Year Inducted: 2020
Kenneth Kelly made his mark by using the principles of engineering and applying them in broad areas including business development. In this way, he was at the forefront of moving
the Southern Company into the modern era of clean power.
Today he serves as chairman and CEO of First Independence Bank Detroit, Michigan, after a successful 27 years at Southern Company.
A native of Eufaula, Alabama, Kelly graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He would later earn his executive MBA from The University
of Alabama.
He began his career with Southern Company as a cooperative education student at Alabama Power, working at Plant Gaston. After college, he initially worked as an engineer on the power distribution system in the Mobile area before moving into the important role of managing industrial accounts in the Birmingham Division.
Kelly served as a loaned-executive from Alabama Power to The University of Alabama for two years as the Associate Director of the Alabama Productivity Center, which was located in the Culverhouse School of Business in Bidgood Hall. During his tenure, the center worked on real-world applied research projects with Mercedes Benz, U.S. Pipe, ACIPCO, Bruno’s, and many others.
After several more managerial positions in finance and workforce development, Kenneth transferred within Southern Company, assuming important sales roles at Georgia Power in Atlanta and then at Southern Company’s independent power producer, Southern Power. At both business units, Kenneth had key positions at pivotal times. In 2012, while employed at Southern Power’s Business Development group, Kelly was responsible for leading negotiations to acquire the first solar facility by Southern Company in the state of California, which represented an
investment of over $500 million. Kelly also led acquisitions of solar projects totaling approximately $3.4 billion in partnership asset value that produced a total of $146 million in first-year net income for the company.
In 2017, he retired from Southern Company after making notable contributions in engineering, industrial marketing, nonprofit leadership, corporate finance and planning, managing investments and trusts, human resources, supply chain management, commercial and industrial sales management.
Kelly now leads the seventh largest African-American controlled commercial bank in the country. He is responsible for leading the bank’s financial operations, assets, policies and regulations, in addition to overseeing the company’s management infrastructure. Kelly is also chairman of the board of MAC Leasing, an equipment leasing company based in Michigan.
He is committed to engineering education, establishing an endowment at Auburn in 2014 for minority students from his hometown. In 2018, Kelly was seated as the vice-chair and treasurer of the Auburn University Engineering Alumni Council for a two-year term, after which he will then ascend to the position of chairman in April 2020.
He has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council for a three-year term and has been appointed nationally to the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation’s Community Bank Advisory Committee to provide guidance to the chairwoman on policy for a two-year term, both in 2018. Recently, Kelly was elected chairman of the National Bankers Association by a peer group of CEO’s. Kelly has also testified before the Congressional House Financial Services subcommittee on institutions as an expert on the topic of minority banking.
Kenneth Kelly holds many distinctive awards and honors over his career including Distinguished Auburn Engineer Award as well as the Mervyn Stern Award from United Way for the most outstanding contribution in leadership to the campaign in Birmingham, and he has been recognized for leadership in Georgia by the Henry County Chamber, Council for Quality Growth and 100 Black Men of Atlanta. In Detroit, he was presented the “Spirit of Detroit” award by the city council in 2018. Kenneth is married to Kimberly from Mobile, Alabama and they have two children Kerra Alexis and Kenneth Alexander II.
