Solve the Bigger Problem

Tiffany Pham

Hi Betty, how are you? So good to see you.

Betty Larson

Hi Tiffany, I'm glad to be here. Thanks for the invitation.

Tiffany Pham

Of course, it's always a delight to talk to you. So I'm excited to dig into your journey and be able to share with listeners why you've had such an incredible and an impressive and inspiring journey. So I'm delighted to have you here.

Betty Larson

Well, it's a pleasure to be here. So I look forward to jumping in.

Tiffany Pham

Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, part of our purpose on this show is to be able to dig into how you got to that chief officer seat for the very first time and how it felt like got you there. So I'd love to ask you that to hear more about your journey. And you've been chief officer four times or more at this point. So there's a lot to share here but Tell us about your journey prior to that first Chief Officer role.

Betty Larson

Yeah, so you know what, it's always a pleasure to have these opportunities to reflect. It's a bit humbling when you do think that my first chief HR officer role was 12 years ago now, but luckily I still remember much about the journey. So my story's a little bit unique to other CHROs, I think. Many CHROs had a career maybe starting in a different function or somewhere else in the organization and they happened to find their way to HR and fell in love with it. I fell in love with HR from the very beginning. I went to school in Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, so at the University of Illinois and probably jumped around to a couple different majors as I remind my college age kids now, I didn't know what I was going to do and took an I/O psychology class and fell in love with the idea of I guess the marriage between psychology and business and how can you help human beings perform at their best? And so I started to study HR and a master's program there and started my career at a company called Baxter Healthcare and a rotational program and spent 16 years there rotating around between different divisions and different jobs and moving. And then left.

Tiffany Pham

Was there something about healthcare that was most interesting to you?

Betty Larson

You know, so I've been 30 years plus in healthcare and I just love the industry. I think it's very human capital intensive. It's very purpose driven. You know, I've been in different parts of healthcare, life sciences, medical device, diagnostic imaging. And I I guess if you're going to do what I do, it's a place where it's an industry where people are incredibly motivated around the purpose of the company and you have cross-functional disciplines that are pretty wide and it's human capital intensive. So it's been a pleasure to feel that you can serve others through your daily work.

Tiffany Pham

Incredible, absolutely. And so what happened after Baxter?

Betty Larson

Yes, so I was at Baxter for 16 years as I mentioned moving around a bit I'm sure we'll talk about you know when I when I got the call or when I Realized I had the opportunities, but I was There when Baxter was going to go through a separation of sorts so they were spinning out their life sciences business and consequently at the same time hadn't received a call to consider a CHRO role at a medical device company called C.R. Bard. That was smaller, but it was the top job. And through a series of discussions and then different decisions, I decided to take the shot and move out to New Jersey with my young family at the time and take my first CHRO position. And it was hands down the best decision I've made in my career.

Tiffany Pham

That's amazing. And was that call from C.R. Bard directly or was it from a search firm or how did it go?

Betty Larson

Yeah, so it was through a search firm, but you know, it was an amazing lesson for me in regards to network and relationships because I think the search firm didn't find me. I think I had been at a point now with 16 years at Baxter. Search firms stopped. calling because they weren't that confident that I was going to leave. I was fortunate enough to be developing towards succession plans there and in a big role. But a mentor and advisor and advocate for myself had given my name to the COO of the company. And so the COO and CEO looked at my background and asked the search firm to reach out. So yes, it was through a search firm, but We all talk about the power of our network. It was an advocate, someone who had been a mentor.

Tiffany Pham

Yeah, I agree with that. Wonderful. Yeah, it was the mentor. It was your friendships, relationships that brought you that opportunity. I love that. Do you want to give that mentor a shout out? Were they a colleague, a former colleague, someone you had met in the field?

Betty Larson

Yeah, so she was, she still does business with a lot of organizations and she was an individual who runs her own consulting company and we had been doing some work together so she had an opportunity to see how I think, how I approach the work, how I partner and so a fabulous individual. I'll protect her confidentiality about it.

Tiffany Pham

Amazing though. I love to hear how it came about and the fact that it came from a mentor is so special. And so then you were a chief officer there at now C.R. Bard and then you became chief officer again.

