Michael W. Kempner (born January 31, 1958) is an American businessman. He is the founder and CEO of MikeWorldWide, a public relations firm headquartered in New York, New York. Kempner is also known for his political contributions and fundraising for the Democratic Party.

Early life and education

Kempner was born on January 31, 1958, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois. He graduated from American University School of Public Affairs, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1981. In 2013, he received an Alumni Achievement Award from the university. In May 2018, he gave the commencement address to the university's School of Communications and was given an honorary

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree.

Career

Kempner founded MWW Group in 1986. He is also a founding board member of ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ: CNOB). In 2012, he received the International Business Awards' Public Relations Executive of the Year, the 2012 American Business Awards' PR Executive of the Year, and the 2012 PR News Awards' Professional of the Year. Kempner was presented The Gay And Lesbian Victory Fund's 2014 Corporate Leadership Award on behalf of MikeWorldWide. Kempner became a member of the U.S. Agency for Global Media in December 2014. In March 2015, Kempner received ''

PRWeek ''PRWeek'' is a trade magazine and news website for the public relations and wider communications industry. It is published by Haymarket Media Group. History ''PRWeek'' was originally launched as a private venture in 1984 and was acquired b ...

's'' PR Pro of the Year award. Kempner negotiated a buyout from Interpublic Group of Companies and re-branded the company as MikeWorldWide. Kempner serves on the board of trustees of

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. He formerly served on the International Board of

Goodwill Industries Goodwill Industries International Inc., or simply Goodwill, is an American business that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who face barriers in their employment. Goodwill Indust ...

and the board for the

Coalition for the Homeless Coalition for the Homeless is a not-for-profit advocacy group focused on homelessness in New York. The coalition has engaged in landmark litigation to protect the rights of homeless people, including the right to shelter and the right to vote, ...

in NYC. In 2016, Kempner was recognized on ''

PolitickerNJ The Politicker Network, or Politicker.com, was a national network of fifty state-based political websites operated by the ''New York Observer''. Origins The network had its origins in journalist Ben Smith's ''New York Observer'' blog, "''The Poli ...

s Power List. Kempner has been recognized by the NJBIZ Power 100 List every year from 2015 to 2021. In 2017, he was named chairman of the board of directors of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Fulbright-Canada Scholarship Board. He received a NJBIZ ICON Award in 2018. In 2020, Kempner was elected to the PR Council Board of Directors''.'' In 2020, Kempner received the Observer award and was named to the PRWeek Hall of Fame.

Political activity

Kempner is a government appointee and political fundraiser. He was one of Hillary Clinton's National Finance co-chairs and a lead fundraiser for her 2008 bid for the U.S. presidency. He later took up a "significant fundraising role" for President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. Kempner was the Deputy Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee and a member of the Obama for President National Finance Committee. He is a member of the DNC National Finance Committee, the New Jersey Finance Chair for the DNC, and a member of the New Jersey Government Advisory Council on Volunteerism and Community Service. In 2010, Kempner hosted a $30,400/plate Democratic Party fundraising dinner attended by President Obama at his home in Cresskill, New Jersey. In December 2010, President Obama appointed Kempner a member of the White House Council for Community Solutions, a council that works to "reengage disenfranchised youth." In September 2012, he was listed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as one of the top "bundlers" for Obama's 2012 reelection campaign, having raised $3 million in 2011 and through May 2012. In 2013, Kempner donated $50,000 to Organizing for Action. In January 2014, President Obama nominated Kempner to the

Broadcasting Board of Governors The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) from 1994 to 2018, is an independent agency of the United States government that broadcasts news and information for regions of the world wi ...

, which oversees federally controlled outlets that operate overseas. Kempner took office in December of that year. Kempner is on the board of directors for three US Agency for Global Media networks:

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

(RFE/RL);

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a news service that publishes online news, information, commentary and broadcasts radio programs for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of pro ...

(RFA); and the

Middle East Broadcasting Networks The Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) is a U.S.-government-funded American Arabic-language non-profit media organization broadcasting news and information across the Middle East and North Africa region. MBN comprises two television networks ...

(MBN).

Personal life

Kempner is married to Jacqueline Steinberg-Kempner.

References

External links