His maternal grandfather was Albert Edward Schlesinger of San Francisco, founder and former chairman of S & C Motors, one of California's largest Ford dealerships.
He later worked in principal investments at two small firms, Loeb Partners and First City Capital.
Davidson & Co. Kemper became Executive Managing Member in January 2004 and retired from the firm in December 2019.
"[8] Following his retirement, Kempner began serving on the Board of Trustees of the Ford Foundation.
[8] He serves as chairman of the board of the Central Park Conservancy and of St. Bernard's School in New York City and serves on the boards of Harlem Village Academies, Harvard Management Company, and the Mount Sinai Health System.