Counsel CollectiveOctober 202648 voicesShare on LinkedIn
What leaders told us, entering the fourth quarter of 2026
We read every answer leaders gave us between July and October 2026, and every post and comment they wrote about it afterward. Eight words kept coming back. Here they are, and who said them.
- ready9 voices
- listen10 voices
- who you are7 voices
- competing priorities11 voices
- yes11 voices
- judgment12 voices
- room12 voices
- recognition15 voices
Tap a word to read every line that used it. Each word also has a card you can take with you.
Between 1 July and 8 October 2026, Counsel Collective published fifteen features, eleven recognition classes and twenty-two Adelante pieces written in leaders’ own words. Close to 400 leaders were recognized in those classes. Many of them then wrote about it on LinkedIn, in their own posts and in comments on ours.
Entering the fourth quarter, we read all of it again and marked every word and line that came up more than once. We did not set the themes in advance. They belong to the leaders, who work in different functions, companies and countries and wrote independently of one another.
What follows are 48 voices and the eight words they kept returning to.
Pass it on
Take a word with you.
One card for each word, with the lines that used it, plus the cover and where things stand. Open any card at full size, save it, and share it. Tag the leaders you quote, and Counsel Collective, when you do.
Share on LinkedInSwipe for all eleven cards
Don’t wait to feel ready
Every Adelante leader is asked the same question: what is the one thing you would tell the leader coming up behind you? Five of them gave the same answer, in nearly the same words.
- Don’t wait to feelready.
Juan Longoria - Don’t wait until you feel completelyready.
Jennifer Amy - Don’t wait until you feelready.
Marcela Denniston - Do not wait until you feel completelyready.
Bettina A. Deynes - Don’t wait until you feel completelyready,
Veronica Rodriguez
Bet on yourself. Don’t wait until you feel completely ready, and don’t let someone else define the boundaries of what you can do.
Veronica Rodriguez Executive Vice President, Co-General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, TelevisaUnivision Read the pieceIt was years of learning, adapting, taking on work before I felt completely ready for it, and becoming more comfortable trusting my own judgment.
Mariana D’Andrea Senior Associate General Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs (International), Roku Read the pieceOn leaving an established bank for a younger company in an industry still inventing itself:
I was choosing between comfort and growth.
Tochukwu Okezie Group Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary, Interswitch Read the pieceBetting on yourself is choosing conviction over certainty.
Oscar Casanova Founder and CEO, Eververdant Growth Partners Read the pieceDon’t wait for the future to give you permission to become what you already know it requires.
Devon Euring Author and Chief Risk Officer, Asterisk Defense Read the pieceListen before you change anything
A new role, an inherited team, an acquisition. The first move they described was the same.
- …should start: bylisteningbefore I change anything.Juan Longoria
- …when you take the time tolistenfirst.
Oracio Galindo - …simple:listenbefore you lead,Jennifer Amy
- …every week:listenfirst, hold high standards,Bettina A. Deynes
- Reallylistento your team.
Adriana Rojas Garzón - …is as much aboutlisteningas directing.Marcela Denniston
- …it is aboutlisteningcarefully, remaining calm when others need stability,
Theo Cárdenas Ruiz
You have to know that the teams you are now working with pre-existed you, survived without you, even thrived without you.
Roy Sexton Chief Marketing Officer, Vedder Read the pieceAge and experience matter, but they do not have a monopoly on good ideas. Some of the best ideas can come from the person you least expect.
Adriana Rojas Garzón Associate General Counsel, Bain Capital Read the pieceAfter NWN acquired Carousel, it adopted the Carousel approaches that were more refined than its own:
That single act, the acquirer visibly deferring to the acquired company on something that mattered, did more for cultural integration than any memo could have.
Adam Frankel General Counsel, NWN Read the pieceDon’t underestimate the power of saying “I don’t know” or “I haven’t figured this out yet.” I’ve found that it can be a powerful leadership trait.
