Lesa France Kennedy, (born Lesa Dawn France on May 24, 1961) is an American businesswoman and Executive Vice Chair of
NASCAR.
Education and career
Kennedy received a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Psychology from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
in 1983.
Kennedy joined ISC in 1983 and was named to the board of directors one year later. She served as ISC's secretary from 1987–96 and as its treasurer from 1989-96. From that point until April 2003, Kennedy was the company's executive vice president. She was then appointed president of ISC after her father,
Bill France Jr.
William Clifton France (April 4, 1933 – June 4, 2007), better known as Bill France Jr. or Little Billy, was an American motorsports executive who served from 1972 to 2000 as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NASCAR, the sanctioning body of t ...
stepped down. Most recently, Kennedy was named chief executive officer in April 2009.
Kennedy has been ranked as one of the most influential women in sports by numerous publications. ''
Forbes'' called her "The Most Powerful Woman in Sports" in 2009. In 2006, she was listed as one of the "25 Most Influential People in NASCAR" by the
Charlotte Observer
''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...
, "Most Influential Woman in Sports Business" by Volusia Flagler Business Report, and was "Female Sports Executive of the Year" according to
SportsBusiness Journal.
In 2016, ''
Adweek'' named her one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in Sports".
[Meet the 30 Most Powerful Women in Sports ](_blank)
Adweek, June 26, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016. In 2022, she was named one of Sports Business Journal's "Most Influential Property Pacesetters."
Personal life
Kennedy is married to Bill Christy, CEO of CLASH Endurance, an event endurance sports media company.
Kennedy's first husband, Dr. Bruce Kennedy, was killed in a plane in
Sanford, Florida
Sanford is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Seminole County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 61,051.
Known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City", Sanford sits on the southern shore ...
on July 10, 2007.
[2019 married Bill Christy, CEO CLASH USA a sports event media company]
Five people were killed, including two small children.
She is the mother of former NASCAR driver and current SVP of Racing Development & Strategy
Ben Kennedy (racing driver), Ben Kennedy.
See also
*
France family
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Lesa France
1961 births
American motorsport people
American women business executives
American women chief executives
Auto racing executives
Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Living people
People from Volusia County, Florida
Women business executives
Women in American professional sports management
Women auto racing executives
France family
21st-century American women