CZ and Friends
CZ and Friends
Podcast Description
CZ & Friends is a podcast about what it takes to lead and evolve legal in an era of exponential change. Hosted by Cecilia Ziniti, former General Counsel turned founder and CEO of GC AI, each episode features candid conversations with legal and business leaders who are building for scale, taking bold bets on technology, and leading with humanity. Whether you're a GC, operator, or in-house counsel, this podcast is your front-row seat to the future of legal.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on the evolution of legal practices amidst rapid technological change, covering topics such as legal leadership in startups, AI integration in legal frameworks, and operating within complex regulatory environments. Noteworthy episodes include conversations on legal operations in global fintech and insights on how legal functions can scale effectively within innovative sectors like cannabis and logistics.
CZ & Friends is a podcast about what it takes to lead and evolve legal in an era of exponential change. Hosted by Cecilia Ziniti, former General Counsel turned founder and CEO of GC AI, each episode features candid conversations with legal and business leaders who are building for scale, taking bold bets on technology, and leading with humanity. Whether you’re a GC, operator, or in-house counsel, this podcast is your front-row seat to the future of legal.
What does it mean to own risk instead of advising on it?
Ben Jacobs, General Manager of Legal for Strategic Growth & Development at Xero and President of the In-House Lawyers Association of New Zealand (ILANZ), joins Cecilia Ziniti to share how his views on in-house practice transformed, from seeing it as a “backup plan” to realizing it’s one of the most impactful roles in business.
Ben leads global M&A and legal strategy at one of the world’s most innovative tech companies. In this episode, he shares how empathy, curiosity, and psychological safety drive better deals and stronger teams. He and Cecilia unpack the mindset shift from risk elimination to risk calibration, how to build trust in high-stakes negotiations, and why kindness, not “niceness”, is a powerful leadership tool.
If you lead an in-house team, manage cross-border deals, or are redefining your approach to leadership, this episode will leave you rethinking what it means to be commercial.
Follow Ben:
@Ben Jacobs on LinkedIn
Books, Authors & Thinkers Mentioned:
– The Fearless Organization – Amy Edmondson (psychological safety)
– Dr. Thomas Lee – Social Capital framework (Press Ganey)
– Dr. Nicky Macklin – Kindness as a Leadership Principle (British Medical Journal, HBR collaboration)
Other References:
– Xero ($20B global SaaS company for small business accounting)
– Barclays, Allen & Overy, Royal Bank of Scotland (career path)
– M&A in financial services and fintech
– Culture-first acquisitions (Sift, Melio)
– Responsible AI adoption at Xero
– “Commerciality is risk acceptance” – Ben’s leadership philosophy
– Psychological safety and kindness as performance drivers
Follow us on all social platforms to get each new episode when it drops.
@Cecilia Ziniti on LinkedIn
@CeciliaZin on Twitter/X
@GC AI on LinkedIn
gc.ai website
Disclaimer
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