Kenneth Jacob Roman Jr. ’52
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September-October 2026
Kenneth Jacob Roman Jr. ’52 died on April 22 at his home in New York City. Ken was born in Boston on September 6, 1930. He graduated from the Clark School in Hanover in 1948 and then Dartmouth, where he was an English major, editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth, and a member of Pi Lamda Phi and Palaeopitus. Throughout his life Ken was an active and committed Dartmouth alumnus. He joined Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), a major advertising agency, in 1963 as an account executive, rose steadily through the ranks, and was chairman and chief executive officer from 1985 to 1989. After a takeover of O&M in 1989, Ken joined American Express as an executive vice president and later served as a consultant with Price and others. Ken served on corporate boards and was a lifetime trustee of the New York Botanical Garden and a director of the National Organization on Disability, Trustees of Reservations (Nantucket, Massachusetts), American Association of Advertising Agencies, Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Opera Guild, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and New York Red Cross. Ken published three books: the definitive biography of advertising legend David Ogilvy, The King of Madison Avenue, as well as business classics How to Advertise and Writing That Works. Ellen (Fischer), his wife of 70 years, predeceased him in September 2023. He is survived by son Neil, three grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters.