# Kenneth Roman
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{{Short description|American author and advertising executive (1930–2026)}}
{{Multiple issues|section=|
{{Sources|date=April 2026}}
{{Notability|Bio|date=January 2026}}
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'''Kenneth Roman''' (September 6, 1930 – April 22, 2026) was an American author and advertising executive.
==Life and career==
Roman was born in [Boston](/source/Boston), Massachusetts, on September 6, 1930.[{{cite web|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/details.asp?aID=10492& |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603172106/http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/details.asp?aID=10492& |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 3, 2013 |title=SO WHAT DO YOU DO, KEN ROMAN, OGILVY BIOGRAPHER? |publisher=Mediabistro |first=Matt|last=Van Hoven |date=April 15, 2009 |accessdate=December 2, 2014 }}] He graduated from [Dartmouth College](/source/Dartmouth_College) in 1952, where he was editor-in-chief of the undergraduate daily newspaper.
He joined [Ogilvy & Mather](/source/Ogilvy_(agency)) in 1963 and served as chairman from 1985 to 1989. In 1989, [WPP plc](/source/WPP_plc), a British advertising [holding company](/source/holding_company), acquired the Ogilvy Group for $864 million, which, at the time, was the most ever paid for an advertising agency. David Ogilvy initially resisted the sale, but eventually accepted the title of WPP honorary chairman, a position he relinquished in 1992.[{{cite news |title=WPP's Bid Is Accepted By Ogilvy|author=Randall Rothenberg |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/16/business/wpp-s-bid-is-accepted-by-ogilvy.html |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date= May 16, 1989 | accessdate=3 September 2015}}][{{harvnb |Roman|2009| p=190 }}]
After 26 years with Ogilvy, Roman joined [American Express](/source/American_Express) in a senior communications role before becoming a consultant, board director, and author. After his departure Graham Phillips became the chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.[{{harvnb |Roman|2009| p=192 }}]
Roman was the co-author of two influential business books – ''How to Advertise'' {{ISBN|0312318596}} and ''Writing That Works'' {{ISBN|0060956437}} and the author of a 2009 biography of [David Ogilvy](/source/David_Ogilvy_(businessman)) entitled ''The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising''.[{{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Roman |title=The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising |date=2009 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4039-7895-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/kingofmadisonave00roma/}}]
He lived in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) with his wife. Roman died in [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan) on April 22, 2026, at the age of 95.[[https://www.ogilvy.com/ideas/remembering-kenneth-roman-beloved-leader-lifelong-ogilvy-champion Remembering Kenneth Roman: A Beloved Leader and Lifelong Ogilvy Champion]]
==Bibliography==
*2009 – ''The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising''