About Us
Michael J. Kennedy
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operations Officer can address:
(1) Nonprofit Operations (2) Finance (3) Financial Strategy (4) Strategic Planning
Michael J Kennedy, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operations Officer, MDA Bio:
Michael Kennedy joined the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) in March 2018 as Chief Financial Officer. MDA is the #1 voluntary health organization in the United States for people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases. For over 70 years, MDA has led the way in accelerating research, advancing care, and advocating for the support of our families. MDA’s mission is to empower the people we serve to live longer, more independent lives.
A business veteran, Kennedy is experienced in driving global business growth, leveraging technology, and leading innovation. He is responsible for all aspects of MDA’s financial, technology, recurring fundraising growth, and risk-management operations. Kennedy has led the charge in creating a financial and technology platform that allows MDA to be a data-driven charity. With revitalized internal processes, lower fundraising costs and connected data, MDA has developed innovative ways to support its patients and families under Kennedy’s leadership. He also serves on MDA’s Executive Leadership Team, advising on organizational strategies, fundraising operations, and opportunities impacting the business to help MDA achieve its life-changing mission.
Kennedy is a global finance and operations leader with more than 30 years’ experience building and leading world-class cross-cultural teams throughout the U.S., Asia, Europe, and Latin America. His strengths include combining strategic perspective with tactical implementation and supporting business needs through efficient systems and processes. Prior to joining MDA, he served as CFO and other senior global roles in private equity led mid-sized companies, American Express, Mastercard and John Hancock.
Quotes from Michael J Kennedy:
“The three attributes that I would say have made the biggest difference in my abilities as CFO are courage, belief, and risk-taking. Having the courage to take on changes, having the belief to stick through a change when it got tough, and having the willingness to take a risk to try a different way to move the organization forward have all been cornerstones of my success” CFO Thought Leader
“The percentage of our expenses that go to [our] mission. We achieved 70%. That’s top tier in any of the rating agencies. It took a journey to get there and we tend to stay there.” CFO Brew
Expertise:
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Modeling
- Team Building
- Leadership
- Accounting
- Financial Process Improvement
- KPIs
Social Media
Mike in the media
- CFO Brew – Leading Indicators: Nonprofit KPIs
- CFO Dive – Nonprofit MDA CFO Attributes $5M Cost Reduction to Streamlined Operations
- OnConference – Top 50 COO Award Winners
- Certinia – Five Ways to Build a Future-proof Finance Function
- CFO Thought Leader – Mission-Centric Finance: MDA’s Transformation Story
Contact: press@mdausa.org
