Scooter Company Bird Names Deputy GC at Time of Major Growth, Government Tensions
And the new deputy GC, Wendy Mantell, likes the product. “The moment I saw a Bird sitting outside of my office, I had to try it. I was hooked after just one ride,” she said in a statement.
June 12, 2018 at 06:31 PM
2 minute read
Wendy Mantell of Bird. Courtesy photo.
"We're building a strong team to navigate our rapid growth and the complex mobility space so that we can achieve our goal of getting more cars off the road," said Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Bird, in a statement. "Rebecca and Wendy's leadership and experience will help us bring Birds to riders and communities everywhere."
In her new role, Mantell will report to chief legal officer David Estrada, who joined Bird in March. She'll work with Bird's government relations group with the hopes of creating regulations around the company's business model.
The company's faced pushback from government officials for alleged lack of compliance with regulations in San Francisco and elsewhere. Bird and its competitors have received more than one cease and desist letter from officials arguing the companies are running unregulated motorized scooter rental programs or are causing illegal obstructions.
Mantell began responding to ceases and desists within her first weeks on the job, writing a letter to a Nashville official in May.
"Bird is growing rapidly, and this is still a new technology. In some cities, the regulations haven't kept up with where technology is going, and Wendy's team will help clear pathways for new regulations," the company said in a statement.
Outside of government relations, Mantell's new role requires her to oversee driver safety and accountability education, as well as user privacy protections.
Prior to joining Bird, Mantell was the senior vice president of legal at fantasy sports company FanDuel, where she managed class action litigation, advised on marketing strategies, built privacy and security initiatives and managed updates to user policies. She got her start in-house at Hulu, as privacy and product counsel.
Now, she's ready for the challenge of a new startup in a rapidly growing, changing industry.
“The moment I saw a Bird sitting outside of my office, I had to try it. I was hooked after just one ride,” Mantell said in a statement. “Following that first ride in Santa Monica, I knew I wanted join the mission of providing fun and sustainable last-mile transportation to the world.”
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