Witad Awards 2026: Trailblazer (lifetime achievement) award (vendor)—Vivian A. Maese, DataRightsAI

What is your position within your firm?
Vivian A. Maese, DataRightsAI: After a long career in the law counselling large institutions and nurturing emerging companies, I founded and am currently co-CEO of DataRightsAI. DataRightsAI is a business intelligence solution for enterprise customers that provides them with instant answers to questions about contracts and policies at scale that may impact their revenue, supply chain or risk profile. DataRightsAI is the technology solution that I wish that I had during decades of practicing law at the speed of a human. 

How long have you been in the financial services industry?
Maese: I have been in the financial services industry for my entire working life, beginning as a bank teller during college summers and entering the management training program at Irving Trust Company right after college. My father suggested that it would be helpful to spend some time working between college and law school and it turned out to be great advice.

How did you get into the industry? Was it a conscious decision or did you “fall” into it?
Maese: I grew up in Brooklyn with Wall Street a few stops away on the R Train from Bay Ridge. My father taught me how to read stock prices from the newspaper at a very young age. The financial services industry was a natural fit.

For all the technology and connectivity we use today, we are still missing ‘connections.’ I would advise young women to care about their work and build relationships, but don’t neglect their relationships at home. Be sure to get the top five things right

What does your day-to-day role entail?
Maese: In a young company, you need to wear many hats. My co-CEO and I have divided up labor and each tackles a part of what it takes to stand up a company. For me, that entails selecting the core team of people, working with the tech team and our product head and our clients, setting our strategic vision, engaging the network of relationships created over time, fundraising, legal matters, board matters, staffing, budget, and thought leadership—something of everything.

What single project/piece of work are you most proud of during your career in the industry to date?
Maese: The founding of DataRightsAI as a business with smart tech and innovative clients. Before DataRightsAI, the Consolidated Audit Trail is a point of pride for me because of its scope, number of stakeholders and complexity. My client was brilliant and my team at Latham & Watkins was terrific. I’d like to mention my longtime collaborator, Louis Trotta, who made everything possible.

To what extent were you helped during your career by a mentor/role model within the business?
Maese: As a pioneer in law and technology on Wall Street, female mentors were scarce, but Robert Mundheim, Simon Lorne, Rick Ketchum and Bob Denham were great teachers. I never had a dull day from the moment I landed in my cubicle at Salomon Brothers next to Peter Bloom. Tim Mahoney, the CEO of BIDS Trading was also a great mentor. I learned a tremendous amount from working with the BIDS team and its board of directors.

To what extent does your firm have a formalized framework that seeks to identify and promote talented women and ensure they have every opportunity to realize their ambitions and contribute to the business?
Maese: Our company is small. However, it was brought into being by three women. As we grow, I expect that our eye for talent will be less traditional. We are a certified Women Owned Business in the state of New Jersey. Women simply do not have the same access to the big career job opportunities or start-up funding that men do. DataRightsAI aspires to change that operating model as we grow and become more successful.

What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned so far during your career?
Maese: There are several lessons I have internalized:

• From Warren Buffet: Keep your deals simple; otherwise, they die of their own weight.
• From my father: Master the foundation of your work.
• From my mother: Always be kind.
• From Marcy Engel: Don’t bake the cupcakes, buy them.

What would you advise women just entering the industry?
Maese: I am very proud of the young women entering the industry today. Getting a start today is harder [than in the past]. AI and remote working make it harder for young people to establish themselves and relationships with people. For all the technology and connectivity we use today, we are still missing “connections.” I would advise young women to care about their work and build relationships, but don’t neglect their relationships at home. Be sure to get the top five things right. 

What does this award mean to you?
Maese: WatersTechnology’s publications have been a source of timely and accurate information for many years, not only for me but for the financial services industry. I cherish this recognition from such a valued source of industry information.