The AZEK Company built up its legal team with the appointment of new chief legal officer and corporate secretary Robert Perna.

He now leads the Chicago-based company's legal team—which includes one other lawyer—and advises AZEK and its board on a variety of legal matters, including securities law, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property.

The responsibilities are similar to his previous in-house roles, Perna said, though he's never been CLO of a building products company like AZEK. He took some steps to prepare for the new industry.

“There are a couple other public companies in this industry. So I've tried to look at everything I could and digest everything I could that was publicly available from our competitors and similarly situated companies to learn about the products and the market,” Perna told Corporate Counsel. “Fortunately I'm sort of a weekend warrior when it comes to home improvement, so I was familiar with a lot of the products that AZEK manufactures.”

The move to AZEK is a homecoming of sorts for Perna, who started his in-house legal career in the Chicago area at Navistar as associate general counsel, he said. He joined AZEK from Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Rockwell Collins Inc., where he served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary for nearly five years.

At Rockwell Collins, Perna oversaw all legal operations. He said there are some legal operations lessons he'll bring with him to AZEK.

“Leading a smaller law department has a different set of challenges, but a lot of what I led the Rockwell Collins legal team through, in terms of working with our outside law firms and some of the lean efficiencies of the law department will translate very well into this setting,” Perna said.

Prior to Rockwell Collins, Perna was GC of A.M. Castle & Co. and Case New Holland, according to his LinkedIn page. He started his legal career in Washington, D.C., as an associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Perna earned his J.D. from George Washington University Law School.

AZEK announced Perna's hiring alongside new chief financial officer Ralph Nicoletti.

“We are excited to usher in the new year by welcoming Ralph and Bob to the AZEK team,” said AZEK CEO Jesse Singh in a statement. ”Their impressive leadership experience paired with their deep expertise and business acumen will serve as a tremendous asset as AZEK continues to accelerate through a period of rapid growth.”