Lupe López Senior Counsel, Commercial Legal Strategy, Adyen Read the pieceLead as who you are
Several leaders warned the next one against reshaping themselves to fit someone else’s picture of a leader.
- …don’t changewho you areto fit someone else’s definition of leadership.Jennifer Amy
- Beyourself,not who others want you to be.
Anthony Verdugo - …stay grounded inwho they areand lead with the values that shaped them.
Yanina de Vargas - …I’ve stayed true towho I amalong the way.Veronica Rodriguez
- The more you understandyourselfand continue to grow, the stronger and more authentic you become as a leader.
Paola Illescas
You define what a leader looks like.
Diana Lauritson Associate Director of Business Development, Baker McKenzie Read the pieceNobody should have more control over your story than you do. People will try to tell it for you, whether that’s where you came from, what you’re capable of, or what you’re allowed to become. Don’t hand that over.
Pablo Segarra Founder and Trademark Attorney, Segarra IP Read the pieceYour background, your accent, your experiences, and even the moments when you’ve had to work a little harder to find your place are not things to overcome. They are part of what makes your leadership uniquely yours.
Jennifer Amy Chief Human Resources Officer, La Costeña USA Read the pieceLead with kindness but back it up with total clarity.
Anthony Verdugo Director and Assistant General Counsel, Workday Read the pieceResults and people are not competing priorities
Two leaders used the same phrase for it: not competing priorities. More described the same balance in their own words.
- …performance and humanity are notcompeting priorities.
Daniel Gandarilla - …deeply human service are notcompeting priorities.
Carlos Quezada - …reinforce each other rather thancompete.Jennifer Amy
- …I never believed those were inconflict,Juan Longoria
If you genuinely invest in relationships, build trust, and help others grow, results will follow. But if you focus only on results, you’ll eventually lose the people who make those results possible.
Oracio Galindo Head of Employee Experience, Los Angeles Rams Read the pieceThe best return on investment isn’t measured in revenue alone, it is measured in the strength, pride, and purpose of the people who make it all possible.
Yanina de Vargas Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia Read the pieceIf there isn’t time to breathe, mistakes are made, anxiety sets in, and teams never bring lasting, meaningful change.
Roy Sexton Chief Marketing Officer, Vedder Read the pieceI try to lead with a very simple principle: human first, employee second.
Daniel Lobo Guerrero VP, Global Head of Licensing, Regulatory Compliance and Government Affairs, Sportradar Read the pieceAlways remember that every decision you make has an impact on other people.
Sofia Almeida General Counsel and EVP, Zurich Seguros Ecuador Read the pieceSurround yourself by people who complement your skills and experience. I couldn’t have gotten here by myself.
Ana Casanueva Managing Member, Casanueva Law PLLC Read the pieceI truly believe the most rewarding work happens when you care deeply about both the business and the people behind it.
Look for the yes
Four leaders used the same word for the job. Others described where that job starts: in the room before the decision is made, not after it.
- …always look for theyes,not the no.
Carlos Facha - …in finding a path toyeswhile still remaining fully compliant with the law.
Kieron Frazier - …we have to find a way to get toyes.
Catherine Budzynski - …that let us get to“yes”much faster.Lupe López
That’s where I want to take the profession: from having a seat at the table to helping shape what happens at the table.
Veronica Rodriguez Executive Vice President, Co-General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, TelevisaUnivision Read the pieceI want to continue moving HR from a function people turn to after a decision is made to one that is at the table shaping the decision from the beginning.
Jennifer Amy Chief Human Resources Officer, La Costeña USA Read the pieceIt makes it possible for Legal to participate before a problem becomes a crisis, not simply to explain what went wrong afterward.
Theo Cárdenas Ruiz Head of Legal and Compliance, Atento; Professor, Universidad Panamericana Read the pieceRegulatory isn’t the brake pedal; it’s what makes expansion possible at all.
