Kennedy, Robert

2012 Distinguished Alumni Award

For leadership in the development and expansion of C-SPAN to create an important information resource for the citizens of the United States.

Rob Kennedy was named C-SPAN’s president and co-CEO in April 2012, a position he shares with Susan Swain. He is responsible for strategy and operations at the nation’s only public affairs cable television network. Prior to that, he served as C SPAN’s president and co-COO, and has been C-SPAN’s top financial officer since 1987.

Rob has worked in the cable television industry his entire career. He brought to C-SPAN experience at both the corporate and system levels of cable television operations.

Rob played an important role in C-SPAN’s earliest days, when Jack Frazee, the CEO of Centel Cable tasked Rob with writing the first business plan for the start-up cable network. At the time, Mr. Frazee was serving as board chairman for C-SPAN, which is a public service created by the nation’s cable television operating companies.

Rob is a board member and serves as finance committee chair for the Emma Bowen Foundation, which creates mentoring opportunities for minority high school students in cable and broadcast companies. He also serves on the advisory board for the College of Media at the University of Illinois.

In 2004, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) selected Rob and Susan Swain as winners of the Vanguard Award for Programmers, the industry’s highest honor.