Finalist: Bill Berry

General Counsel
Verkada
University of Virginia School of Law

Bill Berry is general counsel at Verkada, a disruptor in the physical security space that is valued at more than $3.2 billion. He brings two decades of experience leading legal teams at Tesla and Google, as well as at Quinn Emanuel and the SEC. He built Verkada’s legal department from the ground up and has played an integral role in Verkada’s rapidly growing business.

Shortly after joining, Berry had an immediate impact when Verkada secured two big wins in pending patent litigation with Motorola (effectively resulting in a certain victory for Verkada on all material aspects of the case) and an early dismissal of a patent troll lawsuit. He also spearheaded the company’s patent strategy, securing its first patents, and laying out a strategic roadmap to expand its portfolio. Also, Berry played an important role in Verkada’s Series D fundraiser in 2022 just months after he started at the company.