Keynote Speaker - Mark McKinnon, Vice Chairman of Public Strategies Inc.
The keynote speaker for this year's Emerging Leader's Dinner will be Mr. Mark McKinnon, Vice Chairman of Public Strategies Inc.
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet complex strategic challenges for candidates, causes, corporations and individuals around the world, including President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Congressman Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong and Bono.
McKinnon is an award-winning media producer and communications strategist who has served as principal media advisor for hundreds of corporate and political campaigns around the world. He has been awarded more than 30 Pollie and Telly awards, honoring the nation's best political and public affairs advertising.
According to Broadcasting and Cable magazine, McKinnon is one of "a handful of players behind every big decision, consensus or roadblock in Washington putting a unique, sometimes hidden stamp on the outcome of today's debates."
President Bush appointed McKinnon to serve as a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the independent, autonomous entity responsible for all U.S. government and government-sponsored, non-military, international broadcasting. The nine-member board includes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
President Bush says of McKinnon, "I was really impressed by Mark's creativity, and I was particularly impressed by his honesty." Senator McCain, in his typical straight talk fashion, says, "He's almost a genius."
McKinnon currently serves on the board of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and lectures at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
McKinnon attended UT Austin and served as editor of the award-winning university newspaper, The Daily Texan. He spent several years in Nashville working as a song-writer with Kris Kristofferson. And was wildly unsuccessful.
McKinnon's quality of life is exceptionally enhanced by the enduring love and patience of his wife, Annie (whom he met before he could drive), and his daughters, Brita, 22 and Kendall, 19.