Phil Clements

Photo from reachout.orgPhil Clements

Phil Clements is Managing Director at Cathedral Consulting Group, LLC.  Cathedral provides consulting to small to midsized private companies and non-profits on key business matters to help them grow, increase in value and to put the owners in a position of strength in regards to future exit strategies, often in the form of transition from one generation to the next.   Another key aspect of aiding private companies is providing the valuable advice and discipline of a board without the strictures of board oversight.  Cathedral’s Board Services couples with generational transfer to address critical private company issues in a timely, affordable, and cost-effective fashion.  Phil’s experience gives him unique qualifications to aid companies and their owners in these important transitions.

Phil also is a Managing Director at the Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.  The Center was founded in 2009 to address the need for the application of Christian principles to strengthen business operations.  Phil’s business experience, academic studies, and research have been a leading contribution to the Center’s activities and have benefited many companies as they wrestle with business practices.

Phil serves as a Managing Director of Calyx Capital Advisors, LLC.  Calyx was formed to assist the investor with a midsize portfolio and estate in addressing the changed investment environment.  Phil’s experience working with financial institutions in the design of financial products and the building of their operations, aids the Calyx team in developing client specific strategies that can address today’s challenging investment environment.

From September 2001 to October 2004 Phil held the position of executive vice president of Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting (“CVC”) division.  Phil led the transition of CVC to S&P, after S&P acquired CVC from PricewaterhouseCoopers .  Prior to joining Standard & Poor’s, Phil was the Global Leader of the CVC practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.  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 Clements is the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Business at The King’s College, New York City, teaching Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Business Law, International Business, Investments, and Business Ethics.  He is also Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University teaching Business Valuation for the Masters in Accounting and Masters in Finance programs and Freshman Colloquium for business at the Rutgers’ Honors College .

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 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. Recent articles include “The Credit Crisis of 2007 and 2008” on CFO.com, http://www.cfo.com/whitepapers/index.cfm/displaywhitepaper/12403861?topic_id=12446974 and other postings at www.cathedralconsulting.com.

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.

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 is 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.