Lara

Pitaro

FACE #29

Executive VP & General Counsel,

Major League Baseball

What was your path/journey after you graduated from Cornell?

The only stage of my post-Cornell journey that went according to plan was my Fordham law school experience. Though it had its challenges, I knew how to be a student - Cornell had prepared me very well for that.  

After that, I would characterize my path as a series of very happy accidents that landed me in the greatest city in the world, meeting and marrying the best guy ever, and very early in my career, happening upon the opportunity to apply my legal skills to serve the sport I love.  

I was meandering through the start of my professional life as a corporate/securities associate at Vinson & Elkins when I learned that MLB Advanced Media, the then-interactive media arm of Major League Baseball, was hiring entry-level transactional counsel. Aside from my love of baseball, I did not possess a single skill that was transferable to the role, but I could not resist applying. To this day, I do not have the slightest idea why MLB took a flier on me, but 15 years later, I was invited to join the Commissioner’s team of senior staff, as MLB’s General Counsel.  

I love my job in ways that I do not imagine very many lawyers do and that is in part because I am a true fan of our sport, another part because I am surrounded by many who are far better at their jobs than I could ever hope to be and others who have supported me at every turn, and in final part because I still learn something new every single day. Though I am not precisely sure how I arrived here, I am 100% convinced that I am in the right place.

Personally, after a five-plus-year renovation project that straddled COVID and taught us the joys [not!] of owning a co-op in NYC, I can officially say I reside on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with my husband, Andrew and our dog, Nettles. Andrew grew up here and I like to pretend that I did, so we are thrilled to finally call ourselves permanent fixtures of New York. In our free time, we are fans of all things sport-related (emphasis on baseball, of course), good food, film and modern design. Nettles shares our love of these things, though unfortunately favors the tennis ball over the baseball for her favorite sport, fetch.

What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell in Fall 2025?

Remember to pick your head up and savor the complete experience. I tend to skew toward the intense [those who know me may be laughing at the understatement], so I routinely revisit this advice myself. Though Cornell can seem cold in ways beyond the weather, there is warmth around so many corners. For me, it was the juxtaposition of these extremes that made the Cornell experience so vibrant. If you are not convinced, stay for the summer. Ithaca’s profound beauty, and having more than a few days of sunlight by which to discover it completely, was truly transformative for me.

If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be and why?

I would have allowed Rashmi (Madan) Newman, Susan (Fulginiti) Schmidt and my second family at 208 Delaware drag me out of the stacks more often. Those moments are woven into the fabric of my being today in ways that the words on the pages I was poring over could never be. While my Cornell academic endeavors were foundational, my friends at 208 Delaware rounded my edges and gave me balance. They instructed me in the art of playing hard and working harder, which is an approach I carry with me to this day.

What random or surprising encounters with Cornell, or Cornellians, have you experienced since you left?

Too many to name! We are everywhere and that is one of the best things about being Cornellians. They are my brother (Jimmy, HumEc ’91), my husband (Andrew, JD ’97), my closest friends, colleagues and role models, all the way up to my ultimate boss, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball (Rob Manfred, ILR ’80). Others might explain this presence as nothing more than numerosity, but we know better. There is a grit and a determination, coupled with some other magic sauce, that seems to reverberate more intensely through the Cornell graduate and I am continually reminded of it with every encounter.