Larry Ott
SVP & CHRO
Cooper Standard
Episode 69
Beyond HR Support: Mastering Business Strategy for Unbeatable Talent & Financial Gains
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleAugust 25, 2025 · 12:25
Thesis
“HR must transcend traditional support roles by deeply understanding and integrating with core business strategy, leveraging initiatives like flexible work to drive financial performance and secure competitive advantage in talent acquisition.”
Show notes
Episode SummaryWhat does it take to turn HR into a true business driver? In this episode of Built by People, we sit down with Larry Ott, CHRO at Cooper Standard, whose 40+ year career spans GM, Ally Financial, and multiple leadership roles in the automotive sector. Larry shares how he's transformed HR from a support function into a strategic powerhouse that directly influences business outcomes.
You’ll hear how Cooper Standard’s flexible work model has given them a competitive edge, why Larry prioritizes business fluency over HR policy knowledge, and how he empowers his team to lead—not just advise. If you’re an HR leader or business executive looking to integrate HR more deeply into the core of your business, this episode is full of actionable insights.
Key Timestamps
[00:45] – Larry’s 40-year career across GM, Ally Financial, and Cooper Standard
[02:19] – Cooper Standard’s unique take on remote work: flexibility over mandates
[04:19] – A surprising win: how Baby Boomers adapted to flexible work
[05:26] – Embedding HR into the business strategy and driving measurable impact
[08:25] – Larry’s transition to strategic HR and advice for future leaders
[10:39] – Parting advice: why HR shouldn’t be a “support function”
Actionable Takeaways
Redefine remote work as flexible work to better align with employee needs and organizational culture
Embed HR in business strategy by aligning HR goals with corporate financial objectives
Encourage broad experience early in careers to build versatility and avoid professional stagnation
Develop strong business acumen to gain respect and drive impact across the organization
Stop calling HR a support function—position it as a core business partner to influence outcomes
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What you'll take away
- 1Prioritize memorizing and deeply understanding the corporate strategy, business financials, and how the company makes/loses money over just the HR strategy.
- 2Implement a 'flexible work' approach as a competitive advantage for recruiting talent, acknowledging it as an outlier strategy in many industries.
- 3HR professionals must act as strategic business leaders, actively contributing to financial outcomes and major initiatives, rather than being perceived as administrative or 'party planning' functions.
- 4Cultivate strong business acumen, diverse analytical capabilities (both quantitative and qualitative), and seek broad experiences early in your career to avoid being typecast.
- 5Learn and speak the language of business (e.g., adjusted EBITDA, tooling costs) to gain immediate respect and credibility within the organization.
What most organizations get wrong
- •CooperStandard is an outlier in their industry by largely avoiding mandatory in-office attendance, contrasting with most competitors (including OEMs) who require 3-4 days in the office.
- •Larry was surprised by how well Baby Boomers and Gen Xers adapted to flexible work, challenging assumptions about older generations' embrace of remote setups.
- •He actively discourages his team from referring to HR as a 'support function,' asserting it is a critical part of the business that should behave accordingly.
In Larry's words
“Well, first of all, we've, we've kind of migrated toward calling it something else. We call it flexible work. And in my entire time, we've utilized a flexible work approach such that You know, 12 years ago we had people working some days at home based on geographics, life situation, et cetera, young kids at home.”
Highlights Cooper Standard's long-standing, progressive approach to work flexibility that predates the pandemic.
“What I, what I say to people is if, you know, certainly we have an HR strategy and, you know, I lead that in conjunction with my direct reports. But what I tell folks is I would much rather have you memorize the corporate strategy and what we're trying to do in the business, understand how we, we make money, how we lose money. And I would much rather have you understand that at a deep level, more so than my HR strategy...”
Emphasizes the critical importance of HR professionals understanding core business operations and financial drivers.
“I don't look for party planners. And that might sound derogatory, but there's still a lot of people out there think that, you know, when you want to have some celebration, you go to the HR person, they do it. I try not to do that. Anybody can plan a party. It's not very strategic.”
A direct and memorable statement on the need for HR to move beyond transactional tasks to strategic impact.
“When you're young in your career, don't, don't try to go deep in a particular area. Go broad. You don't want to go deep when you're 24 years old, and when you're 35, you wake up and say, you know what? I hate what I do and I've hated it for 11 years.”
Provides practical career advice for young professionals to gain diverse experiences and avoid early specialization.
“I don't like being described as a support function. I tell my people, don't refer to yourself as a support function, otherwise you will become one. You know, you're part of the business and it's a critical part of the business. Behave like you are, not, not just a support function.”
A powerful call to action for HR professionals to self-identify and operate as essential business drivers.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Recruiting top talent in competitive industries without offering attractive flexibility.
- •HR departments being relegated to administrative or 'support' roles, lacking strategic influence.
- •Lack of deep business and financial acumen among HR professionals hindering their ability to engage with other C-suite leaders.
- •Risk of poor company performance stemming from inadequate collaboration in remote or hybrid work environments.
In this episode
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Larry Miller: CooperStandard has always utilized a flexible work approach
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Larry King says remote work has given COVID competitive advantage when recruiting talent
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Larry Kaplan went from traditional HR to a strategic partner
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Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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