Chief Legal Officer · HR Leader · Corporate Strategist
I lead legal, HR, compliance, and risk for a global company across the US, UK, and Europe.
About
I'm the Chief Legal Officer and Head of Human Resources at Cennox, a multinational managed services company with operations across the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe. In that dual role I oversee legal, HR, compliance, ESG, and health and safety. I also serve as a director and corporate secretary on companies across our portfolio. It's a broad mandate that sits at the intersection of law, people, operations, and technology, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
My legal career spans more than 27 years and a wide range of contexts. I've served as an Assistant District Attorney, litigated mass tort cases, counseled municipalities as a Municipal Attorney, and led legal departments as a General Counsel. I hold a CIPP/US certification in privacy law, and I spent several years teaching corporate law, intellectual property, privacy, and cybersecurity as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School, something I found deeply rewarding and that sharpened how I communicate complex legal concepts. I'm currently finishing an LL.M. in Corporate and Commercial Law at the London School of Economics, because the day I stop learning is the day I've stopped being effective.
The thread that runs through my entire career, and the thing that genuinely distinguishes how I operate, is technology. It's been a passion of mine since I was a kid, from my first Radio Shack electronics kits to my first programming on a Vic 20 and Commodore 64. That foundation shapes everything about how I approach legal operations, HR service delivery, compliance, and organizational strategy.
At Cennox, I've made it a priority to lead a technology-forward operation. AI, automation, and intelligent tooling aren't items on a roadmap we'll get to someday, they're embedded in how my teams work right now. I believe the most effective executives in this era are the ones who understand technology deeply enough to wield it themselves, not just evaluate what a vendor puts in front of them.
This isn't about chasing trends. It's about recognizing that legal, HR, and compliance functions are ripe for the same kind of transformation that's already reshaped finance, marketing, and engineering. Being willing to lead that transformation personally, from the inside, with a keyboard and a clear-eyed view of what the technology can actually do is the difference between commentary and execution.
When I step away from work, my world revolves around my wife and kids, with a healthy appetite for travel, new experiences, and exceptional food. I'm a serious home cook, the kind who gets genuinely excited about a new technique or an unfamiliar ingredient. A great meal at a restaurant in a city I haven't visited before is practically perfect to me.
I've also never stopped that love of tinkering with technology I developed as a child. I devour the latest AI breakthroughs and get hands on with them, looking for ways to make them useful and practical to my world. This is core to my always-learning mindset because solving problems is how my brain works. It keeps me technically current, it makes me a better leader of technology-driven teams, and honestly, it's just fun.
Based in Alpharetta, Georgia. When I travel for Cennox you'll typically find me somewhere between London and Sweden, ideally with a detour through whatever restaurant someone insists I need to try.
Experience
Cennox
I lead the legal, HR, compliance, and risk functions globally for a private equity–backed multinational with employees across the US, UK, and EU. As a director and corporate secretary on the Group Operating Board, I oversee governance, ESG, and health and safety across multiple jurisdictions and legal systems — working at the intersection of strategy, operations, and regulation.
Goggans Law Firm
I built and ran a law practice that served as outside general counsel for multiple companies in fields including musical instruments, manufacturing, and technology. I managed multistate litigation portfolios for Fortune 500 clients, including PPG, Honeywell, Dollar General, and Volvo, and served as Municipal Attorney for the City of Meridian.
Peavey Electronics
I served as the general counsel for a global musical instrument and professional audio manufacturer sold in more than 130 countries. I formed and closed international joint ventures and contract manufacturing operations in Asia, conducted M&A and factory consolidations, and managed one of the industry's largest intellectual property portfolios spanning patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.
Page Manino Peresich & McDermott
I established and grew the firm's Jackson, Mississippi office from the ground up, building a civil litigation, business law, and intellectual property practice that served clients across the Gulf South region.
Areas of Expertise
Board advisory, corporate secretary functions, regulatory compliance, and ESG oversight for multinational organizations.
Designing workforce policies, compensation programs, and compliance frameworks across US, UK, and EU jurisdictions.
Managing complex commercial and employment litigation across state and federal courts, arbitration, and settlement.
Negotiating vendor, partner, SaaS, licensing, and service agreements with a pragmatic, business-first approach.
Due diligence, post-merger integration, and strategic planning for acquisitions and divestitures.
Prosecuting and managing large domestic and international IP portfolios spanning patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.
Advising on data protection frameworks, privacy compliance (CIPP/US), and cybersecurity risk across multi-jurisdictional operations
Leveraging AI and emerging technology to drive efficiency across legal operations, HR, and compliance, from contract analysis to workforce automation.
Directing environmental, social, and governance programs and occupational health and safety compliance across global operations.
Education
London School of Economics
Franklin Pierce Law Center
Fordham University School of Law
Mississippi State University
Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science
Professional Distinctions
Admissions, certifications, academic work, and leadership roles that complement my legal practice.
Bar Admissions
Certifications
Academic Experience
Professional Leadership
Thoughts
One of the questions I keep returning to, both in my legal, HR, and compliance work and in my coursework at LSE, is what accountability actually means when AI influences a decision that affects a person.
ReadA quiet truth about compliance work: the most elegant policy is rarely the one the organization can effectively comply with. I have seen beautifully drafted policies fail because they assumed perfect behavior, perfect data, or perfect timing.
ReadI've been on LinkedIn for a long time and rarely posted. That’s probably going to change.
Read
