Amazon CLO David Zapolsky on His SLOBS Risk-Reward Test, Why He Sorts Emails Oldest to Newest and How He Keeps His Life in Kilter

Amazon Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer David Zapolsky doesn’t believe in being risk-averse—at least not in the sense most lawyers are trained to be.

During his 25 years at Seattle-based Amazon, a span when the company’s legal team grew from 15 people to around 2,000, Zapolsky has seen first-hand that corporate lawyers need to part of the action, not sitting back watching things happen.