Chairman and CEO
Executive Vice President
General Counsel
Ken Jones is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Communications Equity Associates and its affiliates. CEA is a global investment and merchant banking firm with an emphasis on media, telecommunications, entertainment and real estate. CEA and its affiliates are the general partners in 12 private equity funds worldwide with $1.5 billion under management. Ken manages, sources, executes and closes private equity, investment and merchant banking deals. He also oversees all relationships with outside counsel and ensures compliance with all laws and regulations for CEA’s business lines. Additionally, Ken provides active management and strategic advice for the numerous financial investments for the family office of CEA’s chairman as well as one other private family estate.
Prior to joining CEA in 2005, Ken spent a majority of the previous decade in legal, government and management positions in Washington, DC. Most recently, Ken served as the Chief Legal Counsel and Deputy Chief of Staff for former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and the Senate Rules & Administration Committee. While working for Senator Lott, Ken played a key role in the management, structuring, budgeting and allocation of more than $100 million in federal funding for all standing committees in the U.S. Senate. He also supervised the oversight for many legislative branch agencies including the U.S. Capitol Police, the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, Architect of the Capitol, Government Printing Office and many others, with total budgets in excess of $3 billion. Ken also worked on intelligence issues and held multiple top secret security clearances including SCI accesses. In addition to legislative branch oversight, other jurisdictional areas included federal election law and campaign finance matters, the Federal Election Commission, the Election Assistance Commission as well as Senate Rules governing floor procedure and the credentialing and qualifications for Members of the United States Senate. Ken was centrally involved in the strategy of the proposed reworking of the U.S. Senate’s rules during the attempted filibustering of various Executive Branch judicial nominations in 2003 – 2004. While working for Senator Lott in 2005, Ken also served as the general counsel and senior advisor to the 55th Presidential Inauguration of George W. Bush.
Prior to his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Ken practiced at the Washington D.C. law firm Patton Boggs. Among his clients were the President, the Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaigns, the Republican National Committee, national trade associations, Fortune 500 companies and members of the U.S. Congress. His work centered on public policy, finance and election law as well as Congressional ethics. Ken also has experience in complex commercial litigation involving Constitutional law, corporate finance and intellectual property.
During the 2000 Presidential election, Ken served as counsel for the Bush-Cheney Campaign in Palm Beach, Florida where he participated in the overseeing and training of ballot observers during the Florida Presidential recount. Following the 2000 election, he was appointed Chief Counsel to George W. Bush’s Presidential Inaugural Committee. He has also served as senior strategic advisor and counsel to the last three Republican National Conventions and as general counsel to two of the last three U.S. Presidential Inaugurations.
Ken is currently serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Host Committee for the 2012 Republication National Convention. He is responsible for the organization and day-to-day executive management of all host committee responsibilities in connection with the 2012 Republican National Convention. The Host Committee has multiple functions including raising private dollars to alleviate the burdens of government in connection with the Convention, the coordination of logistics, security, venue leasing, hiring staff and numerous other functions. He is also a member of the executive committee and works with the Host Committee’s board of directors to implement all necessary functions to host a successful 2012 Republican National Convention.
Ken also serves on the board of directors for Trinity Café and on the executive committee of Tampa Bay & Co., the Bay Area’s official tourism and economic development agency. He began his career in Washington, DC at the Republican National Committee where he served as Deputy Counsel. Raised in Tampa Bay, Florida, Ken graduated with honors from Florida State University with a degree in communications and criminology and received his law degree from the University of Florida. After his tenure in Washington, D.C., Ken returned home to Tampa in 2005.