René Paula heads the legal function for ZX Ventures, an incubator and venture capital firm that seeks to develop new products and businesses that address emerging consumer needs. Paula started at ZX two and a half years ago. There were 25 employees, and he was the only in-house lawyer. Since then, a lot has changed. Today he leads a department of 17 attorneys for the organization of more than 2,000 employees.

Before joining ZX, which is backed by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, Paula held legal roles at Amazon.com Inc.-owned Audible Inc. and ACX.com, as well as HSBC Securities Inc. Before going in-house in 2011, Paula was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore for seven years. Paula spoke to Corporate Counsel reporter Stephanie Forshee about what ZX has brewing.