Mark Kennedy, Director of the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, is dedicated to strengthening America’s alliances and their mutually beneficial economic power projection. Kennedy applies experiences as a first-generation college graduate, Congressman, university president, senior roles in global commerce, presidentially appointed member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, founder of the Economic Club of Minnesota and author of an Ivy League published book. He has engaged wide cross-sections of society in over 45 countries, including refugee camps and war zones. An appointed Civic Leader supporting the Secretary of the Air Force, Kennedy has visited over 40 military bases and three aircraft carriers at sea.
Full Biography
A first-generation college graduate, Mark Kennedy has led at the highest levels of academia, government, and business. He served as President of the University of Colorado and President of the University of North Dakota. He was a graduate school director at George Washington University, taught at Johns Hopkins University and authored Shapeholders: Business Success in the Age of Activism, published by Columbia University. Kennedy served as a United States Congressman (Minnesota) and as a presidentially appointed member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. He spent over two decades engaged in senior roles in global commerce. Kennedy founded the Economic Club of Minnesota. He is a US Air and Space Forces Civic Leader supporting the Secretary of the Air Force and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University and a Master’s in Business Administration with distinction from the University of Michigan.
