John Kelly

Global Head of Corporate Affairs

John Kelly is a Senior Managing Director for BlackRock, Global Head of Corporate Affairs for the firm and a member of the BlackRock Global Executive Committee.

Based in New York City, John oversees Global Corporate Communications, Government Affairs & Public Policy, Corporate Sustainability, philanthropy, and BlackRock’s corporate brand work.

Before joining BlackRock in July 2023, John had worked with global leaders like Microsoft, Starbucks and most recently Roku to build their brands, engage stakeholder communities and manage complex policy issues around the world. At Roku, John was Senior Vice President for Brand, Communications & Corporate Affairs for more than two years. At Starbucks for seven years, he led Global Corporate Affairs (including communications, philanthropy, and public policy) and Social Impact. There he oversaw successful global initiatives such as hunger relief, reducing the use of plastics and hiring veterans and military spouses. Before that, he held a series of senior roles in the legal department at Microsoft for more than 15 years. These included Vice President, Industry Affairs, and Director, Corporate Affairs, for EMEA, based in Brussels, where he oversaw public policy and corporate responsibility for that region.

Earlier in his career, John spent a decade working in various government roles in Washington, including as a senior aide to U.S. Senator Slade Gorton (R-Wash.). 

John earned a bachelor’s degree at Stanford University and a law degree at American University.