Olga Mack. Photo: Jason Doiy / ALM

In March, former ClearSlide Inc. GC Olga Mack was three months into a planned year off from full-time work—she wanted to travel and spend time on pursuits outside of the office, like her recent appointment to the California Law Revision Commission.

But then she got an offer she couldn't refuse. Three months into her break, Mack's re-joined the full-time workforce as vice president of strategy for San Francisco-based Quantstamp Inc.

“I was going to take time off, but I found a job I can't live without,” said Mack, who started work at the company Monday.

She was drawn to Quantstamp, which audits Ethereum-based smart contracts, because she felt the company was bringing new, exciting technology to the legal world. When Quantstamp reached out about an open position, Mack says she immediately viewed it as a career opportunity that would lead to a lot of learning and personal growth.

“The reason I went to law school is because I wanted to be at the cutting edge of law and technology,” she said.

She says she'll find that cutting edge at Quantstamp, which does work that aligns with her ongoing interest in smart contracts and security. As VP of strategy, Mack says she'll help educate and communicate to those outside Quantstamp about the company's ability to boost smart contract security.

It's not a legal role, though Mack says her background in law will be an asset. She's worked as an in-house lawyer since 2009, most recently at ClearSlide. Despite holding a legal title at ClearSlide and, before that, as assistant general counsel at Zoosk Inc., she says the two roles included responsibilities beyond that, and have prepared her for a more strategy and business-focused position.

“My role has been larger than legal for quite a while,” Mack said. ”I managed quite a [bit of] HR, privacy security and parts of business development in other divisions in the past, so I've [had] one leg in the business side for quite a while.”

Even as Mack enters her new position, she says she'll stay committed to her outside activities as a new member of the California Law Revision Commission and organizer of next month's TEDxEmeraldGlenPark. She's also a longstanding advocate for gender equity in leadership, as founder of Women Serve on Boards and co-founder of Women In-House Support Equality and economic empowerment organization SunLaw Group.

Her role at Quantstamp will help her give back to others as well, she says.

“I think I will have an impact on the company and I will have a positive impact on the world,” she said. “And I look forward to growing as a lawyer, business professional and as a person. I do think there is going to be a high growth opportunity for me, so I'm excited about it.”