Betty Larson

That's right. I was at C.R. Bard for about two and a half years when our board informed us that we were being acquired by a company called Becton Dickinson. And so we were about $4 billion in revenue, and Becton Dickinson at the time, I think was about $16 billion in revenue. And so we were acquired by Becton Dickinson. My mission at that point was to work through the integration and to help the C.R. Bard associates land appropriate jobs in the new combined entity. And I was fortunate enough through that integration process to be asked then to serve as the CHRO of the combined company. And so I took over as the CHRO for Becton Dickinson, which now included C.R. Bard, it was about a 20 billion revenue organization and in combination of both companies, I was there for about eight years.

Tiffany Pham

That's amazing. And that speaks a lot to you since obviously in that M&A process, it can be, you know, a lot of there can be a lot of uncertainty as to who's going to be the final chief officer of the combined entity. So that's, that's amazing to hear and speaks again a lot to your leadership.

Betty Larson

That it was a, it was a great organization. I had actually worked with the president at a prior company. So again, it comes back to the impressions that we make and the experiences that we have in the networks that we build. And so we had worked together. Back at Baxter, we worked together through the integration. I got to know the CEO of the combined company. I had the opportunity then to step into the role and it was a fantastic experience both from a personal growth and development and lots of personal and professional fulfillment. So we create relationships there and it was a tremendous experience. I honestly didn't think I would leave there, but you know, as luck would have it, I got a call from a CEO I had worked with also back at Baxter, who was going to be leading the GE Healthcare spin out of big GE CEO by the name of Peter Arduini. And we started talking really more around advice or counsel relative to some things that he was looking to do. And inevitably, we got to the point where He asked if I would consider coming over to the organization and so I was at a point in my career where I'd been through a major integration and some spin activity at Becton Dickinson as well and Wanted to go have the opportunity not to spin a company but be part of a fun company and have a chance to set up a new culture we ended up establishing the brand for the organization, built the leadership team. It was really a tremendous experience. GE Healthcare is another great company. I've been fortunate to work with great companies and had a true pleasure there building the team and building the organization. Again, it's one of those stories, Tiffany, where you don't expect you're going to leave. You get a call out of left field. Again, it was for a really amazing organization, Merck, where I'm the CHRO today. And this is a pure CHRO position at GE Healthcare. I had HR communications in corporate marketing at Becton Dickinson. I had some broader responsibilities as well for communications in the foundation. And so this is a larger HR organization with an iconic healthcare company and I've explained it to people as I loved GE. Again, I never thought I would leave. Up until this point, I'd only left for my first CHRO assignment at C.R. Bard. After 16 years with one company and then stayed through a major integration and stayed there eight years. So I really didn't feel like I was a job hopper at the time. So it was a big deal to consider, but this is If you're in healthcare, a company like Merck comes along only so often. It's a tremendous place with tremendous people and incredible pipeline. And I felt very fortunate to get the call. And so that's how I ended up here.

Tiffany Pham

Yeah. You just give me chills. I love your story. And I feel like again, I admire you so much. I feel like you've always been heads down focused on doing a really great job, never thinking you're going to leave, but clearly leaving such an incredible impression on everyone who works with you, who has the honor of collaborating with you. And so as a result, you get these calls and it's well deserved. And so now how did it go when you got the call from Merck that they were selecting you as the chief officer? Who was the first person you called to tell the news?

Betty Larson

Yeah, well, well, funnily enough, I mean, I think I was walking the dog with my husband. And so he's like, he's usually the first person that I call or talk to for most things. But, you know, maybe, maybe a few mentors from that point. It's amazing when you, like I said, over the course of my career, you learn the power of your network. So amongst the first few calls that I made, and honestly, this was a really difficult decision for me. It was really not obvious that I should leave. I felt very committed to what GE Healthcare was doing. And we can talk a little bit about the type of HR work that I'm doing here at Merck and why that's so compelling to me at this point in my career. I called my former CEO. So the CEO Tim Ring from C.R. Bard. Part of the reason I said it was one of the best, if not the best professional decisions I made to go to Bard is I met some executives there who've been in my professional life ever since. Tim Ring is one of them. I think I've probably visited with Tim around every major career decision I've made. So I talked to Tim for advice and counsel. a long time mentor and advisor on the HR side, a woman by the name of Anne Hill. She was probably one of the first leaders that took a real chance on me and threw me into larger and bigger roles, despite maybe some pushback from peers and other colleagues. And so I will forever be indebted to Anne, but she's been someone that I've sought counsel from at many different points in my career. And then... I have one or two girlfriends that I've worked with at a couple different companies that always give me good feedback and advice. And we can talk more about that decision. That was a decision that was difficult for me. And as a mom of two kids, having just moved my kids back to Chicago, it was one I wrestled with. But ultimately, everyone was really strong in their encouragement. And I haven't regretted the decision a day yet.

