Delphina Yuen, the senior counsel, product and commercial at Lyft, helped negotiate contracts with some of the company's largest autonomous “open network” partners, including Waymo, nuTonomy and Aptiv, while also helping manage Lyft's first international launch in Toronto in December 2017.

What drew you to practicing law in the technology industry?

I wanted my career to be filled with purpose and my work to have lasting impact on others.

What's the best piece of career advice anyone ever gave you?

Work hard and stay humble.

In 50 words or less, what's the best way to address tech's gender gap?

Addressing the gender gap is twofold. First, we need to increase the number of programs that create opportunities for young girls to be exposed to the tech industry. Second, both males and females must encourage women leadership and support those women already in such leadership roles.

Describe yourself in one word.

Thoughtful.

What's the best part of working in the tech sector?

The best part of working in tech is that most issues I get to unravel are new and novel, which requires me to tap into my creative problem-solving skills.

What's the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge of working in tech is trying to navigate laws which have not kept pace with an evolving sector.

How do you describe what you do for a living to people you're meeting for the first time?

I describe my job like this: I partner with the business to bring their ideas to life by helping them navigate the legal land mines.

What's one way technology has made your life easier?

Being able to accomplish most day-to-day tasks using only my iPhone.

One way it's made your life more difficult?

Remembering all the passwords for my various apps.

What's one area of technology that you're most excited about and why?

Artificial intelligence. It'll be interesting to see how the legal landscape shifts with the rise of AI.