Ken Kurson
Encyclopedia
Ken Kurson is the Executive Vice President of Jamestown Associates
, a political consulting firm based in Princeton, New Jersey
and Washington, DC. Politicker has ranked him as the 71st most influential individual in New Jersey politics on their 2009 Power List.
of Leadership
. Published in October 2002, Leadership became an immediate best seller, spending twenty-five weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List
, including five at Number One. With over a million copies in print, Leadership garnered wide praise from critics, including glowing reviews in the New York Times ("a confident, dynamic primer on basic business ethics and grace under pressure"), the New York Times Book Review ("sturdy and leavened with flashes of wry wit"), and Business Week ("blustery, unapologetic, and marked by an obvious passion").
From Jan. 1, 2002 – Dec. 31, 2006, Kurson served as the Deputy Director of Communications for Giuliani Partners
, the consulting company founded by Rudy Giuliani. Kurson wrote speeches and editorials with Giuliani and traveled with him to a dozen countries and nearly every state. Giuliani's speech to the 2004 Republican National Convention
, written with Kurson, was broadcast on national television and earned praise as the standout speech of the convention. Kurson's published work with Giuliani includes editorials in Time
, Newsweek
, the New York Post
, and a full-page editorial about European anti-Semitism in the New York Times that followed a meeting at the State Department with Colin Powell
and the American Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
. Kurson also collaborated with the former Mayor on his speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention
, joined by John Avlon
.
. Kurson was among the first hires of the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee, responsible for the Mid-Atlantic Region -- New Jersey
, Delaware
, and Maryland
. In May 2007, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, reporting to Michael DuHaime
. He served in this role until Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008. In November 2007, during a debate about Jewish issues with surrogates for Sen. John McCain
and Gov. Mitt Romney
, Kurson said, "if Bill Clinton was 'the first black president,' then the former New York mayor would be the first Jewish president."
in 1999. The Industry Standard
and the New York Times ran substantial profiles of Kurson in 2000. Yahoo! Internet Life
named Green to its list of "100 best websites for 2001," featured on its cover.
Doubleday published Kurson's first book, The Green Magazine Guide to Personal Finance] in April 1998 as its lead Spring paperback title. It enjoyed positive reviews/mention in Worth
, Wired, Playboy
, Publishers Weekly
, Detroit News, Salon.com
and elsewhere.
Kurson remains a contributing editor at Esquire
, where for five years (1997–2001), his monthly section, "Green," covered the world of investing.
Kurson is the co-author with CNBC
television personality David Faber
of The Faber Report, published by Little, Brown
in 2002.
Kurson is also the co-author of the personal memoir of biotechnology executive John Crowley
entitled Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Strength, Hope and Joy. It was published by New Market Press in January 2010 to coincide with the release of Extraordinary Measures
, the film dramatizing Crowley's work to find a treatment for his two youngest children who were diagnosed with Pompe Disease
.
in Northbrook, Illinois
in 1986. In high school, he led three-piece punk group Circles, whose tape The Defenestration of Prague earned a rave review from influential punk fanzine Maximumrocknroll, which noted that the song "War Heroes is an instant classic." From 1986 - 1990, Kurson played bass for the legendary Chicago rock band, Green (band)
. He is the younger brother of bestselling author Robert Kurson
. While playing with Green, Ken wrote a song called "My Sister Jane" about his sister, the former Jane Kurson (now Jane Glover), who is not the same person as the film editor Jane Kurson, who edited Neighbors and Bad Girls
. The song appears on Green's third album, White Soul. After leaving Green in 1990, Kurson founded The Lilacs
with David Levinsky. Their first EP, The Lilacs Love You, was produced by Material Issue front man Jim Ellison
. That release was followed by another 7", The Lilacs Hate You. Their full-length CD The Lilacs Rise Above the Filth was produced by Brad Wood
and appeared in January 1992. Kurson lives in South Orange, New Jersey
.
Jamestown Associates
Jamestown Associates is a Republican political consulting firm based in Princeton, NJ. It provides full-service political consulting and works with clients throughout the United States to develop mailings, commercials, and campaign strategies for political clients throughout the country.- Work...
, a political consulting firm based in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
and Washington, DC. Politicker has ranked him as the 71st most influential individual in New Jersey politics on their 2009 Power List.
