Mark Van Vleet
Lawyer Mark Van Vleet has always been into music–so landing the top legal gig at one of the most recognizable guitar companies in the world has been a match made in rock-and-roll heaven. The opportunity came unexpectedly for Van Vleet, who started his first in-house job in 1997 at a health food company, following a former partner from the law firm Johnston Maynard Grant & Parker where they had both worked. After about five years in-house, someone mentioned that Fender Musical Instruments Corp.–the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based makers of legendary electric guitars such as the Stratocaster and Telecaster–needed a new GC.
