Honoree: Bill Berry

General Counsel
Verkada
University of Virginia

Bill Berry is general counsel at Verkada, a Sequoia-backed 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 working as a litigator at Quinn Emanuel and the SEC. Berry earned his Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia. He served in the U.S. Navy on a guided-missile cruiser after graduating with a degree in electrical engineering from the Virginia Military Institute.

Berry has built Verkada’s legal department from the ground up and played an integral role in Verkada’s rapidly growing business. Shortly after joining, he had an immediate impact when Verkada secured two big wins in pending patent litigation, as well as an early dismissal of a patent troll lawsuit. At the same time, he spearheaded the company’s patent strategy, securing its first patents and laying out a strategic roadmap to expand its portfolio. Berry also played an important role in Verkada’s Series D fundraise in September 2022 just months after he started at the company. He is the executive sponsor for the Veterans at Verkada employee resource group. Berry also serves on the board of the Family and Children’s Law Center in Marin County, an organization that provides high-quality, low-cost legal services to help underserved adults and children navigate the legal system. He has also represented clients of the center on matters in Marin County Superior Court. He is also a charter member at Tech GC, an independent peer community for general counsels at startups to share knowledge, best practices and support.

Berry was previously the head of Tesla’s legal department, where he led a team of 140 lawyers, paralegals and support staff worldwide and reported directly to Tesla’s CEO. He developed Tesla’s legal strategy and oversaw its execution on myriad issues ranging from bet-the-company litigation as well as privacy and regulatory compliance, IP licensing and all facets of its consumer, commercial, patent and employment litigation dockets. Berry also created the company’s first-ever long-term patent strategy and re-structured Tesla’s in-house legal function to handle commercial and employment lawsuits without outside counsel.