Tiffany Pham

And your kids must have been so proud of you

Betty Larson

Yeah, I mean look my my daughter was 14 at the time I think and had just moved at 12 So it took a while for her to be excited for me proud of me. Yes But you know my son my son's funny we can talk about kids reaction I think his first question was what's the market cap?

Tiffany Pham

Wow.

Betty Larson

It was the market cap of Merck. He was in investment club at the time. It was fun to have those conversations with the kids.

Tiffany Pham

That's amazing. So I see a clear pattern emerging from your journey. You're so good at maintaining relationships with your peers, with your leaders clearly over the course of even. moving to new companies, you still keep in touch with your past leaders and close friendship and collaboration. And you're also very good at selecting companies as well. Clearly Baxter was a great breeding ground it sounds like for HR leaders, for healthcare leaders, kind of like the PayPal mafia, it's like the Baxter mafia, right? I know there's the GE leadership engine but

Betty Larson

In the early days of biotech and bioscience, there was some articles or some books written about how many of those leaders actually had come out of Baxter. And so it really was a great training ground for so many of us.

Tiffany Pham

Yeah, it's amazing. And so I would love to hear more about your work at Merck, you were mentioning, and I know you and I have had a lot of conversations actually about the incredible work you're doing there. So I'd love for everyone. want to hear as well about your insights on AI and how excited you are and what you're doing there that I think has been so impressive when I've listened to you talk about it.

Betty Larson

Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, it's a it's a fantastic organization that has a very storied past and has been a leader in many different ways in healthcare over many, many years and decades. And so it's a It's an incredibly purpose-driven organization. When you're in healthcare, you have the distinct advantage of working with very purpose-driven organizations. I think this company takes it to the next level. People are highly, highly committed to doing anything we can do to help advance care for patients. So it's an amazing place to be. We are transforming over the last several years, and for the next several years, we're moving from a focus in a couple therapeutic areas and leadership positions to launching products and entering into therapeutic areas or markets that are new to us or new again. So it's an incredible place to be an HR professional because we get to help the organization think about what are those capabilities that we're going to need in the future, whether it be because we're going into new therapeutic areas or to your point, We're looking to leverage AI and so we want to work new ways but this exercise around what capabilities are we going to need? Can we start thinking about them now so that we can think about how do we take our workforce through learning or development or hiring and make sure that the workforce is ready? The workforce is tomorrow we have today. But there's also a lot of culture change that comes with that. We are a fantastic organization but We keep talking to our teams and each other about how can we actually move with more agility? How do we embrace new ways of working? So there's cultural transformation there as well. And so it's really great HR work for the team to do. I'm so proud of the team and the work that they're doing. And so it's an honor to be in a position to have an impact on the organization that is aspiring to have an impact on so many patients around the world.

Tiffany Pham

That's amazing. And so looking back upon your journey, now having again been chief officer a number of times, what was the first week like each time you started? What's the typical pattern for you when you take on the new role?

Betty Larson

You know, it's interesting. I was just reflecting on a discussion I had with someone recently and she was talking about the fact she's a researcher in leadership and management development. And she was talking about learning from failures and really the idea that if you're not failing, you're probably not ambitious enough in your goal, right? We have to be willing to strive for bigger and better things and expect that we're going to have some speed bumps along the way. And so I think any of us that have stepped into our first chief officer role or our second or third in a different organization, the first several weeks are humbling. You are suddenly aware of everything that you don't know and you have to recalibrate a little bit about what is it that you bring to the role that's different and what do you still need to learn about the organization, about the role to be successful. So it's often a period of... humility. It can be nerve wracking or a little scary at first and at the same time there's excitement. You get to learn new things, new people, new organizations. So humbling is probably the single word I would choose.

Tiffany Pham

Amazing. And I'm curious actually, and I'm sure some of our listeners are, you know, who perhaps see the chief officer role as more of a black box. What's your typical day like or give us like an insight into your most exciting day that you've had recently? Like tell us like as if we're in a movie watching you. What was the day like?

