Paula Drake

Paula Drake joined HarbourVest to lead the Legal and Regulatory Compliance team in 2017 and oversees all aspects of the Firm’s global legal, regulatory, and compliance functions. She brings a strong mix of industry, government, and private law experience.

Paula joined HarbourVest from Och-Ziff Capital Management, where she was most recently Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief Regulatory Officer responsible for transforming and leading the global compliance department. Her prior experience includes three years with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an Associate Director, Chief Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer for the Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations. Prior to that, she was General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer at Oechsle International Advisors. She also held roles at Fidelity Investments and Ropes and Gray.

Paula received a BA (magna cum laude) in 1977, MA (with distinction) in 1985, and a PhD (with distinction) in 1987 all in English, from the University of Massachusetts and a JD (cum laude) from Harvard Law School.