Work with Rudy Giuliani
Kurson is co-author with former Mayor of New York City Rudy GiulianiRudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
of Leadership
Leadership (book)
Leadership is a book written by Rudolph W. Giuliani about his time as Mayor of New York City and how he cleaned up New York City, reduced crime, and revitalized the economy of the city...
. Published in October 2002, Leadership became an immediate best seller, spending twenty-five weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List
New York Times Non-Fiction Bestsellers of 2002
This is a list of adult non-fiction books that topped The New York Times Non-Fiction Best Seller list in 2002....
, including five at Number One. With over a million copies in print, Leadership garnered wide praise from critics, including glowing reviews in the New York Times ("a confident, dynamic primer on basic business ethics and grace under pressure"), the New York Times Book Review ("sturdy and leavened with flashes of wry wit"), and Business Week ("blustery, unapologetic, and marked by an obvious passion").
From Jan. 1, 2002 – Dec. 31, 2006, Kurson served as the Deputy Director of Communications for Giuliani Partners
Giuliani Partners
Giuliani Partners LLC is a management consulting and security consulting business founded by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in January 2002.-Structure:...
, the consulting company founded by Rudy Giuliani. Kurson wrote speeches and editorials with Giuliani and traveled with him to a dozen countries and nearly every state. Giuliani's speech to the 2004 Republican National Convention
2004 Republican National Convention
The 2004 Republican National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States, took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York...
, written with Kurson, was broadcast on national television and earned praise as the standout speech of the convention. Kurson's published work with Giuliani includes editorials in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, and a full-page editorial about European anti-Semitism in the New York Times that followed a meeting at the State Department with Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
and the American Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
. Kurson also collaborated with the former Mayor on his speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention
The United States 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008...
, joined by John Avlon
John Avlon
John Phillips Avlon is senior columnist for Newsweek and the Daily Beast as well as a CNN contributor. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics and Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America...
.
Giuliani presidential campaign
Kurson served as Chief Operating Officer during Rudy Giuliani's unsuccessful 2008 campaign for the Republican presidential nominationRudy Giuliani presidential campaign, 2008
Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign began following the formation of the Draft Giuliani movement in October 2005. The next year, Giuliani opened an exploratory committee and formally announced in February 2007 that he was actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican...
. Kurson was among the first hires of the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee, responsible for the Mid-Atlantic Region -- New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, and Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. In May 2007, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, reporting to Michael DuHaime
Michael DuHaime
Mike DuHaime , a Republican strategist and public affairs executive, is a managing director at Mercury Public Affairs, LLC,a national public affairs firm. He was the chief strategist for the successful campaign of former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie for Governor of New Jersey in 2009. Christie...
. He served in this role until Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008. In November 2007, during a debate about Jewish issues with surrogates for Sen. John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Gov. Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
, Kurson said, "if Bill Clinton was 'the first black president,' then the former New York mayor would be the first Jewish president."
Publications
Kurson was the founder of greenmagazine.com and Green Magazine, a personal finance site and magazine that was acquired by BankrateBankrate
Bankrate, Inc. is a consumer financial services company based in North Palm Beach, Florida, in the United States. Bankrate.com, perhaps its best known brand, is a personal finance website.-History:...
in 1999. The Industry Standard
The Industry Standard
The Industry Standard is a news web site dedicated to technology business news, part of InfoWorld, a news web site covering technology in general...
and the New York Times ran substantial profiles of Kurson in 2000. Yahoo! Internet Life
Yahoo! Internet Life
Yahoo! Internet Life was a monthly magazine published by Ziff-Davis, which licensed the name from Yahoo!, the well-known web portal and search engine website. It was created and launched by G. Barry Golson, the former executive editor of Playboy and TV Guide.It dealt with the emerging Internet and...
named Green to its list of "100 best websites for 2001," featured on its cover.
Doubleday published Kurson's first book, The Green Magazine Guide to Personal Finance] in April 1998 as its lead Spring paperback title. It enjoyed positive reviews/mention in Worth
Worth (magazine)
Worth is an American wealth management magazine for high net worth individuals. It is published on a bi-monthly basis and circulated to over 110,000 recipients.-History:Worth was founded in 1992 as a wealth management magazine for high net worth individuals...
