Finalist: Bernadette Chala

Chief Legal Officer
Arbonne International, LLC
UCLA School of Law

Bernadette Chala is an exemplary attorney who demonstrates business acumen, professionalism, and leadership in her work. She is a “working leader” who is not afraid to work side by side with her team and actively demonstrates integrity and ethics. Chala not only talks about executing goals with excellence, she also demonstrates executional excellence in her actions. She is a skilled litigator and legal statesperson committed to the charitable causes she supports - including her work for the Arbonne Flourish Foundation - and she is proud that she took the lead in converting her company to a public benefit company in 2019, which has since become independently certified by B Labs in 2020. She also demonstrated her leadership skills while managing evolving COVID-19 rules and regulations both nationally and internationally and supporting business needs both for business continuity, compliance, and for employee support. Previously, she oversaw, negotiated and successfully managed the acquisition of Arbonne International in 2018 by Groupe Rocher.