Adelante · Hispanic Heritage Month 2026
Anthony Verdugo
Director and Assistant General Counsel, Workday
Legal chapter
Anthony Verdugo is Director and Assistant General Counsel at Workday, where his work includes public materials on how customers can unlock AI agents. His argument is that modern tech lawyers need empathy, deep technical literacy and decisive, pragmatic advice in equal measure.
01What you're building
What are you building right now, and what does it make possible that wasn't possible before?
Public materials on how customers can unlock access to AI agents and future innovation.
02What it took
What did it take to get here that people don't see?
Mastering complex and evolving legal frameworks, learning how to deliver crisp advice and translate dense technical concepts into simple actionable risk decisions.
Lead with kindness but back it up with total clarity.
03Who carried you
Who carried you, and what did they teach you that you still use every week?
My family. None of them are attorneys or have received the education I have. However, they’ve provided the foundational anchor, unconditional support and the daily motivation to keep striving.
04For the leader coming up
What is the one thing you'd tell the leader coming up behind you?
Be yourself, not who others want you to be. Lead with kindness but back it up with total clarity.
05Adelante
Adelante means forward. Where are you taking your function, your company, or your industry next?
My hope is that I’m setting that standard for modern tech law by mentoring the next generation of attorneys to lead with empathy, deep technical literacy and decisive, pragmatic business advice.
The recognition · Legal
Anthony Verdugo serves as Director & Assistant General Counsel at Workday, where he leads negotiations on the company's most complex, high-stakes enterprise SaaS deals and navigates cutting-edge AI governance daily. Having spent his entire legal career strictly within and serving the Silicon Valley ecosystem, he brings deep tech-sector expertise to his role, backed by essential data privacy credentials that are critical for an enterprise software leader handling sensitive global workforce data. Recognized in this year's Legal chapter, Anthony plays a pivotal role in shaping the legal and regulatory framework of modern enterprise technology.
Meet all the Adelante leadersThe Floor
Every leader recognized in Adelante answers a short set of questions in their own words, and the answers they approve go into the 2027 book.
