The FutureWork Playbook Podcast is Back for Season 6 with Vanta

Gunderson Dettmer’s FutureWork Playbook podcast featuring partner and chair of employment & labor practice Natalie Pierce is back for season 6 focusing on select Gunderson Dettmer cutting-edge clients who were named among Fast Company's “Most Innovative Companies."

This season will feature leaders from each company highlighting a range of topics including their perspective roles, company’s innovation, insights and learnings to becoming a FastCo Most Innovative company and more. 

In episode 1, "Fast Co. “Most Innovative Companies” Vanta: The CLO/CPO Journey," Natalie Pierce is joined by Steve Baglio to speak with Ari Shahdadi, Chief People and Legal Officer at Vanta.

Together they discuss how technology intersects with people, particularly in the legal HR context. The conversation covers how small, focused teams can prioritize business outcomes; how in-house professionals must become flexible in today’s fast-paced environment; and how the lawyer is moving away from being an “oracle of knowledge,” as Steve says, to becoming an expert in making good. 

Episode highlights include:

• Vanta uses a recruiting tool called Ashby but also has a rigorous, structured interview process designed to bring in strong talent and get them productive as soon as possible.
• Will AI replace lawyers? “I think they’re useful as tools to kind of help you with general tasks, but I am not going to ask one what the law is on something because I might get a wrong answer,” Ari observes.
• Today’s general counsel is branching into integrative roles within an organization, such as COO or deputy CO, Steve says.
• While Vanta isn’t in a highly regulated sector, it has a robust compliance team because, as Ari explains, “if we’re not using our own product, then should our customers?”
• AI systems excel in areas of subject matter expertise, Ari says – “but they have to be trained properly and designed properly.”
• The silos around lawyers are breaking down as companies find success by running legal with business development or other functions, Ari says.
  

Listen on Apple here. 
Listen on Spotify here.