Anjelica Garcia spent nearly a decade as CHRO and EVP at Red Bull North America before joining Steno as Chief People Officer earlier this year. In a new interview with Legal IT Insider's Careers Insights series, she makes the case that the two industries have more in common than they appear, and that what legal tech has been missing isn't talent or ambition, but a consistent, premium standard.
The throughline between Red Bull and legal tech, she argues, is the ambition to set a new benchmark rather than simply keep up:
"On the surface, moving from Red Bull to legal technology looks like a significant shift. For me, the throughline is clear: we are building premium brands in dynamic industries. The true leaders in this new landscape didn't just keep up, they set the benchmark for excellence. Similarly, legal technology is experiencing its own transformation. What's been missing in many parts of the industry is a consistent, premium standard. Steno is changing that."
Steno is in a period of rapid scaling following its recent $49 million Series C, and Anjelica’s mandate is to make sure the culture keeps pace. Culture shows up, she argues, not in stated values but in the daily experiences that either reinforce or undermine them:
"Culture is built on the experiences people have every day at work. It is reflected in the behaviors that are rewarded, the implicit norms, and where attention is placed. The most effective organizations create environments where people find meaning in their work and feel a sense of belonging within their teams. They also foster ownership and clear pathways to building excellence in one's craft and career."
It's a philosophy built less on visible milestones than on the accumulated weight of smaller ones, and this distinction that shapes how she thinks about her own career too:
"I tend not to think about any of my achievements as singular, visible milestones. The impact often shows up in tangible, but 'small' ways — helping a leader become more effective, building systems that improve how teams operate, expanding access to benefits that support employees and their families, or creating opportunities for individuals to grow into roles they might not have otherwise had access to. These everyday moments, though rarely visible, build strong organizations and help to move a business forward."
It's a candid conversation about what building a people-first business requires, and what it takes to get culture right during a period of rapid growth.
Read the full interview in Legal IT Insider.