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The Republic of Ghana is leading life-saving initiatives. The population wrestles with a lack of access to important medical resources such as vaccines. Residents often don’t receive the appropriate and necessary medical care, resulting in what the medical community calls a “missed opportunity.” A missed opportunity can amount to a significant public health crisis, and that’s why the Ghanaian government is working with Zipline, a company launched in 2014 that operates the world’s largest automated delivery system.
Zipline’s delivery drones have flown more than 65 million commercial autonomous miles and have made over 950,000 deliveries. In 2019, Zipline was delivering about 800 vaccine doses per month in Ghana. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and that number suddenly spiked to 9,000. In November 2022, Zipline flew over 400,000 total vaccines in Ghana, cutting delivery time from days to hours and reaching some of the country’s most vulnerable communities.
Anne Titus Hilby is Zipline’s deputy general counsel. The product, IP, and regulatory specialist joined the company in 2019 to build compliance, risk management, and regulatory counseling functions as Zipline expanded in Africa and prepared for its domestic launch. She also generated global employee training and policies while working as lead employment counsel.
“In business and in politics, you can only win together, and it takes an outstanding team that believes the only option is success.”
Anne Hilby
Technology powers Zipline, and the legal team’s behind-the-scenes work is crucial to its success. Hilby created an important product counseling function that manages global patent strategy and IP litigation along with the company’s regulatory strategy in areas like healthcare, telecommunications, zoning, and sustainability. She’s also building a data privacy and security program. “I have to be an expert in the products, services, and features we’re deploying,” she says. “I embed myself with all internal teams early and collaborate often.”
Zipline was already planning to launch delivery service in the US but accelerated that timeline when COVID hit. Before the end of May 2020, Zipline started delivering personal protective equipment (PPE). The company now makes and tests its drones, “Zips,” in California and reaches customers in numerous states, including Arkansas, where it has a partnership with Walmart for home delivery. By the end of 2025, Zipline will complete more annual flights than most airlines.
Hilby and her team are now busy assisting Zipline as the company prepares to launch its second-generation platform (P2). The new droid-in-drone Zips will have increased speed, payloads, and precision. The P2 Zip is designed to hover above 300 feet and release a droid that descends to quietly and safely deliver a package within a two-foot radius. Zipline’s leaders say P2 will eventually handle the majority of domestic food and healthcare deliveries.
It’s a big claim, but Hilby remains unfazed—she’s frequently been part of high-pressure, big-stakes projects. During her time as an undergraduate student at Harvard, she took a semester off to work as a field organizer on a political campaign. She later played a prominent role in running the congressional campaign that helped Gabrielle Giffords narrowly defeat Jesse Kelly. In 2012, Hilby had a stint as legal extern to then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris. After earning her JD from Berkeley Law, she worked in the nation’s capital as an investigations and white-collar lawyer in private practice.
By the Numbers
To date, Zipline has made 950,000 commercial deliveries.
The company serves more than 4,000 hospitals and health centers.
Zipline’s drone fleet reduces carbon emissions by 97 percent.
P2 drones can make 10-mile deliveries in 10 minutes.
A Zip departs on delivery every 70 seconds.
Zipline has delivered 14 million vaccine doses and now operates across 8 countries on 4 continents.
Customers and partners include Walmart, GNC, sweetgreen, Cleveland Clinic, Toyota Tsusho, Michigan Medicine, and the governments of Ghana and Rwanda.
Although Hilby’s life and career have taken many twists and turns, she has identified one common thread. “In business and in politics, you can only win together, and it takes an outstanding team that believes the only option is success,” she says.
What makes an effective product counsel at a growing tech company? Hilby says the secret to success lies in the ability to “remain joyful in learning new things.” Ultra-precise drone delivery relies on complex science and engineering, and Hilby can’t manage risk and protect the company unless she understands its most intricate components. She’s spent the last couple years learning about autonomous aerial logistics, vehicle behavior technology, aircraft acoustics, medical packaging testing, and more. This year, she plans to give herself a crash course she’s calling Computer Science 101.
When new lawyers ask Hilby for advice, she tells them to find the best training possible. “Law firms and others hiring new lawyers will train you during this unique moment in your career, and if you invest in your training, they will invest in you,” she says. “The more you put in, the more you get back.”
She also stresses the importance of finding outside interests. While Hilby was deeply involved in theater and dance at Harvard, she set performing aside to focus on the first era of her career. Now, she has the time to invest in the arts again. Since 2023, Hilby has served on the Los Angeles Ballet’s board of directors. Her goal? To help establish the company as a world-class troupe on par with Boston, San Francisco, New York, and the Joffrey. It’s another way Hilby is using her skills and passions to help a community or organization achieve its big goals.
“Anne’s a strategic-thinker with excellent judgment. She expertly and efficiently navigates complex regulatory matters to meet Zipline’s cutting-edge business objectives. It’s a true pleasure working with her.”
—David J. Vernon, Partner
