Mark Kennedy

Mark Raymond Kennedy was born on April 11, 1955 in Benson, Minnesota, and raised in Murdock and Pequot Lakes. Graduating from Pequot Lakes High School in 1975, he was the first boy in his family to attend college.

He graduated from St. John's University in 1979. He became a Certified Public Accountant and obtained his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business four years later.

He had never lived in a town of more than 1,000 until he joined college. His parents taught him the Minnesota values of hard work, common sense, faith in God, cooperation and a sense of optimism.

Between 1983 and 1987, he worked for the Pillsbury Company, one of the world's largest producers of grain and foodstuffs, assisted their acquisition of Häagen-Dazs and arranged for financing to support their international expansion.

As a senior executive at Federated Department Stores between 1987 and 1992, he helped the company transform to become as Macy's, the world's leading department store and the largest fashion goods retailer.

He was profiled in May 1992's Institutional Investor Magazine, which featured him on its cover as one of “America's top CFOs”. At ShopKo Stores, he was responsible for merchandising, marketing and store management.

In 2000, he became the Republican nominee for the 2nd district and faced the four-term Democrat David Minge. Though he had never run for political office before he defeated Minge narrowly by 155 votes.

He faced Janet Robert, a lawyer and longtime Democratic activist. In one of the most expensive congressional races in Minnesota history, he was reelected with 57% of the vote in 2002.

Kennedy's support of the War in Iraq during the 2006 U.S. Senate race was described as "bold and smart". He was hailed by the American media for not ducking the issue.

In 2007, he was appointed to the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiation (ACTPN) which considers trade policy issues in the context of overall national interest.