Lieutenant General (Ret) Ken Keen

Lieutenant General (Ret) Ken Keen is a native of Hyden, Kentucky.  Following graduation from Eastern Kentucky University, as a distinguished military graduate, he was commissioned as a 2LT in the U.S Army Infantry in December 1974.  LTG (Ret) Keen retired from active duty on 1 March 2013.   

LTG (Ret) Keen is a Professor Emeritus at Emory University Goizueta Business School. Prior to retiring from Emory on May 9th, 2025, he was the Associate Dean of Leadership, Program Lead of the Master in Business for Veterans (MBV) degree, and Associate Professor in the Practice of Organization and Management at Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business in Atlanta, Georgia. In this role, he managed a school-wide leadership program, was a faculty member, and led the launch of a new Program, the Master of Business for Veterans degree. Working closely with faculty, program directors, staff, students, and donors he guided leadership programming and the MBV.

Prior to joining Emory University on 1 August 2013, Lieutenant General (Retired) Keen retired from the U.S. Army with over 38 years of service, including over 11 years working and living abroad in numerous Latin America countries, Germany, Egypt, Haiti, and Pakistan. Ken has extensive leadership experience of conventional and special operations units as well as the interagency environment. Ken commanded in Special Forces, the 82nd Airborne Division, the Rangers including as the 11th Colonel of the 75th Ranger Regiment, Commander of Joint Task Force – Haiti, following the Jan 2010 earthquake, as well as serving on 3 U.S. Embassy Country Teams leading all military forces in Colombia, Haiti, and Pakistan during crisis periods.

LTG (Ret) Keen is a graduate of the Brazilian Command and General Staff College, the University of Florida’s Master of Arts in Latin American Studies, and the Army War College.  

While retired, Ken continues to teach and serve as a Senior Consultant on Crisis Leadership and supporting veterans. LTG (Ret) Keen also serves on several non-profit Boards in support of military veterans, education, and international humanitarian organizations.  Ken is the Chairman of the Board for the National Infantry Museum Foundation; Board member for the Witness to War Foundation; Board member of the Community Organized Relief Effort; Chairman of the Ranger Hall of Fame Board; and Honorary Colonel of the 75th Ranger Regiment.  

In 2000, he was inducted into the Eastern Kentucky University Hall of Distinguished Alumni, and in 2016, LTG (Ret) Keen was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame and the National Reserve Officer Training Corps Hall of Fame.

LTG (Ret) Keen has been married to Mary Ellen Hume for over 51 years.  They have a daughter, Marta Keen; two sons Dr. Ryan Keen and Jonathan Keen, who is married to Jennifer Wu; a grandson, Jackson, and granddaughter, Juliana.