Craig A. Waldman

Waldman's career in antitrust law has roots in a thesis paper: While at Cornell University, he wrote about 1982-84 merger guidelines.

"I was really focused on how those changes would incentivize those mergers," said Waldman, now a practice leader at Jones Day in San Francisco.

After earning his law degree from the University of Michigan, Waldman went to work for the Federal Trade Commission in the early 1990s. While there, he helped determine which mergers were anticompetitive.

Waldman's expertise now runs the gamut from artificial intelligence to transportation.

"I love learning about a product, how it fits into the ecosystem and competition issues," he said. "I really, really like helping companies manage their way through interest issues, and letting them get their products to market in an efficient way."

Waldman served as worldwide counsel to computing giant Nvidia Corp. in its $6.9 billion acquisition of Mellanox Technologies, a supplier of InfiniBand and ethernet solutions and services.

The deal, which closed April 27, combines the world's leading companies in high-performance computing, according to Jones Day.

The transaction was subject to regulatory review in multiple jurisdictions, including China.

Craig also led the global Jones Day team representing Wabtec Corp., a rail industry manufacturer, in its $11.1 billion merger with GE Transportation.

The path to that successful merger, which closed in February 2019, also included a significant review by the U.S. Department of Justice.

"They are very, very fact-intensive inquiries," Waldman explained. That's part of the fun of it. It's the thrill of very large transactions with a lot at stake."

His job also requires its share of foreign travel, including to major capital cities like Beijing and Brussels, the latter being home to important European Union regulatory offices.

When it comes to dealing with foreign governments and cultures, Waldman said, "We just have to lean on our local experts: What are the things that are going matter most to the agencies?

"That answer may not be the same in every jurisdiction," Waldman added. "You have to make sure you're tailoring your tone on a local basis."

-- Karen Weil