Richard Kirshenbaum is one of the most exciting personalities in New York City advertising. Richard is an accomplished entrepreneur and an author who has written a number of books.
In 1987, at age twenty-six, he cofounded the Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners agency, which pioneered such innovative concepts as the pop-up store, sidewalk advertising, and other forms of high visibility guerilla marketing. At the time of its sale, KBP was the largest independent ad agency in the United States, with one billion in billings. Currently, Kirshenbaum is CEO of SWAT by Kirshenbaum, a high-profile boutique branding agency he launched in 2011, which works with entrepreneurs and emerging companies. He is also co-founder, with music icon Chris Blackwell, of Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum, as well as the co-founder of SWAT Equity, a fund that invests in emerging consumer brands.
Kirshenbaum has lectured at Harvard Business School, has appeared on 20/20, had a cameo in Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and was voted one of the twenty-five most stylish New Yorkers by Us magazine. He was named in Crain’s New York Business’s “40 under Forty” list, was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2000, and placed second on a list of the top one hundred US entrepreneurs. He is the author of Isn’t That Rich?, a #1 Amazon bestseller, and his latest debut novel, Rouge. He has also contributed to Us Weekly’s “Fashion Police” feature and has written comedy for the legendary Joan Rivers, among others.
In 2021 Richard was elected to the Board of Trustees to the Princess Grace Foundation. He helped create the concept for and name of Grace De Monaco, a luxury brand for good, celebrating the legacy of the late Princess Grace Kelly.
He lives in New York City with his wife Dana and three children.
