Does a Chief Legal Officer need IPO experience for a successful IPO? What the data tells us

This article has been co-authored by Dylan Marvin, Chief Customer Officer and former Chief Legal Officer at Cision, to explore whether prior IPO experience truly predicts better outcomes, or if the data tells a different story.

Does prior IPO experience actually matter?

A company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the culmination of many years of hard work, grit, and determination. It is the moment that early employees and investors realise the financial fruits of their labour. As companies prepare for their IPO, CEOs and Boards scrutinise their management teams to ensure that they can successfully deliver the IPO. The Chief Legal Officer (CLO) role becomes critical in this talent review, with IPO experience often deemed a prerequisite. But does prior IPO experience actually predict better IPO outcomes?

We analysed 24 high-profile technology and fintech IPOs from 2017 to 2024 and surveyed practitioners to find out. The data reveals a more nuanced answer than conventional wisdom might suggest. There appears to be no correlation between successful IPO outcomes and whether the CLO has previously led one.

Methodology

The dataset comprises 24 technology or fintech companies who IPO’d in the United States between 2017 and 2024. While the dataset includes some of the highest-profile IPOs in recent memory, it’s not a statistically definitive sample. The dataset relies on publicly available information about CLOs and IPOs, which may have limitations in terms of accuracy or availability.

A CLO is considered “experienced” here if the CLO:

• Led an IPO in-house
• Worked on a capital markets team at a law firm on IPOs, or
• Was sufficiently senior in government at a relevant agency overseeing IPOs (like running the SEC)

CLOs without these qualifications were classified as “inexperienced” with IPOs. This of course is not to say that a CLO is inexperienced generally – just the task at hand of leading an IPO.

Legal issues were defined as litigation stemming from the IPO itself or as part of the IPO process. Post-IPO issues that were business-related (such as employment disputes) were not considered legal issues with the IPO for purposes of the analysis.

The data

Why prior experience doesn’t appear to be determinative

A successful IPO has identical success rates across the sample regardless of CLO experience. For example:

• Slack (2019) and Snap (2017) faced significant legal scrutiny, despite being led by GCs with deep public company or capital markets backgrounds.
• DoorDash (2020) and Coinbase (2021) had clean IPO processes under the guidance of CLOs navigating their first public offering.

Several factors help explain this finding:

Business performance is the ultimate driver of long-term success

A flawless IPO process can’t rescue a weak business model. A few legal bumps rarely derail a strong company. Companies like Palantir and Slack faced legal challenges but thrived based on execution and product-market fit.

Robust institutional support

Companies going through an IPO are surrounded by seasoned IPO advisers. Elite law firms, investment banks, underwriters, board advisers and regulatory experts collectively bring decades of capital markets experience to the table.

As Jeffrey Enebiri, former CLO of JustEat who led their IPO, observes: “Like with everything in life, having a great team around you is key. I was fortunate enough to have a very strong team and one person in particular had IPO experience which helped me immensely. We also had great external counsel which kept us on target and filled in the gaps. If you don’t have the skills, don’t worry, plug the gaps with either hires or external counsel.”

See also: The art of preparing for an IPO: lessons from a GC

Cross-functional collaboration

Legal, finance, product, and executive leadership must work in concert to pull off a successful IPO. A well-integrated team with strong external counsel can often compensate for limited CLO IPO experience.

David Melville, who has run two IPOs and a dual UK/Nasdaq listing, notes: “Each IPO is unique…prior experience helps…but what really matters is making sure that all of the fundamentals of the business are accurately portrayed in the listing documents and accompanying road shows.”

The experience paradox

One could argue that experience doesn’t prevent problems – it simply helps contain them. Perhaps Slack’s Supreme Court case regarding its direct listing could have been even worse had they not had an extremely experienced CLO helping to guide the process.

Lars Sjobring, Head of Legal Affairs and General Counsel at SSAB, argues,“Many things can delay or even derail [an IPO], most unrelated to the GC. But as a GC it REALLY helps if you know the IPO process. If you don’t, you will lose a lot of credibility at a crucial point in the company’s development. There will be all kinds of problems, and having been through the process helps steer through those.”

While this argument makes sense in theory, the review found no evidence that experienced CLOs were more likely to resolve issues faster or prevent fallout.

Implications for CLO recruitment

This analysis does not suggest avoiding experienced legal leaders. On the contrary, experience helps at a general level. However, when companies are hiring a CLO in anticipation of an IPO, they should start with the profile that their business needs in a CLO beyond running a successful IPO.

CEOs and boards should weigh capability, judgment, adaptability and team fit over check-the-box IPO credentials.

George Kangis, General Counsel and Commercial Chief of Staff at Afenel Limited, says, “The key attribute for in-house counsel is adaptability. Whether it is an IPO or MBO, having the ability to handle whatever comes across your desk and to deliver, whether or not it is a novel task.”

The instinct to prioritise prior IPO experience is understandable, yet both the data and practitioners’ experiences suggest it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Success hinges on leadership, business acumen and stakeholder alignment. The most effective CLOs typically demonstrate:

• Adaptability and judgment: Navigate ambiguity, absorb new information quickly, and make sound decisions under pressure
• Commercial mindset: Understand the company’s strategy and commercial drivers, not just the legal mechanics
• Stakeholder presence: Inspire confidence across the boardroom, with investors, and within cross-functional teams
• Clear communication: Articulate risk without legal jargon, build trust, and maintain credibility in high-stakes moments
• Collaborative leadership: Work seamlessly across the business and with external counsel to drive the IPO forward and know how to get the best out of their team

The best CLOs are those who can scan the horizon, identify gaps, build strong teams, and steer the business through complexity – not just those who’ve ticked the IPO box. While prior experience may provide comfort to boards and CEOs, our analysis suggests it’s neither necessary nor sufficient for IPO success.

If you’ve led or advised on an IPO and see this differently, we would welcome your perspective. Get in touch here.