As executive vice president, general counsel and head of corporate affairs at Prudential Financial, Ann Kappler oversees the Law, Compliance, Business Ethics, External Affairs, Communications, Brand & Marketing and Inclusive Solutions (corporate social responsibility) functions, leading a global team of nearly 1200 employees. She is a member of the Global Leadership Team, and the Management and Enterprise Risk Committees. She was appointed General Counsel in September 2020, after serving as the company’s deputy general counsel and head of External Affairs for six years, and her role expanded in March 2025 to include Corporate Affairs.

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 Emerita). 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 member of the Board of Visitors of the Dartmouth College Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, and 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 including 2018 Executive Women of New Jersey Policymakers honoree, NJBIZ Law Power 50 2021-2023, ranked fourth on Attorney Intel’s Top 25 General Counsels of 2023, and was the recipient of the Women, Influence & Power in Law for In-House Thought Leadership by Corporate Counsel in 2023 and the 2024 George A. Katz Torch of Learning Award. She is a frequent speaker on topics such as legal and compliance best practices, and is an advocate for workplace mental health issues.

Kappler graduated from Dartmouth College, magna cum laude, and received her law degree from New York University School of Law, where she received the Alumnae Key Award and was a member of the Order of the Coif and editor-in-chief of the Law Review. She clerked for Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judge Abner Mikva and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Harry Blackmun.