Mark Kennedy

The only person to have served as a senior officer of a Fortune 100 company, a U.S. Congressman, and president of a flagship public research university, Mark Kennedy delivers keynotes that equip leaders to compete with clarity in an age of disruption.

As Founding Director of the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, Kennedy crafts policy strategies that align open societies against authoritarian threats—focusing on trusted technology alliances, resilient supply chains, and the digital rules that shape power. His GRIPS, PIVOT, and ALIGN frameworks help executives, policymakers, and educators to diagnose posture, reinforce systems, and convert strategy into execution. Through his Mind the Gap series, Kennedy exposes how failure often results not from flawed ambition, but from misaligned systems—offering leaders a roadmap for building institutional coherence and trust.

He is also the author of "Shapeholders: Business Success in the Age of Activism" (Columbia University Press), which redefines how leaders engage those who influence an organization’s risks and opportunities—even without holding a stake in its success. Kennedy applied these principles firsthand while helping lead Federated Department Stores through what was then the largest non-oil merger and corporate reorganization in U.S. history—a transformation that created today’s Macy’s.

A first-generation college graduate, Kennedy’s career spans business, government, and academia. He has led through some of the 21st century’s most defining disruptions: navigating the aftermath of 9/11 as a member of Congress, guiding the University of North Dakota through a major oil bust, and steering the University of Colorado system through the COVID-19 pandemic. Across each, he earned trust by aligning shapeholders and systems toward mission-first resilience.

He has engaged leaders and learners alike in more than 45 countries—meeting with heads of state, senior ministers, civic leaders, and students in settings ranging from world capitals to war zones, refugee camps, military bases, and aircraft carriers at sea.

His keynotes blend geopolitical foresight with institutional insight, equipping audiences to navigate disruption with clarity and courage. Mark Kennedy delivers more than a speech—he delivers a 360° lens for leadership in a contested world.