, Wired, Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, Detroit News, Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
and elsewhere.
Kurson remains a contributing editor at Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, where for five years (1997–2001), his monthly section, "Green," covered the world of investing.
Kurson is the co-author with CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
television personality David Faber
David Faber (CNBC)
David H. Faber is a financial journalist and market news analyst for the television cable network CNBC. He is currently the co-host of CNBC's The Strategy Session, and appears on the show Squawk on the Street.-Career:...
of The Faber Report, published by Little, Brown
Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
in 2002.
Kurson is also the co-author of the personal memoir of biotechnology executive John Crowley
John Crowley (biotech executive)
John Francis Crowley is an American biotechnology executive and entrepreneur. He is best known as the founder of several biotech companies devoted to curing genetic diseases.-Life and career:...
entitled Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Strength, Hope and Joy. It was published by New Market Press in January 2010 to coincide with the release of Extraordinary Measures
Extraordinary Measures
Extraordinary Measures is a 2010 medical drama film starring Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, and Keri Russell. It is distributed by CBS Films and was released on January 22, 2010. It is about parents who form a biotechnology company to develop a drug to save the lives of their children, who have a...
, the film dramatizing Crowley's work to find a treatment for his two youngest children who were diagnosed with Pompe Disease
Glycogen storage disease type II
Glycogen storage disease type II is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder which damages muscle and nerve cells throughout the body. It is caused by an accumulation of glycogen in the lysosome due to deficiency of the lysosomal acid alpha-glucosidase enzyme...
.
Musical career
Ken Kurson graduated from Glenbrook North High SchoolGlenbrook North High School
Glenbrook North High School, or GBN, is a public four-year high school located in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States...
in Northbrook, Illinois
Northbrook, Illinois
Northbrook is a village located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, which is also a North Shore suburb of Chicago. The population was 33,170 at the 2010 census....
in 1986. In high school, he led three-piece punk group Circles, whose tape The Defenestration of Prague earned a rave review from influential punk fanzine Maximumrocknroll, which noted that the song "War Heroes is an instant classic." From 1986 - 1990, Kurson played bass for the legendary Chicago rock band, Green (band)
Green (band)
Green is a rock and roll band from Chicago. The band was started by Jeff Lescher , John Diamond , and John Valley...
. He is the younger brother of bestselling author Robert Kurson
Robert Kurson
Robert Kurson is an American author, best known for his 2004 bestselling book, Shadow Divers, the true story of two Americans who discover a World War II German U-boat sunk 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey....
. While playing with Green, Ken wrote a song called "My Sister Jane" about his sister, the former Jane Kurson (now Jane Glover), who is not the same person as the film editor Jane Kurson, who edited Neighbors and Bad Girls
Bad Girls (film)
Bad Girls is a 1994 western film starring Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson, Andie MacDowell and Drew Barrymore. It was directed by Jonathan Kaplan from a screenplay by Ken Friedman and Yolande Turner.-Plot:...
. The song appears on Green's third album, White Soul. After leaving Green in 1990, Kurson founded The Lilacs
The Lilacs
The Lilacs were a four-piece rock band from Chicago, formed in Summer 1990 by Ken Kurson, David Levinsky, Tom Whalen and John Packel. Kurson had previously played bass for Green, and after leaving the fold, he and fellow Glenbrook North High School graduate David Levinsky joined together to form...
with David Levinsky. Their first EP, The Lilacs Love You, was produced by Material Issue front man Jim Ellison
Jim Ellison
Jim Ellison was the frontman for the band Material Issue. He tirelessly promoted his band, booked tours, and secured a major-label deal in 1990. Ellison — along with bassist Ted Ansani and drummer Mike Zelenko — would lead the renaissance of powerpop in the early 1990s...
. That release was followed by another 7", The Lilacs Hate You. Their full-length CD The Lilacs Rise Above the Filth was produced by Brad Wood
Brad Wood
Brad Wood is a record producer from Rockford, Illinois. He served as a drummer for the band Shrimp Boat. Brad records, mixes and produces records and is based in Los Angeles, California. He began his career in earnest in 1988 with the construction of Idful Music Corporation- a recording studio in...
and appeared in January 1992. Kurson lives in South Orange, New Jersey
South Orange, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 5,945.3 people per square mile . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 1,987.5 per square mile...
.