Brian R. Farnen

General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer

Connecticut Green Bank

As General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for the Connecticut Green Bank, Brian directs all legal, legislative and regulatory affairs for the nation’s first green bank established in 2011, a global leader in renewable and energy efficiency financing and winner of the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School of Government Ash Award for innovation in 2017. Brian’s counsel is helping the Green Bank realize its mission of leveraging public and private funds to scale-up renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency projects. In fact, the Green Bank has mobilized over $1.7 billion of total clean energy investment since 2012.

Brian was awarded by the Connecticut Law Tribune as the “Best In-House Counsel” of the Year in 2018 and previously named a “New Leader in the Law” in 2013. He is passionate about the energy space, taught business law and finance as an adjunct professor, is an Executive Board Member of the Council of Development Finance Agencies, the Clean Energy Finance Chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority (United Kingdom) and is a former member of the CT Judicial Review Counsel.

Directly prior to the Green Bank, Brian was a senior attorney with United Technologies’ Sikorsky Aircraft business unit, providing legal counsel for the international sale of the Black Hawk helicopter, as well handling all of Sikorsky’s global environmental, health and safety matters. Brian also has worked as an attorney for MassMutual Financial Group and Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge.

Brian proudly represented the 132nd Assembly District, covering Fairfield and Southport Connecticut in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

Brian obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree, Masters of Business Administration (Finance) and Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut.