Phil Clements
Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Phil Clements is the managing director of the Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC. Phil has been a leader in the business community for over 30 years. In 2003, Jack Templeton, a fellow board member of the National Bible Association, challenged Phil with a question of the role of faith in commerce. Phil’s research affirmed the foundational importance of the principles of our Christian faith and the quality of business commerce. That research confirmed the changes he has experienced during his business career as the world moves away from these Christian principles. Phil founded the Center to meet this concern that is articulated in Judges 2:10-11.
Phil Clements is also currently the Managing Director and CEO of Cathedral Consulting Group, LLC. Cathedral provides consulting to small to midsized private companies on key business matters to help them grow. Phil’s experience gives him unique qualifications to aid companies and their owners in these important transitions.
From September 2001 to October 2004 Phil held the position of Executive Vice President of Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting (“CVC”) division. He led the transition of CVC to S&P, after S&P acquired CVC from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). Prior to joining Standard & Poor’s, Phil was the Global Leader of the CVC practice of PwC. During FY’99 and FY’00, Global CVC grew to a fully integrated global service unit. Prior to becoming Global Leader for CVC at the formation of PwC, Phil ran the Coopers & Lybrand’s Corporate Finance Practice for the U.S. This practice included CVC, investment banking, transaction structuring, due diligence and bankruptcy turnaround services.
From 1989 to 2000, Phil served on the U.S. boards of Coopers & Lybrand and PricewaterhouseCoopers and the global board of PwC. Phil was a member of the Finance Committees of both firms. The board experience included the board approvals of the merger of C&L and PW to form PwC and the oversight of the transition to PwC operations globally. Finance committee work included the capital structure of the firms and financial reporting. Although both firms were private, they had substantial numbers of partners for whom financial results were very relevant.
In addition to his management roles, Phil has over 20 years’ experience advising companies on their company’s value, effect on value of different operating and financial strategies, such as sell, take public and/or joint venture options. Advice includes due diligence, tax strategies, accounting issues, business strategies, corporate structure, and capitalization arrangements. He has consulted on corporate spinoffs, restructuring, and shareholder value implementation strategies. His clients have been in a number of industries, including telecommunications, pharmaceutical, defense, utilities, retail, banking and other financial services.
Phil also has a passion for developing the future generation. In this regard, he is the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Business at The King’s College, New York City, teaching Financial Accounting, Business Law, International Business, and Business Ethics. He is also Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University teaching Business Valuation for the Masters in Accounting and Masters in Finance programs. Past teaching activities include professional training at his employers, Macro Economics at The King’s College, Assistant Professor at Los Angeles Bible College (Cost Accounting and Taxation) and an instructor for the New York School of the Bible.
He guest lectured at Wheaton College in business courses on accounting and business in the real world. Phil has spoken and written on the economics of regional power planning, Global Capital Trends-Effects of the U.S. Business Environment, Tax Strategies in M&A Transactions, Financing Leverage Buyouts, Capital for Financial Institutions, and Global Financial Instruments. Phil spoke at BusinessWeek’s 2003 CFO+CIO Forum on the Implications of 2003 Tax legislation.
Business Ethics: Adding a Christian Worldview, edited by Phil, has been printed by McGraw-Hill for The King’s College 2007 Business Ethics course. In 2005 Phil lead the preparation of Faith and Development in Africa for the AFREG conference held in Nigeria in 2006. Phil co-authored Fairness Opinions: A Users Guide, published by McGraw-Hill in 2005. He also wrote the foreword to The Art of M&A Due Diligence – Navigating Critical Steps and Uncovering Crucial Data, published 2000.
Phil holds a LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law, a J.D. from the University of Puget Sound School of Law, a M.T.S. from the Reformed Theological Seminary, and a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound. He is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs and a member of AICPA. Phil also holds the designation of Certified Financial Planner. Phil has also been a member of the Washington State Bar and NASD registered supervisor.
Community service plays an important role in Phil’s life. At Grace Bible Chapel, a non-denominational evangelical church, Phil has been the High School Sunday School teacher for the past 13 years, an Elder and a part of the touring praise and worship team, PowerSurge. Phil was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Bible Association. Seattle University School of Law Board of Visitors, International Leadership Board of Advisors, and HOPE Bible Mission board are others boards that Phil has served or is serving on.
Phil has three daughters and lives with his wife in Chester, NJ. He has a passion for the water which drives his two favorite pastimes, sailing and sea-plane piloting.