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Danny Alberto has a muscle that can be flexed at any time when a situation requires that he goes “all in.” It can’t be detected by an x-ray machine. It’s a metaphorical muscle that he trained and strengthened while attending law school in the evening and working full time as a litigation assistant at a boutique law firm in Boston.
“I was leaving the office at five o’clock in the evening to rush to get to class in time by six, and leaving class at ten o’clock to get home by eleven to get some sleep, just to be back in the office at eight a.m. and do it all over again,” says Alberto, assistant general counsel, NWN Corporation, which offers AI-powered technology solutions for the modern workplace.
And his weekends? They were dedicated to homework. That was his life for four years. “It was very challenging and not for the weak at heart,” Alberto says. “That type of consistent grind however is how you build that situational muscle that can be flexed when needed.”
Alberto’s perseverance brought into focus those personal struggles his parents endured, emigrating from their native Portugal to the US, a country they knew little about and whose residents spoke another language. “If they can do that, I can do this,” Alberto shares.
A first-generation college student, Alberto grew up in the South Coast of Massachusetts, a community of immigrants whose fortunes were tied to the fishing industry. “A natural landing point for blue-collar immigrant folks going to work every day trying to carve out a little piece for themselves and to give their kids an opportunity that they never had,” Alberto notes.
After earning his JD, then clerking for the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Alberto took a job as corporate counsel with American Tower Corporation, a Fortune 500 company enabling seamless, secure, and sustainable connectivity for individuals and businesses. With an interest in the tech industry and an aptitude for business, Alberto felt right at home in American Tower’s massive legal department.
There he worked on complex deals with sophisticated Fortune 100 customers, while also handling litigation matters and acquisition integrations. Longing to work within a smaller legal group that would allow him to be entrenched in the business, he moved to NWN. “Here at NWN I’m a member of the legal team, but more importantly I’m a business partner to the entire organization,” the assistant GC says.
Small is almost an understatement. Alberto was only the second lawyer NWN hired, allowing him to be involved in every aspect of the business. “I’ve been able to really share and contribute to the growth that has occurred at NWN in the four years I’ve been here,” he says.
Due to a lack of silos at NWN, Alberto works with every business team. “It’s great for me because I’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit along with a passion for law and an opportunity to solve nuanced issues, and those things don’t always get married together,” Alberto points out.
NWN’s legal structure allows Alberto to leverage his legal skills and couple them with his commercial mindset, adding value to the business. Working in the dynamic tech industry, however, does present a set of challenges not associated with other industries. One must be forward thinking and make decisions based less on case law or predetermined issues, and more on predictions about what will happen.
“We have to make decisions in the best interest of our organization from both a legal and a business aspect,” Alberto notes. “Sometimes we don’t have all the information, but we have to make those calls and determinations based on information available and use our judgment skills to communicate recommendations to the business. Technology is moving fast and we need to keep up to provide our customers with the best experience possible.”
The assistant GC is often in the trenches with NWN’s sales force, negotiating high visibility and valuable contracts for the entire organization, and pushing deals across the finish line. As a systems integrator, NWN must ensure that they are not taking on unnecessary exposures with original equipment manufacturers while at the same time ensuring that NWN’s customers are getting the best terms of service that NWN can provide.
“I’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit along with a passion for law and an opportunity to solve nuanced issues, and those things don’t always get married together.”
Danny Alberto
Alberto embraces a collaborative “we’re in this together” leadership style. He never misses a teachable moment, often saying “I’m going to teach you how to do it so you can do it on your own.” He encourages innovation and open dialogue. “If you find a better way to do something, let’s talk about it, improve the process, and make it better for everyone,” Alberto says. For the assistant GC, forward thinking is always the goal.
When people approach him with ideas or seeking a bit of fuel for their fire, he feels satisfaction in being a go-to partner. He embraces the opportunity to strategize ways to develop or improve a scalable concept or how to solve a complex customer issue, then implement it to ensure the organization is more efficient. “There’s never any pride of authorship on my side, only pride in my colleagues and team members making something better. I take tremendous satisfaction in getting things done and adding real value to the business,” Alberto says.
Alberto takes just as much pride in his heritage and his journey, acknowledging that each person’s path is important. He says, “I think it’s helpful to understand who people are, what makes them tick, and I always appreciate and value getting to know people as individuals.”
