer branding and recruiting optimization consultancy based in Washington DC. He's also the Co-Founder of HR Open Source. Prior to launching Amplify Talent, Lars was the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition & Innovation at NPR where he was responsible for providing leadership and advocacy for talent acquisition strategies that align with NPR’s strategic mission and core values. Lars held various HR and recruiting leadership roles with companies including Ticketmaster, Magento, Pencom Systems and several startups in Los Angeles.

Lars is a fierce advocate for progressive HR with a strong track record in leveraging innovative talent and recruiting strategies. He was named a “Top 100 Influencer” by HR Examiner and "Top 100 Most Social HR Leaders on Twitter" by The Huffington Post, and "50 Most Popular Recruiting Influencers on Twitter" by ERE/LeadTail. You can follow him on: Twitter at @Lars, Facebook, and LinkedIn.