10 VPs of legal
Netflix, Visa, SpaceX and LinkedIn appear in this set of VPs of legal next to Vercel, Flipkart, Foundever, Shift5, Nooks and Structure Therapeutics, and the remits run from product and IP law to employment, commercial contracts, healthcare compliance and federal contracting. Nine are in vice president legal roles today, which helps companies and general counsels deciding whether to hire a VP of legal, what to hand that person and what to keep with outside counsel.
Professionals to explore
Angela Ziegenhorn
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Legal · Netflix
Angela Ziegenhorn has been Vice President Legal at Netflix since February 2016, leading a team that gives practical legal guidance to business partners including the product group, and was Director, Technology and Transactions at Netflix (2016–2019). Other roles were Senior Director at Symantec (2001–2015), Managing Counsel at Oracle (1994–2001) and Associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (1993–1994). Product and technology counsel at scale is the clearest fit.
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Chloë McNab
LinkedInExperience: VP of Legal · Nooks
Chloë McNab has been VP of Legal at Nooks since February 2026 and describes building lean legal functions for fast-moving tech companies, as an attorney in California and England. Prior roles were Head of Legal (2024–2026) and Director, Legal (2023–2024) at AppZen, and Vice President Legal (2019–2023) and Managing Senior US Legal Counsel (2016–2019) at NCC Group. The one to ask about setting up a lean legal function at a fast-moving tech company.
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Christopher Cardaci
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Legal · SpaceX
At SpaceX, Christopher Cardaci has been Vice President Legal since December 2020, and was Deputy General Counsel (2018–2020) and Senior Counsel (2013–2017), and in their own words has led SpaceX's legal department, partnering with business teams while managing company risk. Outside SpaceX: Practice Leader, Global Services at Control Risks (2010–2013) and Board Member at Invest Puerto Rico (2017–2020).
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Elaine Chao
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, Legal · Visa
Vice President, Legal at Visa since March 2024, for Global Products, IP & Services. Elaine Chao's other Visa roles were Senior Managing Counsel (2021–2024), Senior Counsel (2021) and Counsel (2017–2021), and the role before Visa was Director of Legal, Associate General Counsel at MobileIron (2014–2017). Moving from counsel to VP inside Visa makes Elaine a fit for questions on how product legal work grows into a VP remit.
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Henry Fong
LinkedInExperience: Former Vice President, Legal - Employment, Intellectual Property, and Corporate Law · LinkedIn
Henry Fong's LinkedIn legal titles track a widening remit: Senior Director, Legal - Employment, Patents, & Trademark Law (2018), Vice President, Legal - Employment and Intellectual Property Law (2018–2021), Vice President, Legal - Employment, Intellectual Property, and Corporate Law (2021–2025), Vice President, Legal - Employment, Intellectual Property, Corporate, and Commercial Law (2025), and since October 2025 Vice President, Enterprise Legal Affairs, leading a group of global teams.
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Kimberly Crawford
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Legal · Foundever
Kimberly Crawford works remotely as Vice President Legal at Foundever, a role held since January 2022, negotiating master services, vendor SaaS, consulting, marketing, licensing, indemnity and non-disclosure agreements. Prior roles were Assistant General Counsel at Sitel Group (2018–2022), Senior Attorney (2012–2018) and Staff Attorney (2010–2012) at Dollar General, and Legal Analyst at Kroll (2008–2010). Commercial contracting is the core topic.
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Krista Cosner
LinkedInExperience: Vice President of Legal · Structure Therapeutics
Vice President of Legal at Structure Therapeutics since July 2026, and at Lyell Immunopharma from 2023 to 2026. Krista Cosner was Vice President, Sr. Associate General Counsel Healthcare Law and Compliance (2019–2023) and Assistant General Counsel (2017–2019) at Myovant Sciences, and a Legal Consultant at Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (2017). Two VP of legal roles plus healthcare law and compliance work make Krista a fit for questions on the role at therapeutics companies.
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Sam Novello
LinkedInExperience: Former Vice President Legal · Shift5
Former Vice President Legal at Shift5 (2024), after Senior Director Contracts and Federal Counsel there (2022–2024), with federal contracting and industry advocacy in cybersecurity and acquisition named as the focus. Sam Novello was DoD Associate Deputy General Counsel at the Pentagon, US Department of Defense (2008–2022), and Associate Counsel at Naval Sea Systems Command (1998–2008) and Military Sealift Command (1988–1998).
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Wendra Liang
LinkedInExperience: VP of Legal · Vercel
VP of Legal at Vercel since January 2024. Wendra Liang was Associate General Counsel - Corporate at Fundbox (2021–2024), General Counsel at ASG (2020), and Director - Corporate, Securities and M&A (2018–2019) and Senior Corporate Counsel (2016–2018) at Atlassian. Having been a general counsel and an in-house corporate lawyer, Wendra can compare what a VP of legal owns at a software company with each of those seats.
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Choose the right perspective
Product and IP counsel inside Netflix, Visa or LinkedIn is the Angela Ziegenhorn, Elaine Chao and Henry Fong profile. If the role will run most of a smaller company's legal work, Wendra Liang, Chloë McNab and Sharayu Jadhav have held general counsel or head of legal titles as well as VP ones. Christopher Cardaci speaks to leading legal at SpaceX, Kimberly Crawford to commercial contracting, Krista Cosner to healthcare law and compliance, and Sam Novello to government contracts.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01At what stage does a company need a VP of legal rather than relying on outside counsel and a contracts manager?
- 02How should a VP of legal split product counsel, commercial contracts and employment work when there is no general counsel above them?
- 03What should a company expect a VP of legal to handle personally versus send to outside firms in the first year?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.