Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenny Baldwin.
Kenny graduated from Rice University in 1980 with Bachelor’s degrees in Mathematical Sciences and Managerial Studies. He lettered his freshman, sophomore and junior years at Rice in baseball, after which he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1979 draft. After graduating from Rice, he continued his brief minor league career, including stints with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers farm teams. In 1981, he joined the consulting division of what was then Arthur Andersen. He recently retired from Accenture, the same consulting organization, which has transformed from a private partnership to a $20+ billion corporation.
Throughout his business career, he has concentrated exclusively on serving the energy industry. His areas of focus include working with upstream independents and national oil companies. In addition to his US-based clients, Kenny has worked with client teams around the world including Argentina, Angola, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and Venezuela. He has assisted client executives in a broad array of business transformation programs, establishing business strategies, restructuring operations, and implementing new technologies.
Over the years, he held several leadership roles at Accenture. He was the lead partner for Accenture’s services to several large global accounts. He also led several practice areas including Accenture’s global Trading and Risk Management practice, Accenture’s North American Independent practice, and Accenture’s South American Energy practices. Kenny retired as the Global Managing Director for Accenture’s Energy practice.
A defining role in his career was working with YPF (Argentina’s National Oil Company) for five years to privatize and transform it into an international business. At this client, he led a multi-year transformation agenda, positioning YPF for an IPO which was the first of its kind for a national oil company and one of the largest ever at the time. The YPF engagement team included over 500 consultants from 16 different countries.
He serves on the board of Tiandi Energy, a Chinese based company focused on delivering value to the global upstream oil and gas sector thru a team of professionals with expertise in the geosciences and petroleum engineering disciplines. Kenny has been a volunteer and supporter of Texas Special Olympics, where he coached (8 years) and served as a Board Member of the local chapter. He has also served as a board member for Mental Health and Mental Retardation Association (MHMRA) and for his church in Argentina. He currently serves on the Board of Stewards of his church, and he has chaired the boards of the Houston chapter of Child Advocates and the Chapelwood Hispanic Ministry. Kenny and his wife, Melissa, founded SpringSpirit Baseball in 2010, a Houston based non-profit, which provides safe pathways for youth to realize life opportunities through sports, education and mentoring programs based on Christian principles.
He met his wife, Melissa, while living in Argentina, and they were married in Laredo, Texas (her hometown) in April of 1998. They, and their two sons, Hunter and Tyler, live in Houston. He enjoys hunting, golfing, and traveling with his family. Kenny and his family are members of Chapelwood United Methodist Church.
Has it been a smooth road?
Kenny’s life (like everyone’s to one degree or another) is one that was wrought with challenges, from the neighborhood that he grew up into the professional challenges he faced building his career. Now, the heart of SpringSpirit’s mission is about helping the kids and families we serve overcome their life obstacles.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the SpringSpirit story. Tell us more about the business.
SpringSpirit was established in 2010 to prepare underserved kids, at scale, for the same life opportunities that President and Founder, Kenny Baldwin, received in life. Kenny grew up in a community that looks very similar to the one the SpringSpirit serves today, believing that the best life could offer him–if he worked really hard–was perhaps to manage a fast food restaurant when he grew up. But he was lucky enough to have baseball, the local church and loving mentors in his life who encouraged him in his studies and beyond. Through those relationships, he was challenged to pursue college and attended Rice University (which he had never even heard of!) on a baseball scholarship.
After a stint in the minor leagues, he was hired by Arthur Anderson, beginning what would become his successful consulting career. Kenny retired earlier than most to spend more time with his family but knew that he still had a lot to give. Grateful for the grace and support he received in life, he and his wife decided to use his consulting skills and relationships to build an organization that would give other underserved kids the same sorts of preparation and life opportunities he received. Thus, SpringSpirit was born.
The SpringSpirit way is a holistic one, growing kids in mind (academic enrichment and tutoring), body (sports as a vehicle for life lessons and healthy living) and soul (Christian teaching and community). Each of these three “pillars” is supported by a network of caring mentors who walk with the children through life, expose them to opportunities and ways of thinking they wouldn’t otherwise have access to, and encourage them along the way.
SpringSpirit now serves 800 kids and their families a week.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.springspiritbaseball.org
- Email: info@springspiritbaseball.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/springspiritbaseball/
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