As Chief People Officer at Synopsys, a global leader in silicon-to-systems design solutions, Jill Larsen is steering the company’s People and Places organization to build a workforce that can match the pace of AI-driven transformation. Drawing on nearly three decades of HR leadership, she is focused on creating employee experiences powered by automation and data, strategies that allow talent to focus on higher-value work. “Our people are our biggest strategic differentiator,” Larsen says. At Synopsys, she leads the charge to cultivate the skills, mindset, and infrastructure needed for an era defined by pervasive intelligence.
Born in the United States, Larsen holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and English from Boston College and a master’s degree in human resources management from Emmanuel College. Certified by the HR Certification Institute (PHR), she is also a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Over the course of her career, Larsen has served in pivotal HR roles at PTC, Medidata, Cisco Systems, EMC, and SunGard. At PTC, she led an HR transformation and helped the company pivot to SaaS. Now at Synopsys, Larsen manages a workforce of over 20,000 people across 30 countries, bringing her expertise in workforce planning, M&A, AI integration, and executive compensation to support one of the tech world’s most mission-critical businesses.
Looking ahead, Larsen is rethinking how HR teams engage global talent especially as workforce demographics shift and digital transformation accelerates. With 80% of Synopsys’ workforce based outside the U.S., she approaches leadership through a “persona”-based model to understand how different employee segments work and grow. Mentorship remains central to her approach as HR leadership grows more complex. Larsen values having a trusted partner to navigate challenges, an approach that fosters better, more strategic decisions. As Synopsys scales, she is redefining what it means to lead through people with clarity and intent.