Christopher Kulawik · General Counsel
Counsel for companies that operate at altitude.
Chris is a business-first general counsel for high-growth companies, guiding them through acquisitions, rapid expansion, and some of the world's most heavily regulated markets. He serves as General Counsel of Vista Global.
Overview · In brief
The short version.
Christopher Kulawik is General Counsel of Vista Global. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Columbia University, a former Harvard Law Review editor and D.C. Circuit law clerk, a New York Big Law alumnus of Quinn Emanuel, and a former Vice President of an award-winning technology startup.
- Role
- General Counsel, Vista GlobalLegal leadership for a travel and technology unicorn with approximately $3 billion in annual revenue.
- Formed at
- Harvard Law & the D.C. Circuit Court of AppealsJ.D. cum laude; clerk to Judge Janice Rogers Brown.
- Proven in
- Big Law, startups, and global businessQuinn Emanuel in New York; a privacy-tech startup; Vista Global.
- Known for
- Growth, deals, and judgmentM&A, sustained growth, and ESG, in industries where the rules are strict.
Career · The path
Each role prepared the next.
Now
General Counsel, Vista Global
Legal leadership for one of the world's largest private aviation groups through years of double-digit growth. The work spans new product launches, a steady pipeline of acquisitions and their integration, and the carbon offset and Sustainable Aviation Fuel transactions behind Vista's carbon neutrality pledge.
Operator
Vice President, privacy-tech startup
An award-winning company twice named one of the 100 most exciting startups in the world and winner of the IAPP's 2016 Privacy Innovator award. Ran operations and legal, cutting burn by more than 15% while expanding key teams: a ground-floor education in how a business runs.
Big Law
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, New York
High-value, front-page commercial and securities litigation, with matters resolved through more than $1 billion in settlements. Appellate advocacy before leading courts, including the Second Circuit and the New York Court of Appeals.
Clerkship
U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Law clerk to Judge Janice Rogers Brown on the court that decides many of the country's most consequential constitutional and administrative law cases.
Law school
Harvard Law School
J.D. cum laude. Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Ames Moot Court.
College
Columbia University
B.A. in History and Political Science, cum laude.
Strengths · The view
Legal as a growth function.
What Chris brings to a leadership team.
Growth
Legal that says yes
Years of double-digit growth, new products, and new markets, with legal clearing the path rather than standing in it.
Deals
M&A, start to finish
A steady pipeline of acquisitions and strategic transactions: diligence, structure, negotiation, and integration.
Terrain
Global, regulated ground
Operations on six continents, a workforce of 60+ nationalities, and disputes in 20+ jurisdictions, all subject to strict and shifting rules.
Judgment
High-stakes judgment
Formed in New York Big Law on matters with billions at issue. Finds the issue that decides the outcome and makes a clear call.
- Aviation & travel
- Technology
- Luxury
- Highly regulated industries
The Lab · Side projects
Small experiments made with AI.
Exploratory side projects made out of curiosity and for fun.
Off the clock · Field notes
Photographs from the road.
Chris does his clearest thinking outdoors. He lives with Lindsey Zahn, an alcohol beverage attorney and founder of Lindsey Zahn P.C., and their pets, who are unimpressed by all of it.
10,023 ft summit
8,363 ft summit
4,000 ft
Tower 746 ft
30 ft