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As executive vice president and general counsel at Prudential Financial, Ann Kappler is the head of Law, Compliance, Business Ethics and External Affairs.
As executive vice president and general counsel at Prudential Financial, Ann Kappler is the head of Law, Compliance, Business Ethics and External Affairs and a member of the Executive Leadership Team. She was appointed in September 2020 after serving as the company’s deputy general counsel and head of External Affairs for six years. In that role, Kappler oversaw Prudential’s corporate legal functions, including M&A, litigation, regulatory law and corporate investigations. She also led the company’s public policy advocacy, managing all federal, state and international government affairs activities.
Prior to joining Prudential in 2009, Kappler was a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in Washington, D.C., where she focused on emerging issues at the intersection of regulation, legislation and litigation. Her previous roles included litigation partner at Jenner & Block and general counsel at Fannie Mae.
Kappler serves on the boards of directors of the Pro Bono Partnership (treasurer) and the National Health Law Program (chair), and serves as program co-chair for the Georgetown Law Corporate Counsel Institute. She is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Dartmouth College Rockefeller Center for Public Policy. Kappler has served on the boards of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Appleseed Foundation, and Global Rights, and was a longtime member of the board of trustees of the Lowell School in Washington, D.C., where she served as chair. She has earned several awards such as 2018 Executive Women of New Jersey Policymakers honoree and was recognized on NJBIZ ’s 2022 Law Power 50 list. She is a frequent speaker on topics such as legal and compliance best practices and diversity.
Kappler graduated from Dartmouth College, magna cum laude, and received her law degree from New York University School of Law, where she was editor-in-chief of the Law Review. She clerked for Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Harry Blackmun.