Arden Phillips is a senior legal executive passionate about creating solutions to complex challenges by utilizing inspirational leadership and driving continuous improvement in systems and operations. He has nearly 20 years of experience inside the board rooms of multi-billion dollar publicly traded companies, advising these boards and C-suite executives and successfully leading change and innovation at public and private companies in the high-tech, manufacturing, and energy/utilities industries.
In his current role as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Constellation Energy, the nation’s largest carbon-free energy producer and a Fortune 200 company, he has played a critical role in implementing the framework of several corporate governance, board, and disclosure procedures, including various processes to assess and address certain risks following Constellation’s spin-off as a standalone publicly traded corporation in 2022.
Arden is highly valued for his expertise in developing effective corporate governance systems and communicating key messaging to large institutional shareholders and other stakeholders. He has a successful track record of advising boards of directors on several issues, including risk oversight, fiduciary duties, board succession, executive compensation, SEC financial reporting and disclosure, shareholder activism, as well as other critical ESG matters. He also has experience in commercial corporate law and complex financing transactions, including public offerings, private placements, and M&A transactions.
In addition to providing legal counsel, he has collaborated with other C-suite executives to help companies grow strategically, implement innovative measures to reshape business operations, maximize efficiencies, control costs, accelerate performance, and respond to disruption.
Arden is a frequent speaker and writer on board-related matters. He is also a former chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC) prestigious Corporate and Securities Law Committee and a past national board member of the Society for Corporate Governance. He has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including Hope Connections for Cancer Support, H Street Main Street, Inc., and the DC chapter of the Special Olympics.
In 2021, Arden obtained his National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship Certification™. Arden has a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University and a J.D. from the Duke University School of Law. He enjoys biking, sci-fi movies, and traveling with his wife and two children.
