Lisa Alexander – Freshpet

Lisa Alexander’s path to becoming general counsel of Freshpet did not follow a straight line, but it did follow a consistent theme. She has always been drawn to roles that blend credibility, influence, and practical impact. Early in her career, a conversation with an older mentor helped crystallize that direction.

Lisa Alexander | Freshpet | General Counsel

“I think a law degree brings credibility and influence,” Alexander says.

She began in New York at a small boutique firm with ambitions of litigation, particularly work tied to rights advocacy. Reality intervened. The firm needed help in corporate securities, and Alexander stepped in. What began as a temporary redirection became a defining pivot. She discovered that corporate law better matched her temperament and curiosity about how businesses operate behind the scenes. That discovery would set the foundation for a career built on governance, strategy, and operational partnership.

Her move in-house happened almost by accident. While at Fox Rothschild, Alexander reconnected with a former colleague who had become general counsel at InterDigital. A chance encounter at a children’s clothing store led to a short-term project helping with a proxy statement. That assignment turned into a permanent role and a new professional identity.

At InterDigital, she spent more than a decade immersed in international transactions and corporate governance. The timing placed her at the center of the Sarbanes-Oxley era, where her securities background proved especially valuable. She worked closely with the board, which included seasoned executives from major global companies, and helped build governance guidelines, committee charters, and codes of conduct. Those efforts eventually earned her the role of Corporate Secretary.

The experience reshaped her understanding of leadership inside public companies. She learned how boards operate, how executive teams make decisions under regulatory pressure, and how legal functions can influence strategy rather than simply react to it. After twelve years, she felt ready for another challenge. That challenge arrived in the form of a dramatic industry shift.

From tech to manufacturing & biotech

Alexander left the public technology world to join Firmenich, a Swiss, family-owned fragrance and flavor manufacturer. The move introduced her to the consumer-packaged goods ecosystem from a supplier’s perspective, working with global brands such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble. The shift from public-company governance to private family ownership forced her to adapt quickly.

At Firmenich, she built a compliance program from the ground up and gained hands-on litigation experience, including helping lead a successful employment trial in the Southern District of New York. The role expanded her understanding of manufacturing operations, ingredient sourcing, and regulatory complexity. It also prepared her for her next transition into biotech.

She was recruited to Amyris, a company focused on precision fermentation and sustainable ingredient development. There, Alexander moved beyond traditional legal work into brand creation and consumer product launches. She supported the rollout of Pipette Baby, a clean baby care brand, and Rose Inc., a cosmetics line launched in partnership with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Her responsibilities spanned contracts, sustainable packaging, advertising review, trademarks, and international retail agreements with Sephora, Space NK, and Mecca.

Later, at Perfect Day, she returned to a general counsel role within synthetic biology, helping manage ingredient supply contracts and preparing the company for a potential IPO. Although the public offering was ultimately canceled, the experience reinforced her ability to operate at the intersection of science, sustainability, and commercialization. After stepping away to care for her father and briefly advising a startup building a fermentation manufacturing facility, Alexander was ready for a new chapter.

Building a foundation at Freshpet

Freshpet is a publicly traded natural pet food company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, known for producing fresh, refrigerated pet food made with high-quality ingredients and distributed through branded refrigerators placed in major retailers, including Walmart, Costco, Kroger, H-E-B, and Publix. The company has surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue and continues expanding into e-commerce and direct-to-consumer channels as part of its growth strategy.

Alexander joined Freshpet in December 2023 as its first-ever general counsel. The appeal was immediate. The company had grown rapidly on passion and instinct, but lacked a formal legal infrastructure. For Alexander, the opportunity represented the convergence of everything she had learned across public companies, manufacturing, biotech, and consumer brands.

“I am here to support the strategy of the company,” she says.

Her first priorities were foundational. She implemented governance improvements, updated board charters and policies, introduced a board portal, and built a contract management system. Starting as a department of one, she later hired her first legal team member and began creating scalable processes for compliance, risk management, and operational efficiency.

The challenge extended beyond systems. Many teams had never worked with in-house legal counsel before. Alexander focused on education and relationship-building, helping colleagues understand where legal adds value beyond contracts and filings.

“I’m not just here to do contracts and the proxy statement,” she says.

Her leadership style emphasizes collaboration over enforcement. She prefers guidance to gatekeeping and sees herself as an integrated partner rather than a compliance monitor.

“I am integrated into the business at this point,” Alexander says.

That integration matters in a volatile consumer environment. Rising ingredient costs, shifting consumer sentiment, and macroeconomic uncertainty have created new pressures across the CPG industry. Alexander works closely with leadership to anticipate regulatory trends, monitor FDA developments, and engage in industry collaboration through organizations such as the Consumer Brands Association. Her prior experience serving as a trade association board chair also informs Freshpet’s approach to ingredient transparency and regulatory advocacy.

She views the company as entering a new stage of maturity. The entrepreneurial spirit remains intact, but the organization is growing into the discipline required of a billion-dollar public company. Legal infrastructure, governance discipline, and operational clarity now sit alongside innovation and speed.

Looking ahead with purpose

Alexander’s long-term vision is to redefine how legal functions operate inside growth-stage companies. She is exploring responsible uses of AI to streamline routine legal work while preserving the critical human element of judgment and review.

“AI can be used in the right ways to increase efficiencies,” she says.

At the same time, she remains focused on people. Hiring decisions, leadership development, and team culture are priorities shaped by lessons learned throughout her career. She looks for curiosity, adaptability, and willingness to learn rather than static credentials alone.

Her personal connection to Freshpet’s mission strengthens that commitment. As a dog owner who values health, sustainability, and ingredient transparency, she sees alignment between her professional work and personal values. That alignment reinforces her motivation to build something lasting.

Nearly two years into her tenure, Alexander measures success not by visibility, but by stability. Governance frameworks are in place. Processes are improving. Teams are learning how to work with legal as a strategic partner. The company is better positioned to scale responsibly without losing the authenticity that made it a category leader.

For Alexander, Freshpet represents more than a job change. It is the culmination of decades spent moving across industries, absorbing complexity, and refining how law can serve business. The accidental encounter that once pulled her in-house has evolved into a career defined by intentional impact. Now, at Freshpet, she is focused on building the structure that allows purpose-driven growth to endure.