We are thrilled to announce that Grace Fu will receive the Public Service Award at AABANY’s 2026 Annual Dinner on May 28, 2026.
Grace Fu is a distinguished Chief Legal Officer with extensive experience at public and private companies, widely recognized for her commitment to innovation, collaboration, and community. Grace has over two decades of legal and corporate experience and expertise across multiple industries, including technology, consumer products, travel, hospitality, dining, retail, and investment management.
Grace is currently Chief Legal & Administrative Officer at Nanit, an AI-powered technology company based in New York City. In her role, she oversees all legal, regulatory, compliance, risk, and HR functions at the company. She has led the company through significant milestones, including the company’s largest equity capital raise since its inception. Leading at the intersection of law, technology, and ethics, she also established the company’s AI Review and Product Safety Committees. As CHRO, she focuses considerable time on creating a culture of collaboration and shared success.
Grace has held multiple senior executive positions during her career. Previously, Grace served as General Counsel of KAYAK/OpenTable, subsidiaries of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), where she simultaneously advised two CEOs, two separate executive leadership teams, and business partners of KAYAK, OpenTable, and Booking Holdings on global legal, compliance, and regulatory matters. In her role, she negotiated multi-million dollar transactions, developed the company’s AI guidelines, navigated global security incidents, and led both companies’ privacy committees. She championed the company’s global ethics and compliance program, achieving during her tenure the companies’ all-time highest compliance ratings. She was co-lead of KAYAK’s corporate headquarters and Executive Sponsor of the People of Color and Ability employee resource groups.
Prior to KAYAK/OpenTable, Grace was Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Revlon, Inc. (NYSE: REV), a multi-billion-dollar global consumer products company with operations in 150 countries globally. As Corporate Secretary, Grace led all public company corporate and governance functions and worked closely with the Board and its Audit and Compensation Committees to ensure proper oversight and fulfillment of their fiduciary duties. She led complex debt and equity financings and advised on capital structure optimization. Grace co-led Revlon’s ESG steering committee, establishing Revlon’s ESG pillars.
Prior to Revlon, Grace was Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary and Chief Legal & Administrative Officer at Barneys New York. In her role, she oversaw legal, compliance, regulatory, and HR functions. As Chief Legal Officer, she led the company through a Chapter 11 restructuring until its wind-down in 2020. As CHRO, she managed over 2,500 employees and served as the company’s lead negotiator in union negotiations.
Prior to Barneys, Grace was Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Tiger Management, Julian Robertson’s family office. At Tiger, she advised on a broad range of legal and compliance matters, including for Tiger incubated and seed funds.
Grace began her legal career as a mergers & acquisitions (M&A) attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York City. At Skadden, she worked primarily with multi-billion-dollar public companies on high-profile M&A transactions. Prior to law school, she was an investment banker in New York City, where she focused on M&A and restructuring.
In addition to her professional achievements, Grace has devoted considerable time to AABANY and other non-profit organizations and charitable causes. Grace is currently serving her second term on the Board of Directors of AABANY, and has served on its Nominations Committee and its Audit Committee as Chair. She was Co-Chair of AABANY’s In-House Counsel Committee between 2016 and 2023. And she served for several years as a faculty member of the AABANY Leadership Development Program. While at Barneys New York, she was instrumental in creating the Barneys New York Foundation, on which she served as a Board Member. She is actively involved with Kids in Crisis, which provides temporary housing and comprehensive medical, educational and therapeutic support services for children of all ages and counseling and community education programs for families. She has logged hundreds of hours as a New York Cares volunteer, working primarily with disadvantaged women and children.
Grace has served as an adjunct professor at both Fordham Law School and Cardozo School of Law. She is a recipient of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Best Under 40 Award.
Grace received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard University, where she graduated magna cum laude, and her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was a Ritter Scholar and Editor-in-Chief of the Virginia Journal of International Law. She has served on UVA Law School’s Alumni Council and the Dean’s Alumnae Advisory Council. .