Daniel Lobo Guerrero VP, Global Head of Licensing, Regulatory Compliance and Government Affairs, Sportradar Read the pieceLegal teams are finally evolving from the department of ‘no’ to the department of ‘how’ and that benefits everyone.
Luis F. Machado Former General Counsel, TopBuild Read the pieceI am a Commercial leader first and a People leader second. People Operations, much like any other part of the business, needs to drive success for the company as a whole.
Ana King Chief People Officer, SAPI Read the pieceLegal as a cost center perspective for me is a bit of a childish view, all due respect. It’s a shared services division.
Jonathan Z. Cohen Director of Sales for North America, PNY Technologies Read the pieceJudgment is the job, and AI is making that clearer
Many of these leaders are building with AI right now. When they described what they want from it, they kept arriving at the same word.
- Judgmentis irreplaceable. Cultivate your instincts.
Augusto Aragone - …the work where theirjudgmentand experience add the most value.Adriana Rojas Garzón
- …and more time onjudgment,strategy, and the problems that really need us.Lupe López
- …may get you into the room, butjudgment,integrity, and the ability to listen are what will make people want you to stay.Theo Cárdenas Ruiz
- …preserving the humanjudgmentand personal connection at the heart of hospitality.Bettina A. Deynes
- …and bringingjudgmentto the hardest decisions when there isn’t a perfect answer.Veronica Rodriguez
- …people relying on yourjudgment,and for your own credibility.Daniel Lobo Guerrero
- …I believejudgmentand commercial perspective will only become more valuable in the age of AI.Catherine Budzynski on LinkedIn
This efficiency frees up capacity that simply didn’t exist before, allowing my team and me to focus on higher-value strategic work: risk anticipation, business partnership, and long-term planning.
Luis Alberto Cárdenas Díaz Subdirector General de Asesoría Jurídica, Banco Sabadell México Read the pieceCertainty is not coming; competence has to travel without it.
Carlos Facha Chief General Counsel, IDEAL Read the pieceA lawyer doesn’t just need to know the model is right 99% of the time; they need to know whether this output, the one going into this case, can be relied upon.
Jose L. Sampedro Mazon Legal Tech and AI Safety Researcher, NEURAI Lab, Northeastern University Read the piece…a legal consequential decision was made by a machine way before a human even touches it.
Krish Thakker Independent cybersecurity and legal advisor Read the pieceSay someone’s name in a room they are not in
The word room came back again and again: who gets into it, who gets talked about in it, and who holds the door. Three leaders described the same act in almost the same words.
- …said my name in aroomI wasn’t in.Marcela Denniston
- …giving someone visibility in aroomthey are not in.Mariana D’Andrea
- …when you’re in theroom,you say someone else’s name.Pablo Segarra
- …may not yet have a voice in theroom,and make the path a little wider for the person coming behind you.Veronica Rodriguez
- …see themselves in the nextroom.Daniel Lobo Guerrero
- …they belong in everyroomwhere decisions are made.Yanina de Vargas
- …that theroomis open. You can’t be what you can’t see.Juan Longoria
- …just to be in theserooms.Now I’m the cover story.Diana Lauritson on LinkedIn
That stayed with me because it made me realize that being included and being seen are not necessarily the same thing.
Mariana D’Andrea Senior Associate General Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs (International), Roku Read the pieceWe don’t want any favors, but we also don’t want to be consistently overlooked based on bias or systems that were never designed for us in the first place.
Diana Lauritson Associate Director of Business Development, Baker McKenzie Read the pieceSomeone succeeding or surpassing me doesn’t threaten me.
Diana Lauritson Associate Director of Business Development, Baker McKenzie Read the pieceDon’t spend your career trying to prove your value. Spend it creating value for others.
Daniel Gandarilla Chief Administrative and People Officer, Gulf Coast Blood Read the pieceNever waste potential, yours or anyone else’s.
Carlos Quezada Vice Chairman and CEO, Carriage Services Read the pieceTrue leaders measure their success, based on the success of others.
