The PERSUIT Podcast

Shanti Ariker knows tech. The majority of her career has been spent working in the tech sector for companies like Twilio , Autodesk , and Salesforce , selling everything from hardware to software, and from licensing to subscriptions.  She now works at Zendesk as the SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.  This wasn’t the roadmap she had in mind at the start, but all the stops along her career path have led to where she is today. Her advice to others: Don’t stay on your path just because you think you’re supposed to. Pay attention to unexpected opportunities when they crop up; they might just lead you to where you’re meant to be. In this episode, we discuss: - Tips for transparently managing others - Finding a “Personal Board of Directors” to help guide your career - The importance of understanding the budgeting and planning process - Strategies for scaling a global team Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Early on in his legal career at Novartis , Maurus Schreyvogel encountered a frustrating obstacle. The legal team had no tools, no technology, no access to knowledge, and consequently, they found themselves reinventing the wheel over and over.   It was so frustrating, in fact, that he was prepared to leave the company. Instead, he was presented with a mission that convinced him to stay: Establish transparency and bring about positive operational change within legal.  He has remained at Novartis ever since. In his current capacity of Chief Legal Innovation Officer, he is working to set the vision for how law can help society operate more equitably in the future.   We discuss: - Auditing the legal function to bring about operational change - Focusing on value rather than cost - Legal’s role in the digital transformation journey - Transforming into collaborators instead of counselors - Increasing access to law for all  Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any podcast platform.  Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

For Jennifer Hightower , there’s nothing more essential than mentorship. In fact, she credits her ascent to the role of SVP and GC at Cox Communications to the amazing mentors and diverse relationships she cultivated along the way. From her time as an insurance defense attorney to her time working at BellSouth and Cox Communications in the early days of telecom law, these mentors provided her with experience, guidance, and the motivation to keep growing. Today, she prioritizes this tradition of mentorship with the next generation. In this episode, we discuss: - Getting in on the ground floor of telecom law - Taking over the GC role in a pandemic - Initiatives that increase collaboration and trust across the legal team - The transfer of knowledge in a mentor/mentee relationship Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

There’s a benefit to seeing the law from multiple different perspectives: it gives you an uncanny ability to understand how other people view an issue and what their definition of winning is. Daniel Goldstein credits his suc cess as a lawyer and as a businessperson to his exposure to diverse perspectives. He has seen the world from the perspective of a federal judge as a clerk, from the perspective of a private party hiring a lawyer, from the perspective of the government with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and from the perspective of an in-house lawyer. Currently, he is the EVP and Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Pitney Bowes , where he leverages the hard-earned wisdom from those different perspectives to advise the business. In this episode, we discuss: - The immense benefit of having multiple perspectives on the law - Managing risk for a 100+ year old company - Partnering effectively with law firms - How the GC role will change over the next 10 years - Learning how to fail Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Debra Counsell followed an unusual career path to her current role as Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary at BlueScope Steel .  Her time with DLA Piper and Clifford Chance took her from the crumbling sidewalks of Hanoi, Vietnam, to Africa, the Middle East, and Paris, France. The broad range of thorny legal issues she encountered during this period were great preparation for her transition in-house to a GC role. In this episode, she shares the challenges, the wins, and the lessons she learned along the way.   Topics covered: - How an unusual career path prepared her for in-house work - Lessons from transitioning to in-house and leadership roles - Empowering her team to be enablers and owners in the business - How hybrid work may affect the development of junior lawyers Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or an y podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Samantha Wellington entered into inter national corporate law because it was a fascinating way to witness how law forms culture and culture informs the law. During 12 years at Oracle, she had the opportunity to become a member of the board of directors in Tokyo and Mumbai, where she gained insight into the impact of leadership and sponsorship. In her current role as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary at TriNet, she is passionate about fostering a culture of compliance and analyzing the role that workplace culture has in helping a great company to thrive. In this episode, we discuss: - The appeal of international corporate law - Avenues for learning the business side - The opportunity to organize ESG initiatives - Strategies to manage enterprise risk - The employer’s role in the shared economy Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Olga V. Mack grew up in Siberia. It's rare for someone to become a world-class lawyer where she's from. Yet, here she is. Olga began her legal career with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati where she studied IP, security, and privacy “before those things were cool.” From there, she moved in-house where she provided legal advice for companies like Visa , Zoosk, and Clearslide . After 15 years of practice, she received an offer out of the blue to become the CEO of Parley Pro , a contract lifecycle management platform. Today, she is molding the future of law from this position and bringing legal innovation to the masses. Topics covered: - Flirting with risk to unlock new opportunities - Asking CEOs directly where you can make the biggest impact - The value of industry knowledge - Why law needs to be held to a higher standard of service Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Contracts are deliberately ambiguous and resistant to automation. For the most part, companies have difficulties extracting any perceivable value from them. It’s a problem all too familiar to legal departments across the business landscape. With Knowable, CFO Alec Guettel tackles this problem by transforming what has often been a liability for GCs into an incredible advantage.  This isn’t Alec’s first rodeo when it comes to solving a problem shared by legal departments. Some 20 years ago, he co-founded Axiom alongside Mark Harris. That company revolutionized the way legal talent and technology was provided to corporations.  With Knowable, he’s back at it again.  In this episode, we discuss: - The early years at Axiom - How Knowable helps legal teams extract value from their contracts - Alec’s passion for the clean energy industry Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Mary O’Carroll began her career in investment banking and management consulting, but before long, she was pulled into the nascent world of legal operations. In her 13 years as the Director of Legal Ops at Google, Mary was instrumental in defining the scope of this newly created position. As the President of CLOC, she built a community focused on the mission of increasing awareness around the legal ops function and advancing the profession. Today, she continues to dedicate her time to forging connections as the Chief Community Officer for Ironclad. In this episode, we discuss: - Defining the parameters of the legal ops role at Google - Building a legal ops community at CLOC - Providing digital solutions around contracting Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

To be a successful lawyer, you need to be a critical thinker and an expert communicator. But according to James Kelleher, Chief Legal Officer at Liberty Mutual Insurance, the key to success lies in being two other things as well — liked and trusted. James knows a thing or two about building a successful law career. During 39 years at Liberty Mutual Insurance, he rose through the ranks of the legal department, starting out in coverage opinions, moving into litigation, and finally into management. Success happened because he took the risk of learning something new. We discuss: - Being open to taking risks - Why he remained at Liberty Mutual Insurance for 39 years - How the role of GC has changed over the years and will change in the future - How technology has changed the delivery of legal services - Pro bono initiatives Hear more stories by subscribing to Innovative Legal Leadership on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast platform. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Innovative Legal Leadership in your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.