Background: Charles Kennedy has been member of NineStar since 2016 and currently serves as the Director for District 1.  He is Executive Vice President at Cambridge Capital, where he has managed several funds focused on financing and advising small businesses across Indiana since 1996. Prior to joining Cambridge, he spent nearly 12 years in banking. Throughout his career, Charles has built lasting relationships with business owners, mentoring and advising boards of small businesses and serving on the Indiana Small Business Development Center board, which supports emerging businesses through its ten regional offices.

Charles earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance, Marketing, and Organizational Psychology from Purdue University (1982) and attended the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin (1995–1997).

Active in his community, Charles and his wife Dianna are members of St. Simon’s Catholic Church and participate in a group providing food for the Beggars for the Poor program. Charles has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for over 48 years.

Since joining the NineStar Board, Charles has held several leadership roles, including Finance Committee Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, and currently serves as Board Chairperson. He and Dianna live in Fishers, enjoying the small-community atmosphere. They have three married children—Patrick (Lauren), Elizabeth (Eric), and Thomas (Megan) and four grandchildren.

 Candidate Statement:

I am completing my fifth year as a member of the NineStar Board.  Board members often have discussions that it takes at least one term to understand the complexity of NineStar’s platform of services (electric, broadband, water and wastewater). During the last five years I obtained three educational certificates (NTCA Director Certification, NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate, NRECA Board Leadership Certificate). Not only are these certifications a requirement to be eligible to continue to serve as a board member, but they also allowed me to be a stronger leader of the board.

After two years as the Chairperson of the Finance Committee and simultaneously Secretary/Treasurer of the Board, I was elected by the members of the board, as Board Chair. I am hopeful of being re-elected as a member of the board and continue as Chairperson. I am energized by the strategic thinking of the board and the forward direction of our NineStar organization.