Chief Officer

Tiffany Pham
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Management

Visionary Leaders. Real Conversations. Lasting Impact. Hosted by Tiffany Pham, CEO & Chairman of Mogul, "Chief Officer" brings you candid conversations with the leaders shaping the future of work and human potential, redefining what modern leadership looks like. Each episode is a conversation with today’s most visionary leaders and most recognized Chief Officers in the world. We converse about how they first reached their Chief Officer role: the journeys, the dreams, the negotiations, and the leadership lessons behind the title.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    Betty Larson, Chief Officer at Merck: Solve the Bigger Problem

    Betty Larson has been a chief officer four times. She fell in love with HR before she had a career in it, in an industrial and organizational psychology class at the University of Illinois, and she has spent more than thirty years in healthcare ever since. She started at Baxter and stayed sixteen years. Then a mentor gave her name to the COO of C.R. Bard, and she moved her young family to New Jersey for her first CHRO seat. Two and a half years later Bard was acquired by Becton Dickinson, she was asked to lead HR for the combined company, and she stayed eight years. A call from a former Baxter colleague took her to GE HealthCare, where she was CHRO and built an HR function from scratch for a company being spun out of GE. Today she is Chief Human Resources Officer of Merck. In this episode, Betty tells Tiffany Pham why she never set out with the chief officer seat as a destination, what actually changes when you stop working in a function and start leading one, why the first several weeks in any chief officer role are humbling no matter how many times you have done it, and the accomplishment she is proudest of: ten or eleven former direct reports who are now CHROs themselves, every one of whom she is still in contact with. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome00:22 Four times a chief officer: where the journey started01:12 Falling in love with HR at the University of Illinois02:42 Sixteen years at Baxter03:05 The call about a CHRO job at C.R. Bard04:16 The mentor who put her name forward05:20 Becton Dickinson acquires C.R. Bard, and she gets the combined seat06:58 A call out of left field: standing up HR at GE HealthCare08:11 Why she left GE HealthCare for Merck09:44 The first people she called11:38 "What's the market cap?"13:04 AI, future capabilities, and culture change at Merck15:08 Why the first several weeks are humbling16:40 A day in the life, from R&D reviews to a feedlot in Amarillo18:07 What she is proudest of: ten or eleven former reports, now CHROs19:16 Advice for the next chief officer Quotes: "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." "I think the count is up to 10 or 11 at this point, former direct reports who are now CHROs themselves. And what I'm proudest about is that I'm in contact with all of them." "If you're not failing, you're probably not ambitious enough in your goal." "You do have to make a conscious change between being in the function to leading the function. It's not doing more of the same. You really have to change how you think and how you operate." "Your relationship with a CEO is different than any other manager and subordinate relationship you've had."

    Betty Larson, Chief Officer at Merck: Solve the Bigger Problem

  2. 4d ago

    Ira Bindra, Chief Officer at Reliance Industries: Take Risks on People

    Ira Bindra has lived in four countries and eight cities and, by her own count, "God knows how many roles." She grew up in India, studied at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi, took her MBA at Maastricht School of Management, and joined GE as an intern, a company she stayed with for twenty years. In her late twenties she was sitting on the interview panel for GE India's top HR role when the president of GE India pulled her aside and told her they were putting her on the slate. She got the job. In December 2024 she became President, People & Talent at Reliance Industries, a $125 billion group spanning hydrocarbons, new energy, telecom, retail and media. In this episode, Ira tells Tiffany Pham about the leaders who took a chance on her before she was ready, what she learned from being the youngest person in a room full of people who had wanted her job, the week she started at Reliance while her father was in surgery, and why she believes the people who tell you the truth are worth more than the people who tell you you're right. Chapters: 00:38 Four countries, eight cities: from Delhi to GE to Reliance03:50 Meeting Mukesh Ambani, and the moment the role became real05:49 The first chief officer seat, in her late twenties06:36 "With all due respect, I think you've lost your mind"07:22 Meritocracy, and taking risks on raw potential08:29 The first person she called10:05 The leaders and peers who lifted her up12:03 Getting past self-doubt, and inheriting a team that wanted your job14:44 Being surrounded by people who tell you the truth16:22 Her first week: a new company, a new country, and her father's surgery19:09 The future of work: a tipping point in history20:20 Building something that outlives you21:46 Advice for the person one step below the chief officer seat Quotes: "You have to take risks on people where you see the talent, where you see the raw potential. Providing those opportunities is how you lift people up." "A lot of people have had confidence in me even when I didn't have confidence in myself." "Have people around you who will not just tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear." "Build something that outlives you and outlives the role that you're in. That's the legacy you want to leave." "If you're doing it only for the title, I think that would run out very quickly."