Daniel Feingold Managing Director of Client Development, Major, Lindsey & Africa Read the pieceAnd when you get where you’re going, turn around and make it easier for the next person to follow.
Juan Longoria Vice President of Customer Care, Enseo Read the pieceAs a Latina leader, I want the path behind me to be wider than the one I walked.
Jennifer Amy Chief Human Resources Officer, La Costeña USA Read the pieceWhat recognition is like from the receiving end
Leaders also wrote about being recognized, in their own posts and in comments on ours.
- Often the bestrecognitionis the unsolicited one.
Sandhya Edupuganty on LinkedIn - …a reminder thatrecognitioncomes with responsibility.
Lili Gil Valletta on LinkedIn - Thanks for therecognition.It’s always especially meaningful when it comes as a surprise.
Joseph Bertucci on LinkedIn
Recognition like this is meaningful because it reflects not only individual contributions, but also the incredible people, teams, and relationships that help make success possible.
Melissa Marshall Chief Branding, Marketing and Business Development Officer, Levenfeld Pearlstein comment on Counsel Collective, July 2026Success becomes so much more meaningful when it creates possibility for someone else.
Marcela Denniston Senior Director, Head of Cyber Defense Operations and Engineering, NVIDIA LinkedIn post, September 2026Proud to share it with a rockstar team that does this work every day, often without the spotlight.
Stacy Ybarra Chief Marketing Officer, Lighthouse comment on Counsel Collective, July 2026It’s a great reminder that there are so many amazing professionals in this space committed to growth and learning
AJ Harris Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President, Finance, Los Angeles Lakers comment on Counsel Collective, July 2026I learned early to be grateful for the ones who were there. They paved the way for me and others.
Leslie Zamora-Murguía Founder, Executive Insight Partners LinkedIn post, September 2026Smart and successful organizations know and appreciate the tremendous value that in-house Litigation Counsel provide.
Andowah Newton Associate General Counsel and Vice President, Litigation, National Association of REALTORS® LinkedIn post, August 2026Each one is somebody else asking to hold the pen.
Pablo Segarra Founder and Trademark Attorney, Segarra IP LinkedIn post, October 2026…my dream is that more and more young people still deciding what to do in life will see in this piece what a desirable and rewarding career path legal marketing can be.
Roy Sexton Chief Marketing Officer, Vedder LinkedIn post, September 2026#Adelante means moving forward, but never alone.
Mariana D’Andrea Senior Associate General Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs (International), Roku LinkedIn post, September 2026If I can be a leader, you can be one too.
Diana Lauritson Associate Director of Business Development, Baker McKenzie LinkedIn post, October 2026An exchange in the comments, July 2026
…especially to my professional colleague, friend and advisor
…you are too kind. I am fortunate to have worked for you and have you as my mentor.
Aditya Maheshwari Chief Accounting Officer, Dollar Tree comment on Counsel Collective, July 2026The question we are carrying into the fourth quarter
Surely the voice is inherently valuable to the company, but I don’t think this is being recognized in legal yet … Do you think this is because the notion of a “professional point of view” is still in its infancy in legal?
Two leaders in this piece wrote about the same thing.
What’s much harder to manufacture is a sustained body of original thought, demonstrated judgment, and a reputation people associate with your name.
Devon Euring Author and Chief Risk Officer, Asterisk Defense Read the pieceIt has meant showing up: attending countless meetings, forums, and events, building relationships, and making my work and my journey visible. That visibility comes at a cost.
Sofia Almeida General Counsel and EVP, Zurich Seguros Ecuador Read the pieceWhere things stand, as of 8 October 2026
- Adelante
- 75 leaders recognized and close to 450 nominated, with 22 pieces in leaders’ own words. New leaders join every Tuesday through 15 October 2027, and the year closes as a printed book. Meet the Adelante leaders
- 40 Under 40: Legal
- Close to 100 nominations. Nominations close 13 November 2026, and the class is announced 9 December 2026. See the nominees
- The 2027 classes
- Every series now runs as a year-long class. Nominations close 31 December 2026, and the stories run through 2027. See the series
- What does not change
- Nominating is free, a place cannot be bought, and every leader approves their story before it runs.
