Biography
Alan B. Cardenas is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Coursera (NYSE: COUR), a leading global education technology company. He is a member of the executive leadership team, overseeing the company’s worldwide legal, compliance, regulatory, and government affairs functions.
Alan is a seasoned public-company general counsel known for advising boards and senior executives on governance, enterprise risk, and high-stakes strategic and transactional matters across global, regulated environments. At Coursera, he plays a central role in supporting the company’s strategic growth as a publicly listed organization operating across multiple jurisdictions.
Prior to his current role, Alan served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary at Coursera, where he led the company’s global corporate legal function, including governance, securities, employment, procurement, legal operations, international expansion, M&A, and litigation.
Before joining Coursera, Alan was Head of Corporate Legal for Siemens Energy, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Siemens Energy AG, a $40-billion Fortune Global 500 energy technology company with operations in more than 90 countries. In that role, he served as chief U.S. corporate counsel, overseeing governance, regulatory affairs, government relations, export controls and international trade, cybersecurity, data privacy, supply chain, technology, communications, legal operations, and real estate.
Earlier in his career, Alan held senior legal leadership roles at Siemens Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, one of the world’s largest technology companies, including Lead Counsel for U.S. Central Functions, lead attorney for Global Business Services, and General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Siemens Foundation. He also served as lead U.S. securities counsel, lead lawyer for venture capital in the Americas, and co-lead counsel for M&A in Canada and Latin America.
Alan began his legal career at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. He has been recognized for leadership and excellence in the legal profession, including being named Corporate Attorney of the Year (2025) by the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey and a Legal Luminary (2024) by Hispanic Executive Magazine, which has featured his leadership and innovation in the legal profession multiple times. Alan holds a J.D. and a B.A. from Rutgers University.