David Graff

David Graff

Vice President, Global Policy and Standards, Google, Socrates Program

David Graff is a tested corporate executive with extensive experience managing enterprise risk for public and private companies. He has managed corporate governance for a publicly-traded company, (serving as Chief Legal Officer, corporate secretary, and securities compliance officer), built and led teams focused on digital trust and safety for a global information technology company, prepared companies for liquidity events, spent time as a start-up CEO, and served on the board of directors for an organization with $3bn annual revenue . With a demonstrated ability to thrive in ambiguity, and a proven record of converting risks into business opportunities, David can effectively assist public and private companies experiencing ESG and regulatory challenges, and periods of accelerated growth and evolution.

Currently, David serves as Google’s Vice-President, Global Policy and Standards, where he leads a team of policy professionals responsible for writing and implementing content and behavioral policy across all Google products. David grew the team from 6 to 300 global policy professionals , expanded the team’s scope and international footprint, implemented systems and processes for improving cross-functional coordination, and through a “responsible revenue initiative” launched and managed by his team, generated $1b in incremental revenue in 2020, and $3bn incremental revenue in 2021 . In addition, David serves on the board of advisors to CapitalG , Google’s independent growth fund, consulting on investments ( e.g. , Albert , a financial services platform) and advising portfolio companies on issues related to digital fraud and abuse.

Prior to Google, David served as the CEO of a technology start-up, Online Intelligence, which provided digital forensics and anti-fraud protection services, and where he closed contracts with clients like Harpo Networks and the Florida Attorney General’s Office. He previously served as Chief Legal Officer for Edison Schools, Inc. formerly the nation’s largest public, for-profit provider of education management services, where he led M&A (including the successful acquisition of an industry peer), managed the company’s IPO (Nasdaq: EDSN) , and served as corporate secretary and securities compliance officer. David also led sales efforts and negotiations on multi-year contracts with state agencies, including a ground-breaking contract with the Philadelphia School District that generated $55mm in revenue, and led a team that refinanced ~$100 million of school construction loans via tax-exempt bonds.

At present, David sits on the Board of Visitors for The Georgetown University Law Center . He also serves on the Board and Audit Committee for The Thacher School, a private school in Ojai, California. David’s past board experience includes serving on the Board of Trustees for the Saint Barnabas Medical Center , New Jersey’s oldest nonprofit, nonsectarian hospital (SBMC’s t otal annual revenue exceeds $3bn), and the Board of Trustees for the Ascend Charter School Network ( a network of K-12 public charter schools).

David is also a co-founder of Trilogy Films (trilogy-films.com), an award-winning independent film and television production company. Over the past decade, Trilogy has produced several films and television series, including “The Way I See It”, “Good Trouble: The John Lewis Story”, “Trapped”, “The Me You Can’t See”, and “Gideon’s Army”. David earned a Bachelor’s degree in American Civilization from Brown University in 1989, and a Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1995. He and his wife, and their two sons, live in Manhattan.