Since Kristin Sverchek's promotion last week to president of business affairs at San Francisco-based Lyft, she's been inundated with questions from other GCs, all asking how they can claim higher titles at their own companies.

Sverchek is certainly the person to ask. She spent nearly nine years as Lyft's top lawyer, but while other GCs might find themselves stuck in a rut, or searching out another company's legal department to helm, she decided to stay at Lyft earlier this year and instead push for higher responsibilities.