Jerome H. Kern

{{Infobox person

| name = Jerome H. Kern

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|06|01|mf=yes}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|12|13|1937|06|01|mf=yes}}

| death_place =

| alma_mater = Columbia University (BA)
New York University School of Law (JD)

| occupation = Lawyer, consultant, business executive

| employer = Moelis & Company

| known_for = Founding partner of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Former Chairman and CEO of Colorado Symphony
Namesake of the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship

| spouse = Mary Rossick Kern

| children =

}}

Jerome H. Kern{{Cite web |last=Politics |first=JOANNE DAVIDSON Special to Colorado |title=NONPROFIT REGISTER {{!}} Colorado Symphony leader announces his retirement |url=https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/nonprofit-register-colorado-symphony-leader-announces-his-retirement/article_1c32cc56-119e-11ec-8345-6fe289bd6a7e.html |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Colorado Politics |date=9 September 2021 |language=en}} (June 1, 1937 – December 13, 2024) was an American lawyer, investment banker, consultant, and philanthropist. Kern was one of the founding members of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.{{Cite web |title=Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz {{!}} NYU School of Law |url=https://www.law.nyu.edu/giving/campaign/supporters/wachtell-lipton-rosen-katz |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=www.law.nyu.edu}}{{Cite web |date=2021-04-29 |title=The Early Years {{!}} The Lipton Archive |url=https://theliptonarchive.org/early-years/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=theliptonarchive.org |language=en-US}} After a career in investment banking, he served as a senior partner of Shea & Gould, then at Baker Botts, while holding senior leadership positions at Tele-Communications Inc. In the early 2000s, he was CEO of Linkshare, On Command, and Playboy. He was also chairman and CEO of Colorado Symphony and a senior advisor to Moelis & Company.{{Cite web |last=vCARD |title=Jerome H. (Jerry) Kern |url=https://www.moelis.com/our-team/jerome-h-jerry-kern-2/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Moelis & Company }}{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Early life and career

Kern received his B.A. from Columbia University in 1957.{{Cite book |last1=Columbia College (Columbia University). Office of Alumni Affairs and Development |url=http://archive.org/details/ldpd_12981092_005 |title=Columbia College today |last2=Columbia College (Columbia University) |date=1958 |publisher=New York, N.Y. : Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development |others=Columbia University Libraries}} He then graduated from New York University School of Law on a Root-Tilden Scholarship in 1960 and was managing editor of the New York University Law Review.{{Cite web |title=Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program celebrates its 65th anniversary {{!}} NYU School of Law |url=https://www.law.nyu.edu/news/root-tilden-kern-scholarship-program-anniversary |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=www.law.nyu.edu}}{{Cite book |last1=Dim |first1=Joan Marans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oiVFGs6NT30C&dq=jerome+h.+kern+nyu+law&pg=PA250 |title=The Miracle on Washington Square: New York University |last2=Cricco |first2=Nancy Murphy |date=2001 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-0216-9 |language=en}}

In 1965, Kern, Herbert Wachtell, Martin Lipton, Leonard Rosen, and George Katz, formed the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Kern later left the firm to pursue a career in investment banking, running his own brokerage firm J.H. Kern & Company. He returned to law practice, was a partner at Olwine, Connelly, Chase, O’Donnell & Weyher, and eventually becoming an executive committee member of Shea & Gould.{{Cite web |title=Shea & Gould's Identity Crisis |url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/almID/900005508234/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=The American Lawyer |language=en}}

From 1992 to 1998, Kern was a partner at Baker Botts and was the top outside legal counsel to Tele-Communications Inc. and Liberty Media for over twenty years.{{Cite web |author1=MCN Staff |date=2009-07-08 |title=Jerome Kern Exits Playboy Board |url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/jerome-kern-exits-playboy-board-364258 |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Multichannel News |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=On Command Names Jerome H. Kern as Chief Executive Officer |url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4004679.html |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Hospitality Net |language=en-us}} Described as the right-hand man to John C. Malone,{{Cite news |last=Farhi |first=Paul |date=September 17, 1995 |title=HANDS-ON BARGAINER |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1995/09/17/hands-on-bargainer/3ae56d6b-3d3c-4c42-88f8-99c4657ee4b2/ |access-date=June 24, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Kern was the architect of TCI's merger with AT&T Corporation and served as a director and Vice Chairman of TCI.{{Cite web |last=Weiker |first=Jim |title=Liberty Media appoints On Command CEO |url=https://extras.denverpost.com/business/biz0407i.htm |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=extras.denverpost.com}} Malone once referred to Kern as "the dean of cable lawyers." He left the board of Liberty Media in 2004.{{Cite web |title=Kern leaves Liberty board |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2004/02/09/daily2.html |access-date=June 24, 2022 |website=Denver Business Journal}}{{Cite web |last1=Amdur |first1=Meredith |date=2004-02-09 |title=Liberty to buy stake in Japanese cabler |url=https://variety.com/2004/scene/markets-festivals/liberty-to-buy-stake-in-japanese-cabler-1117899830/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

