Rashmi Garde, Centrify

Rashmi Garde was the first attorney at VMware, Marin Software and Bloomreach before becoming the first in-house lawyer at software company Centrify, where she currently serves as general counsel. Garde this past year guided her company through an equity financing resulting in the sale of a majority interest to private equity firm Thoma Bravo, and the subsequent spinoff of a stand-alone Identity-as-a-Service company called Idaptive. Garde, who is among the 21 lawyers chosen by The Recorder as Women Leaders in Tech Law as part of this year's California Leaders in Tech Law and Innovation Awards, suggests that companies should consider more than just who has the best interview skills when seeking out diverse candidates for open positions.

The Recorder: What's your proudest professional achievement of the past year and why?

Rashmi Garde: I led legal aspects of Centrify's sale of a majority interest to Thoma Bravo and subsequent spinout of its Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) business as a stand-alone company, serving as interim general counsel of the spinout company during the transition. This professional achievement is my first divestiture, which involved setting up a new company and working cross-functionally to transfer employees, business relationships, intellectual property and assets.

What's your proudest personal achievement of the past year and why?

I finished second in the women's Masters division of a 10K. This achievement is meaningful to me because it's been four years since I've run in an event like this, and I'm pleased that my daily workouts have helped me maintain the pace of my younger years.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to a woman starting out in tech law?

Build your industry knowledge, technical competence and professional network. If you're in-house, the more you understand the company's market, products and technology, the more effective legal counsel you will provide.

What concrete steps could be made to increase the number of women in tech law?

When seeking to fill positions, hiring managers and recruiters can continue to seek a diverse candidate pool and not equate interviewing style with ability. Experience and references may shed more light on a more reserved, modest candidate.