Ben Parrish Email & Phone Number

Ben served as a senior executive and general counsel of four companies over a twenty-five year period. After beginning his career as an associate with King & Spalding, Ben held several in-house counsel positions before being named SVP and general counsel of Smith + Nephew North America at the age of 38. His primary practice areas included securities regulation, business transactions and corporate law. As general counsel, he was responsible for managing the legal affairs of four companies in diverse industries and played a key role in successfully completing numerous acquisitions and financings and in effectively managing and resolving class action lawsuits and other complex litigation. In January 2021, Ben retired from his position as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO), one of the fastest growing NASDAQ companies over the last twenty years and one of the 300 largest public companies in the country. At Tractor Supply, Ben led the company's legal, real estate, risk management and product quality/customs compliance functions, and served as a member of the Executive Committee. Under his leadership of the company's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts, Tractor Supply was named one of Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies in America twice. As corporate secretary, Ben served as a liaison with the Board of Directors and advised the Board on a wide range of matters, including corporate governance matters. He also served as a director of the company's charitable foundation. A 1982 graduate of Mercer University School of Law, Ben served as editor-in-chief of the Mercer Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Board. Among other awards, he received Corpus Juris Secundum Awards for making the most significant contribution toward overall legal education in his junior and senior years and awards for having the highest grade point average in his first, second and third years. He was a member of the the Brainerd Currie Honor Society, Order of Barristers and Phi Kappa Phi.

Listed skills include Contract Negotiation, Corporate Governance, Securities Regulation, Risk Management, and 11 others.