Inspired in part by a childhood spent growing up in Latin America in an era when trade barriers and tight currency controls limited economic growth and increased internal conflict, PayPal’s vice president of legal and general counsel John Muller has spent more than a quarter century focusing on the role that financial law and regulatory compliance can play in fostering prosperity, openness, and opportunity in communities around the world. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia and a law degree from Harvard, John joined the distinguished international law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and he also practiced law at Shawmut National Corporation, a multi-state bank holding company. From 1996 to 2000, he was a partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, where he specialized in e-finance and regulatory compliance. John joined PayPal in October 2000 as general counsel, and he added the role of vice president of legal in 2002. At PayPal, he leads a legal department that is working with governments and business partners around the world to reinvent commercial and payment law in order to bring the benefits of connected commerce to businesses and consumers on a global basis. John has also served as the co-chair of the American Bar Association Joint Subcommittee on Electronic Financial Services and as the chair of the California Bar Association Financial Institutions Committee.