INTRODUCING NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

TIFFANY CRUZ

Tiffanny Cruz set out to complete the perfect pairing: the engineering degree she already had and the law degree that would allow her to become an intellectual property specialist. But somewhere along the route, "things changed," she says—and she felt the clarion call of employment law.

She was happily garnering employment law experience at Littler Mendelsen, when a colleague—the Labor & Employment Section’s own Emily Patajo—told her about an interesting opportunity. "The position was with Globalization Partners, a company founded by an ingenious woman a decade ago to help companies expand all over the world." It was early in the COVID pandemic, and Cruz didn’t want to make any fast moves. "But I told myself: ‘Don’t pass up an opportunity. You could be planting seeds,’" she says. "I liked the interviewer, but didn’t think much of the possibility after that. And I knew for sure I wasn’t going to move to Japan or Mexico."

But G-P.com eventually wooed her, creating a position for her stateside, and encouraging her to assemble her own legal team. She now feels happy—and still a bit awed—by her role there advising companies on matters of recruiting, hiring, managing employees, and staying compliant in workplaces spanning 180 countries. G-P also makes good use of Cruz’s dulcet voice by featuring her in firm podcasts. "It’s very exciting working in this HR tech company with so many demands," Cruz says. "There is still fear sometimes, but I keep the guardrails on."