John Kenkel
John J. Kenkel is a noted thought leader in the international defense community. He has appeared on CBS' 60 Minutes, the BBC and other notable international news programs. He regularly speaks at events around the world on issues concerning investment in defense and aerospace markets. He is the co-founder of Renaissance Strategic Advisors, one of the premier defense and aerospace related consulting firms in the world. He was also a senior executive at Jane's Information Group, the 100+ year old UK based publication firm where he was the global head of and helped found Jane's Strategic Advisory Services. He also served on the Board of Directors for Jane's Information Group, Inc.
Background
John Kenkel is currently a Managing Partner at Renaissance Strategic Advisors, as well as a founding partner with the firm. Before founding RSAdvisors, Mr. Kenkel was the Senior Director and global practice head for Jane’s Strategic Advisory Services (JSAS), the consulting division of Jane’s Information Group. He was a founding member of JSAS and managed a staff of over 20 consultants on three continents and managed dozens of consulting assignments for industry and governments in more than a dozen countries. While leading the JSAS team, Mr. Kenkel more developed new relationships with a number of defense firms and through rebuilding, rebranding and retraining the practice from the ground up which led to more than double the amount of revenues for the corporate practice. From 2004-2006, he was also a member of the Board of Directors for Jane’s Information Group, Inc., the US arm of Jane’s global operations. As a senior executive in the Jane’s organization he was often called upon to assist with corporate strategy and interact with leaders in every division and every region of the organization.
Before Jane’s, Mr. Kenkel was an Associate with DFI International, a boutique consulting firm specializing in strategic advice to the defense and aerospace industry. During his time at DFI he led a team that established an international practice as well as developed a global network of analysts to assist with international client engagements. Prior to DFI he was an analyst with The IBP Aerospace Group where he worked with former Soviet and Eastern European nations to market defense and aerospace systems to the US and Western Europe. While with IBP he worked in both a business development and operations capacity, as well as managed the ITAR related import and export work.
Mr. Kenkel focuses on the global defense and aerospace industry and working with clients to develop strategies to address international markets. He provides clients in the defense and aerospace industries, and financial institutions, with due diligence support, corporate planning, customer and program analyses, opportunity identification, and other analytical services. Mr. Kenkel specializes in analyzing the US and international defense industry, and understanding the complexities of strategic planning and business development processes. Utilizing these skills Mr. Kenkel has assisted in creating strategic plans, buy and sell side due diligence and go to market strategies for a number of Global 500 and smaller firms. He has particular expertise on advising defense and aerospace firms on how to develop strategies for international market growth including long-term planning, technology roadmapping and budget scenario analysis.
Thought Leadership
Mr. Kenkel is recognized as an expert in the defense and aerospace market by a number of media outlets, including television, radio and print. He has contributed to and been quoted in various outlets such as various Jane’s publications, Defense News, Worth Magazine, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, NPR, BBC and also recently appeared as an expert on CBS’ 60 Minutes. Additionally, he has been an invited speaker at events around the world on such topics as international defense market access, global defense budgets and the creation of corporate defense alliances. He has been an invited speaker on defense topics at events hosted by Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), the Economist, CSIS, IDEX, Cityforum and Jane’s. He is also an ACTIVE advisor to the international financial community on issues related to global defense trends.
Education
Mr. Kenkel holds degrees from Miami University in Oxford, OH in Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs and Political Science.