LOUISE PENTLAND JOINED PAYPAL, AN ONLINE PAYMENT SERVICE, in April 2015 as the company's chief business affairs and legal officer. Headquartered in San Jose, California, PayPal is one of the world's largest internet payment companies. Pentland is responsible for promoting the company's reputation globally through its corporate affairs initiatives. She is responsible for ensuring that PayPal complies with financial, regulatory and legal requirements across all global markets. She also is responsible for the company's communications, government relations, social innovation, intellectual property and people functions, which includes leadership development, training, employee compensation and benefits as well as the company's diversity and inclusion efforts. Pentland joined PayPal as it was nearing the completion of its spinoff from eBay Inc. She helped finalize details of the split while standing up PayPal's legal team.

LEGAL TEAM: Pentland says the legal department consists of more than 165 employees. "We have people all over the globe," she adds. As part of the transformation of PayPal into a publicly traded company, Pentland integrated her team of lawyers into specific business units to embed the team in the company's business objectives while also maximizing the team's accountability and contribution to PayPal's success.

OUTSIDE COUNSEL: Pentland established a new engagement model with outside counsel. She evaluates firms based on their grasp of PayPal's business, their ability to bring innovative solutions to the table and the diversity of teams. "We have relationships with a lot of firms globally," Pentland says.

DAILY DUTIES: "No two days are the same," Pentland says. "My days go with the rhythm of a public company." In addition to overseeing various teams and supporting PayPal's continued growth, including the recently announced expansion of services to India, Pentland has implemented many values-driven initiatives and has created growth opportunities for employees across the globe. She helped create a pro bono program at PayPal to allow employees to volunteer legal aid to those in need and also finds time in her own busy schedule to provide legal services on a pro bono basis.

ROUTE TO THE TOP: Pentland earned her law degree from the University of Northumbria before joining Nokia Corp. in the United Kingdom as legal counsel in May 1998. She honed her legal skills in various positions at Nokia for more than 16 years, eventually moving to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to become the company's executive vice president and chief legal officer in 2008. In that position, she managed a 400-member global team of lawyers, IP experts and others. "There's a lot of opportunity in a company like that to grow," says Pentland, who left her position at Nokia in July 2014. Pentland says she is a qualified and active solicitor in England and Wales and is also a U.S. attorney and active member of the New York bar. She joined PayPal as its chief legal officer in April 2015 "to lift the spinoff of eBay," she says, and to establish a world-class legal team and outside counsel roster for the company.

PERSONAL: Pentland, 45, is married and the mother of a daughter, Charlotte. She also has two red-haired stepsons, Jack and Ben.

LAST BOOK READ: Pentland recently read "Work Rules: Insights from Inside Google that Will Transform How You Live and Lead," a book by Laszlo Bock, Google's senior vice president of people operations.

WHAT KEEPS HER UP AT NIGHT: "I am a great sleeper," Pentland jokes. More seriously, she adds: "I hire great people, and I have to rely heavily on them." What does give her anxiety, she says, is ensuring that her teams are enabled and have the right people focused on the right tasks. She also says she is always thinking about making sure PayPal is truly a customer champion.

PRIORITIES: Pentland oversees functions vital to PayPal's success. One of her top priorities, she says, is to understand what the business is doing and get out ahead if it. What is the best advice Pentland has provided to her legal team? "Don't be afraid to challenge the status quo or the perception of the status quo. The freedom to question and/or challenge really opens up room for innovation or a deeper understanding of the current situation."