Ryan Chen, associate general counsel of Affirm. Courtesy photo

Winner: 2022 Associate or Deputy GC of the Year

It's been a meteoric rise for San Francisco-based fintech Affirm and for Ryan Chen, the associate general counsel at the company who has played a pivotal role in the company's success.

Chen joined Affirm in 2019 after spending nearly 11 years at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, his first job out of law school. He started at Affirm as managing corporate counsel, got a promotion five months later and became associate GC last year.

His career tracks a period of explosive growth and achievement for the company, which launched in 2012 and now is one of the leading players in the buy-now-pay-later business. The company says its installment loans help consumers afford things they want to buy without creating unmanageable debt.