Every voice in this piece
48 leaders, the words they returned to, and where each line was published.
Jennifer AmyChief Human Resources Officer, La Costeña USAready, listen, who you are, competing priorities, yes, roomAugusto AragoneExecutive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Ingram MicrojudgmentJoseph BertucciSenior Vice President, Global Head of Tax, Digital RealtyOn LinkedInrecognitionLuis Alberto Cárdenas DíazSubdirector General de Asesoría Jurídica, Banco Sabadell MéxicojudgmentTheo Cárdenas RuizHead of Legal and Compliance, Atento; Professor, Universidad Panamericanalisten, yes, judgmentOscar CasanovaFounder and CEO, Eververdant Growth PartnersreadyAna CasanuevaManaging Member, Casanueva Law PLLCcompeting prioritiesJonathan Z. CohenDirector of Sales for North America, PNY TechnologiesyesMariana D’AndreaSenior Associate General Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs (International), Rokuready, room, recognitionMarcela DennistonSenior Director, Head of Cyber Defense Operations and Engineering, NVIDIAready, listen, room, recognitionSandhya EdupugantyVP, Tax, SabreOn LinkedInrecognitionDaniel FeingoldManaging Director of Client Development, Major, Lindsey & AfricaroomAdam FrankelGeneral Counsel, NWNlistenKieron FrazierPartner, Gaming, Fox RothschildyesDaniel GandarillaChief Administrative and People Officer, Gulf Coast Bloodcompeting priorities, roomLili Gil VallettaCo-Founder and CEO, CULTURE+ GROUPOn LinkedInrecognitionAJ HarrisChief Accounting Officer and Vice President, Finance, Los Angeles LakersOn LinkedInrecognitionPaola IllescasLegal and Compliance Head, Mondelēz Internationalwho you areAna KingChief People Officer, SAPIyesDiana LauritsonAssociate Director of Business Development, Baker McKenziewho you are, room, recognitionDaniel Lobo GuerreroVP, Global Head of Licensing, Regulatory Compliance and Government Affairs, Sportradarcompeting priorities, yes, judgment, roomLuis F. MachadoFormer General Counsel, TopBuildyesAditya MaheshwariChief Accounting Officer, Dollar TreeOn LinkedInrecognitionMelissa MarshallChief Branding, Marketing and Business Development Officer, Levenfeld PearlsteinOn LinkedInrecognitionAndowah NewtonAssociate General Counsel and Vice President, Litigation, National Association of REALTORS®On LinkedInrecognitionTochukwu OkezieGroup Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary, InterswitchreadyVeronica RodriguezExecutive Vice President, Co-General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, TelevisaUnivisionready, who you are, yes, judgment, roomJose L. Sampedro MazonLegal Tech and AI Safety Researcher, NEURAI Lab, Northeastern UniversityjudgmentKrish ThakkerIndependent cybersecurity and legal advisorjudgmentYanina de VargasSenior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Live! Casino & Hotel Virginiawho you are, competing priorities, roomAnthony VerdugoDirector and Assistant General Counsel, Workdaywho you areStacy YbarraChief Marketing Officer, LighthouseOn LinkedInrecognitionLeslie Zamora-MurguíaFounder, Executive Insight PartnersOn LinkedInrecognitionTo every leader quoted here, and to everyone who answered, posted, commented or put a name forward since July: thank you. This piece is built from your words.
Share on LinkedInTake a cardPut a name forward
Compiled by the editors of Counsel Collective from pieces published between 1 July and 8 October 2026 and from public LinkedIn posts and comments. Every quotation is verbatim; a cut is shown with an ellipsis. Each piece is linked from the index above.
Further. Faster. Together.
