Evangeline Cheung wouldn’t describe her path as easy, but it shaped her into a resilient, adaptable leader and, ultimately, an unstoppable force. Raised across Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York, and Los Angeles, she experienced challenges familiar to many immigrant families starting over: language barriers, cultural adjustments, and the realities of building a new life. Those early experiences became the foundation for the lawyer and leader she would become—someone who thrives amid change, navigates complexity with composure, and leads with empathy.
Today, Cheung is an accomplished in-house legal executive with more than twenty years of experience. She spent the first decade in private practice, handling both litigation and complex business transactions for a range of clients in Silicon Valley and beyond, including Fortune 500 companies, established tech giants, and emerging startups. Her career spans the semiconductor, IoT, and SaaS industries, giving her a unique perspective on how legal strategy drives innovation across rapidly evolving technologies.
“Working with both large, established companies and early-stage startups taught me to balance structure with flexibility,” she says. “You can’t just quote the law. You need to understand the business, the goals, and what really matters in context.” Cheung adds, “For me, being effective in this role means constantly learning and staying connected to the industry. The legal landscape in tech evolves every day, so you have to be curious, confident, and ready to go toe to toe in any room, because curiosity and awareness aren’t optional; they’re essential.”
Those earlier years advising technology clients on product launches, deal structure, and compliance taught Cheung to balance risk with business reality. “In tech, things move fast,” she adds. “You need to be both legally sound and business savvy, and that also means knowing the law deeply enough to apply it in real time.” Cheung continues, “It’s about understanding the risk–reward balance of every decision and helping the business make smart, informed decisions that drive growth.”
That mindset paved the way for her in-house career, where she held senior legal roles at several Bay Area technology companies at different stages of growth, most of them publicly traded. She played key roles in two major acquisitions and later led legal integration efforts, bridging teams, processes, and cultures to help newly merged organizations operate as one.
At Backblaze, where she now serves as head of legal and compliance, Cheung continues to make an impact through a combination of strategic insight and operational effectiveness. She played a key role in the company’s IPO, handling due diligence, guiding subsequent milestones of growth, and strengthening its legal and compliance functions that have positioned the company for long-term success.
As the leader of Backblaze’s legal and compliance teams, Cheung manages a diverse team of professionals and leads key areas including commercial transactions, privacy, compliance, and corporate governance. She shapes the company’s legal strategy, enabling growth and innovation by helping teams understand and mitigate risk. Cheung doesn’t see legal as a roadblock to innovation; she sees it as an enabler of it. Central to her leadership philosophy is communication and enablement: she’s been instrumental in building smarter, more self-sufficient internal teams by equipping them with the training, knowledge, and judgment to recognize when an issue is too risky to navigate without legal input.
“I want legal to always have an open mind,” Cheung explains. “We want to be open to change, be agile, and be action oriented. I want executives to see legal as their strategic business partner that empowers business decisions rather than restricts them.”
Cheung is quick to point out, however, that she’s part of a larger team that makes things happen. “The people on my team and many others I work with are incredible. We take our work seriously, but we also make time to laugh and stay connected.”
She’s also committed to fostering mentorship, inclusion, and representation, particularly for women in tech. “I feel it’s so important to cultivate and lift up others,” Cheung says, “helping them recognize their own impact and potential. It matters to me not only that they are recognized by others for their value, but that they see in themselves the full potential of how far they can go.”
If you asked her today, Cheung would say she is fascinated by the pace of innovation in AI and the ways it’s reshaping how organizations think and work. She acknowledges that the space is evolving very quickly, but she believes in growing with the evolving AI-ecosystem. “I believe there are lots of ways to leverage AI, whether that’s boosting productivity or enhancing strategic thinking.”
For Cheung, that same mindset—balancing creativity with sound judgment—applies as much to AI as it does to law. She believes AI is transforming how organizations approach privacy, risk, and innovation, and that when used thoughtfully, it can help legal teams work smarter and amplify their impact. That forward-thinking approach, she says, is why she loves working in Silicon Valley and at Backblaze, where embracing AI and staying ahead of the curve are part of the culture.
From working part-time jobs at fifteen to supporting herself through college and law school, Cheung learned perseverance but also the importance of enjoying the journey along the way. She’s heard plenty of people tell her what couldn’t be done, but she’s always chosen to chart her own course, building a career and a life defined by purpose and perspective.
And here Evangeline Cheung stands—unstoppable, yet grounded in gratitude, and driven by the belief that success means lifting others along the way.
“Evangeline is a remarkably sharp and forward-thinking professional who brings clarity and vision to every challenge. Her ability to grasp the big picture while navigating complex legal issues makes her exceptional. Easy to work with, collaborative, and always a step ahead, Evangeline is not just a legal advisor—she’s a strategic partner driving innovation and success across the organization.”
–Erin Illman, Partner and Co-Chair of Cybersecurity and Privacy Practice
