Colorado Law is proud to announce Craig Zolan ('95) as August’s Alum of the Month. Zolan is currently a managing director at BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager that provides guidance to individuals, financial professionals, and institutions. Zolan is the Global Head of Index and Data Solutions, which develops and executes the firm’s index and market data operating strategy.
Born in Connecticut, Zolan has always loved the pace of life and intensity of the east coast. In 1991, he graduated from Skidmore College, in upstate New York, where he studied business and government.
While at Skidmore College, Zolan was a ski racer, competing on the NCAA division II team and captaining the team his senior year. Zolan visited Boulder after graduation and knew Colorado Law was the place for him. His only concern was that he might spend more time on the slopes than in the library. Zolan packed all his belongings into a truck and headed west, but that truck did not make it to Colorado. Zolan broke down in western Kansas and had to rent a U-Haul and tow his truck the rest of the way into Colorado.
At Colorado Law, it took Zolan until his second year to find the groove in the classroom that he found so naturally on the slopes. Zolan buckled down, focused more on his time management skills, and began to excel. He took classes in the corporate arena to track his undergraduate degree, including corporations, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property law. During the summer, he did research with his corporations professor.
After graduation, Zolan knew he wanted to return the east coast and prepared simultaneously to take the bar in both New York and Connecticut. After passing the bar, Zolan began a clerkship with Judge Lawrence Hauser of the Superior Court of Connecticut. As a student and professionally, Zolan has always had an entrepreneurial mindset and decided to open his own small firm after clerking. The firm focused on providing services to startups and new media companies, an emerging industry in the mid 1990s. As a young attorney, Zolan crafted an opportunity to compete with more senior lawyers in a field of law where experience would not be a factor and he could network more effectively with the younger clientele base.
Zolan built his own practice for two years before deciding to leave the legal field to pursue another entrepreneurial endeavor. In 1998, he founded the company UVentures, an innovative online information source of technologies available for license from universities and government labs from around the world. The company at its peak employed over 20 individuals including marketing and tech teams, as well as various PhDs in the physical and life sciences.
In 2003, UVentures was acquired and shortly thereafter Zolan moved into a consulting role with BlackRock, working on their license agreements with data providers. After a brief stint away from BlackRock, Zolan returned in 2006 and has been with the company ever since.
Over the years, although Zolan has been based in New York, he has stayed close to the Colorado Law community and embodied the spirit and growth mindset of the school. He serves as the reunion co-chair of his class and is leading a meaningful fundraising campaign for the David Sutcliffe award, who was a classmate who passed away the summer after their 1L year at Colorado Law.
Additionally, Zolan has helped pave the way for more Colorado Law grads to find jobs in New York City. Three recent alumni currently work in Zolan’s BlackRock group: India Kidd-Aaron ('14), Leann Lu (’12), and Amy Moore ('15).
Outside of work, Zolan enjoys spending time with his wife and son and remains an avid skier. Zolan has taken his son to many of the premier ski resorts in Colorado including Vail, Breckenridge, and Beaver Creek. When he is unable to visit a mountain, Zolan enjoys cycling and is especially excited about his new Giant Propel racing bike.
Five Questions for Craig Zolan ('95)
What is your fondest memory of being a student at Colorado Law?
One would be studying in a place surrounded by such natural beauty. To be able to look out the window or sit outside while studying and see the Flatirons is quite amazing. The other fond memory is playing Scrabble with two classmates and the three of us clobbering our engineering student roommate in the game. It was not a fair fight.
What do you know now that you wish you had known in law school?
While this is what law school teaches, it is the analytical process to assess problems and come up with solutions. I use it today, regardless of whether the problem is a legal or business one.
What advice would you give to current students as they're preparing to graduate?
Hard work and effort pays off, you will be wiser for it and people will notice your efforts. It is a character trait of all the successful people I know.
Who was the biggest influence on your career?
I have to say I have had a few big influencers. First and foremost, my father who instilled the hard work ethos and ethical behavior. Since he passed away right after law school, there have been a few others that have provided guidance and influenced me along the way. A friend’s father who is an attorney guided me when I needed it, and my business partner at UVentures, who had a distinguished career in financial services, helped me find my “voice” as a leader.
Of what accomplishment are you most proud?
That has to be family and raising a wonderful son. Nothing gives me more pleasure and pride than seeing my son develop as a kind and intellectually curious person. Hopefully, I had something to do with that.