About me
Ann Vanga is a seasoned legal executive with 15 years of experience helping businesses navigate complex legal and compliance challenges. Throughout her career, she has been a strategic business partner, delivering practical, solution-oriented legal advice to drive growth, mitigate risk, and enable innovation across industries, including energy technology, equipment and systems manufacturing, fintech, and employee trust and safety technology.
Ann currently serves as General Counsel and Head of Compliance at Yardstik, a Minneapolis-based startup disrupting the background screening industry and delivering trust and safety solutions to employers nationwide. Previously, Ann was Vice President of Legal at Solifi, a leader in secured finance software. There, she led the global legal function across international markets.
Beyond her corporate work, Ann is committed to mentorship and leadership development. She spent a decade as head coach for her alma mater’s Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition, equipping future lawyers with advanced advocacy skills to tackle high-stakes negotiations and international disputes. Ann is a member of the Eagle Club, a growing grassroots support network for female general counsel, founded in London over decade ago. She is also an alumna of Chief and a founding member of the organization’s Twin Cities chapter, supporting executive women in leadership.
Ann holds a Juris Doctor from Hamline School of Law (now Mitchell Hamline), an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, and a certificate in International Commercial Arbitration from Queen Mary University of London. She earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kentucky.
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