Kenneth H. Kelly

Kenneth H. Kelly trained as an electrical engineer at Auburn University and completed an executive MBA at the University of Alabama. Before moving into banking, he spent 27 years with Southern Company in electric utility business roles. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's biography records that career as the background to his leadership of Detroit-based First Independence Bank and its parent company.

First Independence Bank carries a history rooted in its city. It opened on May 14, 1970, created in response to the economic inequities laid bare by Detroit's 1967 unrest, after African American entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers and educators came together around the idea that the community needed a bank of its own. The bank marked its 50th anniversary in 2020 with a Detroit Free Press profile of Kelly and the institution's history. The institution has grown into one of the largest Black-owned banks in the country, and Kelly serves as its chairman and chief executive, leading First Independence Corporation as well.

Kelly served as chairman of the National Bankers Association from 2018 to 2020, representing minority banks. In October 2025, the American Bankers Association elected him its chairman for the 2025-2026 association year, and he opened his term that month encouraging what he called an attitude of gratitude among bankers. His institutional service also includes appointment to the FDIC's Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion in March 2022.

He has maintained ties to engineering education as well. The Chicago Fed identifies him as the first African American to chair Auburn's Engineering Alumni Council, working with fellow alumni to support the college's research, fundraising and academic work.

In 2025, the bank marked its 55th year, with its founding CEO's successor leading both the bank and its holding company into the association year as chairman of the country's largest banking trade group.