Randall T. Kempner

Randall Kempner is vice president for regional innovation at the Council on Competitiveness. Kempner brings nearly 15 years of experience in the field of national and international development consulting to the Council. In leading the Council’s Regional Innovation Initiative area, Kempner has directed economic development initiatives in nearly a dozen U.S. regions. He currently leads the Council’s policy guidance and technical assistance team that is supporting the U.S. Department of Labor’s Workforce Innovation in Regional Development (WIRED) initiative.

Prior to joining the Council in 2003, Kempner served as vice president of OTF Group, an international consulting firm that advises regions and nations on how to create competitive advantage. While there, he served as the lead advisor to the Clusters of Innovation Initiative, the Council’s seminal regional economic development research project. In 2003, Kempner served as chair of the City of Austin, TX, Economic Development Task Force that developed a public sector strategy to foster cultural vitality and creative economy within the region.

Kempner has an extensive international background, having led comprehensive competitiveness projects in Bermuda, Colombia, El Salvador and Peru, and most recently, heading the Council’s work with life sciences clusters in Mexico. He has worked in a wide variety of industry clusters, including agro-industry, apparel, biotechnology and tourism.

Kempner is a frequent speaker and trainer on competitiveness and regional innovation. Recently, he has been a featured speaker at Workforce Innovations 2007, the 2007 National Governor’s Association Winter Meeting, the inaugural Americas Competitiveness Forum and the 2007 Competitiveness Institute Annual Global Conference. He is the primary author of the three most recent Council publications on regional innovation: Regional Innovation National Prosperity, Measuring Regional Innovation, and Illuminate: A Roadmap to Regional Asset Mapping.

Kempner graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Affairs. He earned his bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University. In 2004, he was a German Marshall Fund-American Memorial Marshall Fellow.