Craig Kennedy was president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) from 1995 to 2014. He began his career in 1980 as a program officer at the Joyce Foundation in Chicago and eventually became president. He left the Joyce Foundation to work for Richard J. Dennis, a Chicago investor and philanthropist. In addition to advising Mr. Dennis on his charitable and political activities, he was also involved in the Dennis Trading Group and helped implement a major restructuring of Mr. Dennis’ business interests. During this same period, Mr. Kennedy created a consulting firm working with nonprofit and public sector clients. One major client was the City of Chicago, for which he served as an advisor to the Mayor on school reform, housing and economic development. A second significant client was the Environmental Defense Fund, based in New York City. Other clients included the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia, Prince Charitable Trusts in Chicago, the Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest in Chicago, the National Audubon Society and the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Mr. Kennedy serves as an independent trustee and chair of the audit committee for the open-end mutual funds of Van Kampen Investments. He also serves on the board of First Solar, a public company, True North Ventures, and as Chair of The Accountability Lab. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Civilization Studies from the University of Chicago, and completed a joint degree program, acquiring a Master of Arts in Social Work and a Master of Business Administration.