Kennard served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton, and was the first African American to lead the agency.

His father, Robert A. Kennard, was a renowned architect who owned the oldest African-American architecture firm in Los Angeles.

During his tenure, he shaped policies that created an explosion of new wireless phones, brought the Internet to a majority of American households, and resulted in billions of dollars of investment in new broadband technologies.

Under Kennard's leadership, the FCC dramatically expanded access to communications technologies for people with disabilities.

The FCC also adopted policies to increase telephone service to rural areas, especially to Native Americans living on tribal lands.

In May 2012, the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union awarded Ambassador Kennard its highest honor, the Transatlantic Business Award, for his contribution to improving transatlantic relations, removing barriers to trade, and promoting issues and policies that support U.S. businesses operating in Europe.

[8] During his time in Brussels, Ambassador Kennard made reinvigorating the U.S.-EU economic relationship and eliminating regulatory barriers his top priorities.

Ambassador Kennard helped cement close U.S.-EU coordination on a range of common foreign policy priorities, including policies related to the Balkans, Libya and the transitions in the Middle East, and the adoption of historic non-proliferation sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

He worked to ensure that the EU "pivoted" with the U.S. when it came to dealing with Asia and integrating emerging powers into the global system.

[11] Kennard was noted as a close friend Robert L. Johnson, chairman of Black Entertainment Television (BET), and the late civil rights lawyer Vernon Jordan.