Full Name
Virginia Johnson
Job Title
Former Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary
Company
Aspen Aerogels
Speaker Bio
I’m a former public company Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, Chief Compliance Officer and BigLaw litigator with over 20 years of experience advising high-growth businesses and global companies on their most challenging legal, regulatory, governance, ethics & compliance, risk and commercial matters. My industry expertise – spanning publicly traded, privately held, and PE/VC-backed businesses – encompasses technology (software, hardware, AI), energy, manufacturing, specialty chemicals, advanced materials, automotive/EVs, financial services, and insurance.
At this stage of my career, I enjoy advising boards of directors, C-suite executives, investors, and founders throughout all phases of company growth. I thrive on working at the intersection of legal exposure and business strategy: pressure-testing risk, weighing tradeoffs, and advising management teams and boards on what to do next, not merely what the law says. My unique cross-sector fluency allows me to move quickly into unfamiliar businesses – mature public company environments and fast-scaling PE/VC-backed startup ecosystems alike – learning the commercial and regulatory landscape and building the legal and compliance infrastructure the organization needs.
In my current practice, I advise clients across a wide range of industries on:
• Fractional and interim Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel engagements
• Corporate governance, board advisory, and corporate secretary support
• Board and committee self-evaluations and director skills assessments
• Public company reporting, SEC compliance, and disclosure strategy
• Enterprise risk management, ethics and compliance programs, and internal investigations
• Sustainability program development and ESG reporting
• AI governance, policy implementation, and responsible AI deployment
• Legal operations, data governance, privilege mapping and litigation risk avoidance
• Cybersecurity readiness, incident response, and data privacy and protection
• Mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and post-closing integration
• Capital markets, equity offerings, debt financings, and strategic transactions
• PE/VC growth-stage transactions and portfolio company matters
• Commercial transactions, software licensing, and vendor management
• Regulatory examinations, investigations, and complex dispute resolution
• Employment law matters, HR support, and executive compensation
At this stage of my career, I enjoy advising boards of directors, C-suite executives, investors, and founders throughout all phases of company growth. I thrive on working at the intersection of legal exposure and business strategy: pressure-testing risk, weighing tradeoffs, and advising management teams and boards on what to do next, not merely what the law says. My unique cross-sector fluency allows me to move quickly into unfamiliar businesses – mature public company environments and fast-scaling PE/VC-backed startup ecosystems alike – learning the commercial and regulatory landscape and building the legal and compliance infrastructure the organization needs.
In my current practice, I advise clients across a wide range of industries on:
• Fractional and interim Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel engagements
• Corporate governance, board advisory, and corporate secretary support
• Board and committee self-evaluations and director skills assessments
• Public company reporting, SEC compliance, and disclosure strategy
• Enterprise risk management, ethics and compliance programs, and internal investigations
• Sustainability program development and ESG reporting
• AI governance, policy implementation, and responsible AI deployment
• Legal operations, data governance, privilege mapping and litigation risk avoidance
• Cybersecurity readiness, incident response, and data privacy and protection
• Mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and post-closing integration
• Capital markets, equity offerings, debt financings, and strategic transactions
• PE/VC growth-stage transactions and portfolio company matters
• Commercial transactions, software licensing, and vendor management
• Regulatory examinations, investigations, and complex dispute resolution
• Employment law matters, HR support, and executive compensation
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