Name: Michelle Fang

Category: In-House: General Counsel of the Year

Firm/Company: Turo

Title: Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Time in Position: Since 2015

What was your route to the top?

I serve as vice ­president and chief legal officer at Turo, the global leader in ­peer-to-peer car sharing, a fast-growing trend that is transforming the economics of car ownership and disrupting the ­traditional car rental industry. My passion for online ­marketplaces started when I joined eBay in 2006, where I experienced the sense of community and purpose that marketplaces offer. During my nine-year tenure at eBay, I served in a number of ­leadership positions, including head of global ­intellectual property, head of North American litigation, and ­most recently, ­general counsel of StubHub. Prior to my ­marketplaces career, I worked in-house as a lawyer at NBC Universal and at the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan law firm. I am a ­graduate of University of California, Berkeley School of Law and University of California, Los Angeles.

What keeps you up at night?

Leading the legal function at a disruptive company is challenging. Entrenched players looking to put us out of business have far more resources to deploy, and influence to exert, in the lobbying and government affairs arena. My team and I work across the country to share the stories of our community members whose lives have been improved by being able to turn an otherwise idle and depreciating asset into an earnings engine. Those powerful stories can often be drowned out by powerful interests of an established industry.

What is the best leadership advice you've given, or received, and why do you think it was effective?

My leadership philosophy is to shine a light on the great work my team is doing and take responsibility when things don't go as planned. I believe a great leader doesn't take credit for the work of her team, but takes the heat for problems and mistakes. This builds trust amongst the team and inspires everyone to give their best without fear.

Looking back, what do you wish you had known when you started out in the legal profession?

I wish I had understood the breadth of legal jobs out there. When I graduated from law school, I understood there were "corporate lawyers" and "litigators" but I didn't truly appreciate the full range of legal opportunities until several years into my career. I may have pursued a different legal path had I been less naive about the legal industry when I was starting out.

What is the most valuable career advice anyone has ever given you?

Focus on your strengths. While certainly we all have room for improvement, we will have more success doubling down on our strengths than we will improving our weaknesses. This advice really resonates with me and has served me well. My strengths are my differentiator and what has gotten me to where I am today. I am certainly focused on my development opportunities, but those tend to result in iterative improvements and are less impactful than my strengths.