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As leaders of corporate law departments of multimillion-dollar companies, Pamela Carter, Debra Snider and Vivian Tseng are among the most talented professional women in the country.
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Vivian Tseng, Welch Food, Inc.
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Vivian Tseng
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Vivian Tseng,
Vice President,
General Counsel
and Secretary,
Welch Food, Inc.
Quiet and straight to the point best describes Vivian Tseng.
Without a great deal of fanfare, she has gone about her business going after what she wants — and it has landed her in the position of vice president general counsel and secretary of Welch's Inc., an agricultural cooperative that manufactures and markets products made from grapes.
Ms. Tseng says she received her core training and experience at the two law firms she attended after graduating from Georgetown University law School in 1980.
She split the next six years working for Tillinghast, Holland and Graham in Providence Rhode Island and Foley, Hoag & Elliot in Boston.
She says private practice allowed her to be a generalist lawyer, something she advocates for those aspiring to senior management positions.
Once she decided that she wanted to leave private practice for an in-house environment at a manufacturing and marketing company, "I just used a headhunter who made the introduction," she explains.
Ms. Tseng joined Welch's as a senior attorney in 1986 and she rose through the ranks to become director of legal affairs in 1990 and general counsel in 1993.
The law department at Welch's is small."I was just the third attorney when I was hired, and I'm only the second general counsel Welch's has ever had," she says.
Now her four-person department deals with advertising issues, food labeling and other regulatory compliance.
Structuring business relationships and business deals — what to ask for, how to ask for it and how to document what the company agrees to fall under her responsibility.
Most recently the law department has been the creative initiator within a larger project to spread the word about promising research concerning the health benefits of white and purple Niagra and Concord grape juice.
"The law department has been very active in a corporate-wide health and nutrition initiative," she says."It is central to our business.
We're an agricultural cooperative, which means we are owned by the farmers of the major produce we use, which is Concord and Niagra grapes."
Ms. Tseng's calm and approachable demeanor has helped her remain successful through the years.
Those attributes combined with project management experience from her law firm days helped her take a law department with a solid foundation and make minor adjustments that increased efficiency and allowed more creativity.
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