Diane Brayton is the executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary of The New York Times Company. In her role, she leads a legal team that advises on, among other areas, media and intellectual property law, corporate governance and securities matters, commercial transactions, employment and labor relations, and litigation management.

In addition to her duties as chief legal officer, Ms. Brayton oversees the company’s corporate security and occupational health and safety functions.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Brayton held a series of progressively senior roles in the company’s legal department, serving as general counsel (2017 to 2024), deputy general counsel (2016), assistant general counsel (2009 to 2016), and senior counsel (2007 to 2009). She also served as the Times Company’s corporate secretary from 2011 to 2023. She joined the Times Company in 2004 as counsel. Before working at the Times Company, Ms. Brayton was vice president and counsel in the legal department of Credit Suisse First Boston from 2002 to 2004 and an associate at the law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York, Moscow and London from 1997 to 2002. From 1996 to 1997, she was a clerk for Judge W. Eugene Davis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

In 2019, Ms. Brayton joined the board of directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide.

Ms. Brayton received a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Nebraska and a J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law, where she graduated with honors.