Grant Burns
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Grant Burns serves as executive vice president and general counsel. In this capacity, Grant oversees all legal matters including corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation and compliance as well as government affairs. In addition, Grant is also involved in the strategic, legal and compliance activities of several other Fujikura group companies, including Fujikura Automotive America (FAA) and Fujikura America Incorporated (FAI). AFL's human resources and international trade functions also report to Grant.
Prior to joining AFL in 2012, Grant was in private practice for over twenty years, first with Ogletree Deakins and later with Nexsen Pruet, LLC. During that time, he was recognized for excellence by publications such as The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers and Martindale-Hubbell (AV).
A member of the South Carolina Bar and the Virginia State Bar, Grant has been admitted to also practice in numerous federal district courts, appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court. He is also a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Defense Research Institute’s Corporate Counsel Committee.
Grant is a graduate of Clemson University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a Minor in Economics. He also holds a Juris Doctor from the Washington and Lee University School of Law. In 2016, Grant was honored by the Clemson University Alumni Association with its Distinguished Service Award—the highest honor that the Association bestows on an alumnus or alumna. He formerly served on the Clemson’s Board of Visitors, its foundation board and is a past president of the university’s alumni association. Grant currently serves on the Clemson MBA Program Executive Board.
Grant is active in several civic and philanthropic organizations across South Carolina in addition to serving by gubernatorial appointment on the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education, which governs the South Carolina Technical College System, and administers the state’s readySC™ workforce and economic development program. Grant is also a graduate of Leadership South Carolina.