Betty Larson

And look, I would probably say it's different at every organization. Just depending on the size of the organization as well as what the remit is for the HR function at that organization. I'm pretty hands on. So a typical day usually would involve me getting deep into some sort of topic with some team at any point in the day. If I have a day where it's just people presenting to me or... or sitting in business meetings. That's not a great day. I like to get out there and learn. So if I think about the last couple of weeks, you know, I spent a day two days ago in a full R&D review with a team deeper in the organization, the CEO and I visiting them to understand their work, but more importantly, understand how they're working, their capabilities, their culture. A couple days before that, I was walking around to dairy farms and a feedlot down in Amarillo, Texas visiting customers for our animal health business. It might be visiting a plant. It's a lot of meetings. I think most of us would say it's a lot of meetings, but when we're lucky, we're also engaging in parts of the organization to make sure we're clarifying vision or strategy or direction and also just being out there to listen and learn from the people that are doing the work day to day.

Tiffany Pham

I love that. What are you proudest of actually? I would love to hear in terms of your accomplishments when you look back on everything. What are you proudest of?

Betty Larson

Yeah, and this is going to seem funny because I think I'm a very business oriented HR person, but when you asked me that question, it was less about a business result or an impact that that I can think of and it's more about the people that I've had a pleasure of playing even a small part in their development. So I was reflecting and I think the count is up to 10 or 11 at this point, former direct reports who are now CHROs themselves. And like I said, I haven't necessarily been responsible for the totality of their development, but I'm proud to have played even a little part. in helping them along the way. And I think what I'm proudest, most proud or proudest about in that is that I'm in contact with all of them. At some point in time, they've all reached out, whether it be for advice as they've moved into their first C-suite position, advice about changing roles or going after roles, or I've been seeking advice from them. And so it's a pleasure to not only have that statistic, but more importantly to still have that relationship with everyone.

Tiffany Pham

And so finally, my final question to you is for our listeners who want to be the chief officer next, what would you give in terms of advice for them to become chief officer, overcoming any doubts or anything within themselves to become that chief officer?

Betty Larson

Yeah, I mean, first of all, I'm not necessarily sure I ever set out. with the chief officer role as a destination or an aspiration. I drove my career more around what are the bigger problems I can solve. So I felt like I was moving from bigger problems to bigger problems so that I could have an impact on the organization. Eventually you end up in a position where you have an opportunity to lead. I think the advice I would give when you find yourself there, because again, I don't necessarily think if people always... plan to get there and then arrive. So what's humbling when you get there is you do have to make a conscious change between being in the function to leading the function. And so, you know, we always hear this notion of, you know, what got you here isn't what will get you there. I think it's not doing more of the same. You really have to change how you think. and how you operate. You're shifting from a functional mindset in many cases to an enterprise mindset. And as the final decision maker around what we do in HR, I have to be thoughtful around how those decisions affect the business. Are they aligned with our strategy? What does it cost in terms of human processing time? How does it affect the organization overall or operations? And so shifting to that enterprise orientation is important. you have to build a team around you that you trust and you can rely on to run the function because a good percentage of your time is going to be in strategy meetings or board meetings or customer visits or out with employees. And so the demands on your time will shift. And so you have to make sure you have the right team to run the day-to-day operations. You have to learn to speak the language of the business and the board. I think most people are already doing that. That's what differentiates them to get to the next level. You want to make sure you understand in a C-suite position, how to engage with the board, what's that governance mechanism, what's the board expecting of you. I would also say this has maybe come from my perspective as a CHRO. Your relationship with a CEO is different than any other manager subordinate relationship you've had. You're going to be more autonomous. You're going to have to figure out how to find the right cadence to work with the CEO. You're not going to get the same level of direction or have the same amount of discussion. CEOs have a tremendous number of stakeholders that they have to manage in terms of board members, individual board members, investors, customers, regulators, government officials. And so the amount of time that they have for one-on-ones or for more rudimentary reviews is very different. So then figuring out also how do you communicate and engage with the CEO is a big transition as well. But ultimately, I think it's that consciously going in and thinking differently about how you're going to work in the job. It's just not more of the same.

Tiffany Pham

That's really good advice. Thank you so much, Betty. You're such an inspiration again. And it's always a delight to learn from you. So thank you again for sharing all your lessons and advice with our listeners today. And always a pleasure to see you.

Betty Larson

Yeah, thanks, Tiffany. This has been great. I look forward to listening to the stories that you're recording with others as well, because we can always keep learning. Thank you.