Phuong Phillips - Trailblazer, Legal Influencer, Equity Advocate

Phuong Phillips is Chief Legal Officer for Zynga, overseeing all legal affairs and government relations for the company. Prior to joining Zynga, Phillips served as Associate General Counsel for Tesla, Inc. and was the lead M&A attorney. Before that, Phillips spent more than six years at SolarCity as its Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Corporate and Securities. Before joining SolarCity, Phillips spent more than seven years as a Corporate Attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Phillips was honored by the Silicon Valley Business Journal with a Women of Influence Award (2015) and the Recorder with a Women Leaders in Tech Law Award (2018). Most recently, Phillips was honored with a Bay Area Corporate Counsel – Diversity Award (2019), the In-House Counsel Diversity Award by the California Minority Counsel Program (2019), and the Trailblazer Award from the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California (2019), as well as named one of the Top 100 Legal Influencers by The Business Journal (2019).

Phillips serves as the Executive Chair of Women at Zynga, an employee-led resource group offering a variety of programming for women in gaming, as well as on the Board of the California Minority Counsel Program, The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, Project Glimmer and Director of Operations for the Straubel Foundation. Phillips received her bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies with a specialization in Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her J.D. from UCLA School of Law.

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Q. Best advice for women who want to go out in life and crush it!

A. Be kind and confident, and never compare yourself to others.

Q. What do you do to celebrate women?

A. First of all, women should be celebrated everyday. We need to all be better listeners to one another and to find ways to network and support each others' successes.

Q. What do you want to see more of?

A. I want to see more women in leadership roles.

Q. Recommended reading:

A. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This book is filled with wonderful quotes that not only inspire, but remind us of the importance of kindness, acceptance and respect when dealing with challenging situations.

Q. The theme for this year's women's history month is Valiant Women of the Vote. What women's rights are you most passionate about?

A. Gender pay equality is a vital women's right. Companies should perform an annual analysis to determine whether women are paid equal to their male counterparts and to take corrective actions if needed.

Q. Shout out to another woman who has made a difference in your life and how she/they did that.

A. My mother - she has taught me the importance of grit, perseverance and love. She and my father escaped Vietnam in 1980 with three young children in tow without knowing if they would survive the journey. Despite not being able to swim and escaping by boat in the middle of the night, my mom was determined to provide new freedoms and opportunities for her family. I will always be grateful for her love.

Connect with Phuong Phillips online:

Monica Phillips