Sharon Zezima, ’89: Relishing Doing “M&A Work on Steroids”
Earlier this year, Sharon Zezima, ’89, led the legal team for the initial public stock offering (IPO) of GoPro, Inc., the high-flying San Mateo, California–based company that she joined last September as General Counsel and Secretary. GoPro makes what has been called the most successful camera of all time, a small, high-definition, mountable, and wearable capture device that individuals use to document their experiences and share them on social media platforms. GoPro has shipped more than 10 million cameras since its inception, taking in nearly a billion dollars in revenue last year alone, and is embarking on a media and platform strategy to enable its consumers to better manage, share, and enjoy their GoPro content.
GoPro’s stock price leapt by 103 percent in the days right after its IPO. But that wasn’t Zezima’s first red-hot IPO. Last May, as General Counsel of Marketo, she led the legal team for that company’s initial public offering. At year’s end, shares in Marketo had increased in price by more than 185 percent.
“An IPO is like M&A work on steroids,” Zezima says. “Doing two of them in a year and a half made for a hectic, challenging, and exciting time, and it was also very satisfying. At both GoPro and Marketo I worked with great internal people and a superb team of outside counsel, things went smoothly, and there was never a dull moment.”
Because GoPro had no internal legal staff when she was brought in, Zezima has been creating a legal infrastructure in addition to handling the IPO and the other responsibilities of her positions. She has built a 10-person legal department, worked to communicate the value of that department throughout the organization, and focused on contributing to the successful execution of the company’s plans. “Things can change so fast in this highly entrepreneurial company that sometimes it feels hard to keep up, but my goal is to stay a step ahead of what the company needs to accomplish its strategies,” she says.
The 12 years she served at the giant video game company Electronic Arts, where she became Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, shaped some important skills and perceptions. “I learned there to manage a department, and I learned a lot about the media and entertainment world that GoPro is entering,” she says, adding that after having worked at law firms for 10 years and becoming a partner, “I also came to realize at EA how much I liked being part of a consumer-facing company and part of an industry, the sense of continuity and of helping to build something.” For the quality and quantity of her contributions, EA recognized her with its annual “Superhuman” award.
At the Law School, she prepared herself to become a litigator, a role she carried out with gusto in her law firm positions, once handling six trials in a 12-month period. “I really loved doing Moot Court at the Law School, and it solidified my skills and reinforced my conviction about my career path,” she says. As her career progressed and she moved into other roles, other aspects of her Law School experience remained with her: “From a whole lot of exceptional teachers, I learned how to see beyond what exists, to what could or should exist. That’s an essential skill for top-level lawyering, and it’s also essential for working in any business, particularly an entrepreneurial one.”
Outside of work, she co-founded The Salonnieres, a social organization that helps accomplished professional women connect with each other, and she’s involved with Women’s Initiative, a nonprofit that helps low-income women develop entrepreneurial skills.
Married and with two children, Isabelle and Lucas, she lives in a home that she saw and couldn’t resist. “It’s my dream house, and we love the location, which is great for bringing up our children. The commute is long—about an hour each way—but it’s worth it.” Sharon Zezima might no longer be eligible for her former employer’s “Superhuman” award, but for all of her accomplishments—at work, at home, in the community, and on the road—that designation still seems to fit her very well.