Michael J. Kelly
Mike Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Business leader, media executive |
| Known for | Co-founder and leader of KNV; former president and CEO of The Weather Channel Companies; former president of AOL Media Networks |
Michael J. "Mike" Kelly (born 1957) is a prominent American business leader and media executive. He co-founded and currently leads KNV, a firm specializing in digital media investments and advisory services. Earlier in his career, Kelly held the positions of president and CEO at The Weather Channel Companies, president of AOL Media Networks, and occupied several senior roles at both Time Warner and AOL.
He is distinct from J. Michael Kelly, who formerly served as CFO of AOL and AOL Time Warner before becoming CEO of AOL International.
Early life and education
Kelly was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. His father had a lengthy career as an advertising executive in Chicago and New York, while his great uncle, Edward Joseph Kelly, served as Chicago’s mayor from 1933 until 1947.
He pursued higher education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and later obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
Time Inc. and American Town Network (1980–2002)
Kelly launched his professional journey at the Chicago Tribune in 1980 before joining Time Inc. in 1983, where he remained until 2000. During his tenure, he managed sales offices in the Southeast and New York for Fortune, and was part of the founding team for Entertainment Weekly in 1989. From 1996 to 2000, he acted as publisher of Entertainment Weekly, earning Publisher of the Year honors twice.
In 2000, Kelly established American Town Network and served as its CEO until 2002. By 2009, the company had grown into the largest hyper-local digital platform in the United States.
Time Warner and AOL (2002–07)
After the merger between AOL and Time Warner in 2000, Kelly was appointed president of global marketing for Time Warner in 2002. Two years later, he became the inaugural president of AOL Media Networks, where he oversaw marketing and advertising operations. He spearheaded significant digital advertising acquisitions for AOL, including the $435 million acquisition of Advertising.com in 2004. Additionally, he managed strategic partnerships with Google and acquired mobile advertising firm Third Screen Media. Under his guidance, AOL’s advertising and commerce revenues tripled to exceed $2.2 billion. Kelly exited AOL in 2007.
The Weather Channel (2009–12)
On July 20, 2009, shortly after The Weather Channel was purchased from Landmark Communications by NBC Universal, Bain Capital, and Blackstone Group for $3.5 billion, Kelly was appointed president and CEO of The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC).[1][2] He directed the overall strategy and daily operations for The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel Interactive, weather.com, The Weather Channel Mobile, Weather Services International, and Enterprise Electronics Corporation.[3]
During his leadership tenure, TWCC saw substantial growth within its digital media segment, notably through mobile applications and data services.[4] This growth played a role in IBM’s acquisition of The Weather Company’s digital assets in 2015 for an undisclosed sum.[5][6] Kelly also introduced taped reality programming and documentaries to diversify the channel’s content offerings. While this strategy increased ratings, it faced criticism from viewers who preferred purely weather-focused programming.[7]
Kelly left TWCC in 2012 to take on a role as special advisor to both TWCC and Bain Capital.[4]
Additional Roles
Since 2004, Kelly has contributed as a board member of The Kelly Gang, a collective of media executives dedicated to fundraising for charitable causes through yearly St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
Between 2007 and 2009, he provided strategic counsel to the media-oriented private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson. His board memberships have extended to several digital media enterprises such as Eyeblaster, VisibleWorld, ContextWeb, and American Town Network. Additionally, Kelly holds a position on the board of the American Advertising Federation, where he has twice chaired the Advertising Hall of Fame, and has been involved with the Ad Council. Since 2011, he has also served on the board of councilors at the Carter Center located in Atlanta.
In 2012, Kelly was appointed chairman of ColSpace, a cloud-based media planning software company, and by 2014, he became its principal investor. ColSpace was subsequently acquired by Mediaocean, a firm owned by Vista Equity Partners, in May 2016. That same year, Kelly took on the role of non-executive lead director at Unruly Media, a London-based media advertising company, eventually advancing to chairman. On September 16, 2015, News Corp completed its acquisition of Unruly for $176 million.
Personal Information
Kelly is married to Martha Hall Kelly, an author whose first novel, Lilac Girls, was released by Ballantine Books in 2016.
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedskramer - ↑ David Goldman, "IBM buys digital part of Weather Channel," CNN Money, October 28, 2015.
- ↑ Katie Richards, "IBM Grows Big Data Capabilities After It Officially Acquires Weather Company Properties," Adweek, January 29, 2016.
- ↑ Brian Stelter, "Weather Channel's Parent Company Is Renamed," New York Times, October 21, 2012.