Get to Know … General Counsel Lynn Miller
Lynn Miller joins Zum after serving as Deputy General Counsel at Tesla and as General Counsel at Plus, an autonomous trucking company. Previously, Miller spent 14 years at Apple, where she led worldwide litigation, regulatory enforcement, and privacy groups. Before that, she was a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop.
In her new role, Miller will act as a trusted advisor to Zum’s management and Board as the company continues to grow its team and work toward its mission of delivering safe, reliable, sustainable and equitable student transportation.
Get to know why Miller is excited to be part of Zum and what she has been reading (and re-reading!) during her free time:
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement so far, and why?
Learning to design business strategies that advance the company’s goals while protecting against litigation, regulatory, and contractual risk. Both Apple and Tesla were high visibility targets for government regulators and plaintiffs’ lawyers with their multi-billion dollar claims, both were innovators that had to take substantial risks in order to disrupt the market (Apple was 2% of the market when I joined), and both had iconic leaders who demanded that their lawyers help accelerate that disruption, not create roadblocks. For example, I defeated a dozen or so securities lawsuits against Apple and Tesla by helping to guide the process from the start.
What’s the most recent book you’ve read?
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I’ve been re-reading a few old classics because the writing is so superb and the characters are so subtly and perceptively drawn. Here, the narrator is a butler for a British aristocrat describing his experiences around the time of WWII. Although that would be far from the normal storyline I’d be interested in, the prose is beautiful and drew me into the world that the author painted.
Which Zum pillar resonates with you the most?
Equity: Zum’s mission to improve the lives of students in underserved communities. Low-income, children of color, and children with special needs are more likely to face economic or other hardships – and the education that they receive can either worsen those inequalities or reduce them. These students are more likely to waste valuable time on circuitous routes and may lose opportunities for after-school activities because they have no way to get home. Zum designs efficient routes with flexible schedules to address these problems, as well as a safer experience. Zum’s efficiencies also translate to savings for school districts, which is especially important for underserved communities.
Zum’s commitment to sustainability and shifting this important transportation sector to green technology is equally exciting. School transportation is the largest mass transportation segment in the country, and I believe that Zum is forcing a change in the conversation about EV’s in this industry in the same way Tesla did for passenger vehicles.
Welcome, Lynn – we’re thrilled to have you join Zum’s team!