Introduction: 0:00

• Manuel Martinez-Herrera, General Manager and General Counsel at BetterCloud, joins the podcast.
• Formerly working as Vice President of Legal & Compliance at Namely, starting his in-house journey at MetLife, and working at various law firms in the United States, Spain, and Argentina. 

Why did you decide to practice law in United States?: 2:18

• Manuel on attending law school in Spain. 
• Always considering a move to the United States. 
• Joining a Spanish law firm’s program that allows you to move around and work in different cities.
• Enrolling in Harvard University’s LL.M. program.

Gravitating towards in-house legal:  5:10

• On starting his career at White & Case.
• Taking a six-month break to travel in Mexico.
• Getting a recruiter call and making the jump from law firm to in-house.

Feeling ready to lead a legal team: 7:32

• Manuel on working and learning at MetLife.
• Taking a leadership opportunity without being sure he was ready.
• Being “unable to lay your egg.”
• Asking yourself what the next step is.
• Seeing legal as a business.
• Going beyond advising to make things happen. 

Becoming General Manager at BetterCloud: 11:35

• Manuel on the responsibilities of the general manager role.
• Setting up, hiring, and scaling.
• Bridging the gap between offices in the United States and Mexico.

Shifting your mindset from legal to business: 13:43

• Manuel on centering the human element.
• Running an office where most employees don’t report to you.
• Helping non-team members solve their problems.

Working with software engineers: 15:23

• Manuel on the similarities between lawyers and engineers.
• Connecting over shared pop culture interests.
• Being the oldest person in an office by decades.

Transitioning from advisor to doer: 18:31

• Manuel on needing to roll up your sleeves. 
• Understanding the business at a detailed level.
• Always working longer hours than your team members.

How has working as GM changed your relationship with the executive team?: 21:57

• Manuel on being perceived as a business colleague.
• Possessing institutional knowledge.
• Seeing a company through multiple leadership changes. 

Leading a team through its maturation process: 24:19

• Manuel on tracking employee satisfaction.
• Starting with abnormally high employee ratings.
• Watching satisfaction normalize as a company matures.

Investing in company culture: 26:50

• Manuel on prioritizing growth opportunities.
• Creating dynamics that allow employees to bond.

Tips for listeners thinking of taking a job abroad: 30:07

• Manuel on the difficulties of moving with a family. 
• Making sure you understand the country’s bureaucracy.

What’s next for Manuel: 32:12

• Considering a future with an early-stage start up. 
• Taking on “legal plus.”

Rapid-fire questions: 33:15

• Manuel’s favorite part of the day-to-day.
• Professional pet peeves.

Book recommendations: 36:23

• Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
• Books by Mexican authors like Octavio Paz, Elena Garro, and Roberto Bolaño.

What Manuel wishes he’d known as a young lawyer: 38:50

• Embracing the journey.
• Accepting a non-linear career path.