David Rothenstein0:04
Legal is tied to the business in a number of different ways. Certainly from a technology standpoint, our intellectual property lawyers are very much involved in all aspects of the product lifecycle. On the customer-facing side, we have teams who are sitting in front of customers every day, making sure that we're not just doing deals cleanly but shaping creative, thoughtful deals that work for both Siena and for our customers. I've been at Siena for over 15 years, and what keeps me here is a couple of things. First, I deeply believe in the company and its strategy. As part of the executive team, I do help set and implement the strategy, and I think over the past couple of years it's proven to be very effective. However, at the end of the day, I still think there's more to do in delivering value for our shareholders, and I really want to see that through. The other reason I'm still here, frankly, is the people up and down the company, across functions, across regions. We have a great group of talented, dedicated people who work hard and really want to do the right thing. When you work with people you like and respect, it makes all the difference in the world, and that's absolutely the case at Siena. I think people also like working here because of the professional development opportunities. If you're willing and able to do so, you can really move the needle and make a difference and effect change, and that's really attractive to a lot of people. The legal department has the benefit of sitting across the entirety of the business, from commercial contracts to compliance to transactions to labor and employment. There is no one in the department who's not wanting to go above and beyond to help out their teammates, and that really matters. The lawyers and legal professionals are not just sitting in the corner opining on legal issues but, in fact, we're a strategic driver for the business, moving the business forward but also making sure we're minimizing our risks and liabilities. It's a difficult balance sometimes, but it's something we do consistently quite well. From our CEO to our executive team to our senior leadership on down, all are very much deeply involved in and understanding of the business, and what that enables us to do is instead of just sitting in an ivory tower, we can be actively involved in making decisions and enabling an agile, more flexible company. One thing I'm really looking forward to for Siena is, as we drive more deeply into next-generation software, as network operators change the way they think about designing, architecting, and operating networks.