Kern was made CEO of Linkshare in 1999.{{Cite web |last1=Graser |first1=Marc |date=1999-04-12 |title=LinkShare Corp. clicks on Kern for CEO |url=https://variety.com/1999/biz/news/linkshare-corp-clicks-on-kern-for-ceo-1117493163/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2006-09-22 |title=A TRUE COMMITMENT |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/19990426/SUB/904260714/a-true-commitment |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Crain's New York Business |language=en}} He then served as chairman and CEO of On Command, the nation's largest provider of pay-per-view video services in hotel rooms from 2000 to 2001.{{Cite news |last=Egan |first=Timothy |date=2000-10-23 |title=EROTICA INC. -- A special report.; Technology Sent Wall Street Into Market for Pornography |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/23/us/erotica-special-report-technology-sent-wall-street-into-market-for-pornography.html |access-date=2022-06-24 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |date=June 26, 2001 |title=On Command cuts work force and earnings estimates |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2001/06/25/daily14.html |access-date=June 24, 2022 |website=Denver Business Journal}}

Beginning in 2001, Kern ran his own consulting firm, Kern Consulting LLC, focusing on serving clients in the media and telecommunications sectors. He joined the board of Playboy Enterprises in 2002 and served as interim CEO from 2008 to 2009 following the departure of Christie Hefner.{{Cite news |last=Clifford |first=Stephanie |date=2008-12-08 |title=Christie Hefner to Depart Playboy |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/media/09playboy.html |access-date=2022-06-24 |issn=0362-4331}} Kern departed Playboy's board of directors in 2009. In 2007, he also formed Enki Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm helping companies expand into mobile and multi-platform media technologies.{{Cite web |last=Reading 10/18/2007 |first=LR Cable News Wire Feed Light |title=Cable Guys Form Consulting Firm |url=https://www.lightreading.com/cable-video/cable-guys-form-consulting-firm/d/d-id/648110 |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Light Reading |language=en}}

In 2020, Kern joined Moelis & Company as senior advisor.{{Cite web |title=Moelis & Company Announces the Appointment of Jerry Kern As a Senior Advisor |url=https://www.moelis.com/news/moelis-company-announces-the-appointment-of-jerry-kern-as-a-senior-advisor/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Moelis & Company}}

Philanthropy

Kern donated $5 million to New York University School of Law and set off a $30 million fundraising campaign for the Root-Tilden Scholarship program.{{Cite web |last=Journal |first=A. B. A. |title=Diplomas and No Tuition Debt for 16 NYU Law Grads |url=https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/diplomas_and_no_tuition_debt_for_16_nyu_law_grads |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=ABA Journal |language=en}} Then NYU Law dean John Sexton renamed the scholarship program Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship in honor of his generosity.{{Cite web |date=Fall 2008 |title=First Class of Full Tuition Scholars in More than Two Decades Graduates |url=http://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/ECM_PRO_061560.pdf |access-date=June 24, 2022 |website=NYU School of Law}} He sat on the law school's board of trustees.{{Cite web |title=Board of Trustees {{!}} NYU School of Law |url=https://www.law.nyu.edu/about/trustees |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=www.law.nyu.edu}}

Kern served as chairman and CEO of Colorado Symphony from 2016 to 2021 and helped with the symphony's fundraising efforts. Kern took over the symphony in 2011 when it was on the verge of bankruptcy, with $1.2 million in debt, and left the organization with an $88 million endowment at the time of his retirement.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-27 |title=Colorado Symphony, flush with $88 million endowment, sees longtime leaders depart |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2021/09/27/colorado-symphony-jerry-kern-leaving/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}} As chairman, he hired Andrew Litton as music director of the symphony.{{Cite web |last=Shulgold |first=Marc |title=Essay: The Broncos and the Colorado Symphony, both winning teams |url=https://www.cpr.org/2014/01/21/essay-the-broncos-and-the-colorado-symphony-both-winning-teams/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Colorado Public Radio |date=21 January 2014 |language=en}}

Personal life and death

Kern was married to Dr. Mary Rossick Kern. The couple lived at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver.{{Cite web |date=2017-12-08 |title=$5.3M Four Seasons condo tops November home sales |url=https://businessden.com/2017/12/08/5-3m-four-seasons-condo-tops-november-home-sales/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=BusinessDen |language=en-US}}

Kern died from pancreatic cancer on December 13, 2024, at the age of 87.{{cite news

| title = Jerome Kern, Denver lawyer and business leader, remembered for Colorado Symphony contributions

| url = https://www.denverpost.com/2024/12/17/jerome-kern-denver-lawyer-business-leader-colorado-symphony-obituary/

| website = The Denver Post

| date = 2024-12-17

| access-date = 2024-12-17

}}