    Ira Bindra, Chief Officer at Reliance Industries: Take Risks on People

  3. Aug 31

    Mahvish Zaman, Chief Officer at Liquid I.V. : Culture Is Actually Business

    Mahvish Zaman is Chief People Officer at Liquid I.V. She got there by way of a rare leadership run of brands: she grew up at Nike, led teams at Walmart and Sam's Club, and helped advance Ferragamo, the Italian heritage house, before moving to CPG. Taking this seat meant moving from New York to Los Angeles. In this conversation with Mogul CEO Tiffany Pham, Mahvish walks through her path to the Chief Officer seat: the four years into Nike when she realized this was the craft she wanted, the mentors who kept her curious, the daughter who advised her on the move west and was the first person she told, and what she had to believe about herself to say yes. She is also passionately direct about why the People function earns its place at the table: culture is not the soft counterpart to commercial performance. It is commercial performance. And she thinks the current moment belongs to HR: not a technology problem, she argues, but a design problem, about how work itself gets rebuilt. Special Quote: "Culture is not just a nice thing to have. Culture is actually business." Chapters 00:25 Newly Chief People Officer at Liquid I.V. 01:35 Growing up at Nike 02:01 Walmart and Sam's Club 02:25 Ferragamo, and modernizing a heritage house 03:32 Culture is actually business 05:02 When she knew the seat was the goal 08:02 The mentors who kept her curious 09:01 Who she told first 09:36 What she had to believe about herself 10:17 The decision she is proudest of 11:28 HR's moment 13:22 One framework a month "Chief Officer" is hosted by Tiffany Pham, CEO and Chairman of Mogul.

    Mahvish Zaman, Chief Officer at Liquid I.V. : Culture Is Actually Business

  4. Aug 28

    Tim Massa, Chief Officer at Kroger: Bloom Where You're Planted

    Tim Massa is Chief Associate Experience Officer at Kroger, one of the largest employers in America with 400,000 associates across 3,000 stores. He got there after 21 years at Procter & Gamble, 18 different roles, and then 16 years at Kroger. In this conversation with Mogul CEO Tiffany Pham, Tim walks through the path to the Chief Officer seat: the mentor who planned her own succession four years out, the day he found out he'd be next, the first week on a company plane to Houston, and the March morning in 2020 when the company sent hundreds of thousands of people home without a playbook. He also describes something Kroger is doing now that few companies are: an "AI driver's license" issued to every associate, certified to their specific role, so a data scientist, a category manager and a cashier are each trained for the AI their own job actually requires. Special Quote: "Asking for help is a sign of strength. No one person has all the answers." Chapters 00:40 Growing up in Cincinnati, the youngest of five 02:37 Midnight Massa, and 21 years at Procter & Gamble 03:45 Turning down Singapore 04:31 Joining Kroger under Katy Barclay 06:32 Taking the top chair 07:16 Bloom where you're planted 10:41 On the cover of HR Executive 13:39 The first week 15:31 COVID, with no playbook 17:59 The biggest little company in America 20:12 Collaboration as the new currency 21:53 The AI driver's license 24:19 Values that haven't changed in 50 years Chief Officer is hosted by Tiffany Pham, CEO and Chairman of Mogul.

    Tim Massa, Chief Officer at Kroger: Bloom Where You're Planted

  5. Trailer

    Welcome to Chief Officer

    Hosted by Tiffany Pham, CEO & Chairman of Mogul, Chief Officer brings you candid conversations with the leaders shaping the future of work and human potential, redefining what modern leadership looks like. Each episode is a conversation with today’s most visionary leaders and most recognized Chief Officers in the world, and we converse about how they first reached their Chief Officer role: the journeys, the dreams, the negotiations, and the leadership lessons behind the title. Season One premieres September 1, 2026. Follow now so you don't miss the first conversation.

Trailer

About

Visionary Leaders. Real Conversations. Lasting Impact. Hosted by Tiffany Pham, CEO & Chairman of Mogul, "Chief Officer" brings you candid conversations with the leaders shaping the future of work and human potential, redefining what modern leadership looks like. Each episode is a conversation with today’s most visionary leaders and most recognized Chief Officers in the world. We converse about how they first reached their Chief Officer role: the journeys, the dreams, the negotiations, and the leadership lessons behind the title.

Information

  • Creator
    Tiffany Pham
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 MOGUL Inc.
  • Show Website
    Chief Officer