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tariro chipato

@tarirochipato

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Strategic corporate lawyer specializing in GDPR, data protection, and international SaaS agreements.

Zimbabwe

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What I'm looking for

I seek an international in-house or senior counsel role where I can drive data protection, compliance and commercial contracting for growing SaaS/DaaS organisations.

Head of Legal–level Commercial & Privacy Counsel with 7+ years’ international experience leading legal support for SaaS, DaaS, and public-sector technology companies across EMEA, the US, Africa, and Asia. Expert in outbound SaaS contracting, GDPR-aligned negotiations, and scalable legal operations, with a track record of owning commercial legal functions, negotiating $20M+ transactions, and building contract frameworks supporting rapid growth. Experienced in operating as the sole legal owner in remote-first environments and partnering directly with Sales, Security, Product, and Executive leadership.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Corporate Counsel

Dimagi Inc

Aug 2022 - Oct 2023 (1 year 2 months)

Managed a portfolio of 30+ SaaS vendors and provided legal/regulatory oversight across the US, India and South Africa, drafting and negotiating SaaS/MSA/DPA/vendor agreements for partners including USAID and Gates Foundation.

Vendor Management MSAs Regulatory Compliance Contract Negotiation

Corporate Counsel

DLA Piper Africa

Nov 2020 - Dec 2021 (1 year 1 month)

Handled Exchange Control and Competition approvals, orchestrated a $2M share swap, advised on pledge accounts and correspondent banking, and led commercial agreements for a $200M solar construction project.

M&A Exchange Control

Legal Commercial Counsel

Mhishi Nkomo Legal Practice

Aug 2019 - Oct 2020 (1 year 2 months)

Negotiated multimillion-dollar commercial transactions, drafted acquisition and sale agreements, and advised on M&A and licensing, including transactions valued at £2M and $1M.

Mergers And Acquisitions Commercial Negotiation Contract Drafting Licensing Due Diligence Corporate Advisory

Graduate Legal Intern

Coghlan, Welsh & Guest

Feb 2018 - Nov 2018 (9 months)

Conducted legal research on labour and commercial matters, prepared legal documents (summons, affidavits, petitions) and supported case strategy and client compliance.

Legal Research Litigation Support Family Law Commercial Law Case Preparation

Legal Counsel

IPinfo Inc

Spearheaded legal and regulatory oversight of global operations, drafted and negotiated enterprise commercial agreements (SaaS, DaaS, OEM, MSAs, DPAs) and led security/privacy compliance and employee/customer onboarding.

Contract Drafting Data Protection Vendor Management Privacy & Compliance MSAs DPA Regulatory Compliance

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

University of Cape Town

Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Law

2013 - 2017

Activities and societies: Recipient of academic awards in 2016 and 2017; Student Leadership Award from Investec Bank; Runner-up for the Victoria Fischer Award (essay published).

Completed the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) program, focusing on legal principles, commercial law, and critical thinking for practice.