Chris Kelly

Chris Kelly, San Francisco, is an entrepreneur and author who founded his first online advertising business in 2010 and later built a technology-forward, customer-centered platform for insurance agents. He is also the author of a science fiction novel titled The Menagerie and now devotes much of his time to philanthropy, focusing on addressing wealth inequality.

His next book, scheduled for release in February 2026, will explore wealth inequality. At the same time, he plans to launch a charitable organization connected to this work.

Chris Kelly grew up in Santa Cruz, California, and later attended a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County. He graduated magna cum laude and was elected to a national academic honor society for academic excellence. The college’s curriculum emphasizes government, economics, public affairs, finance, and international relations.

He began his professional career as an investment banker before moving into the technology sector, where he held product and marketing roles. He served as a product specialist, acting as a liaison between product and operations teams to support effective coordination. He later worked as a product marketing manager in an enterprise-focused division, collaborating closely with developer relations to support technology adoption across organizations.

In 2010, Chris founded a San Francisco–based online advertising agency that scaled significantly. In 2014, he founded another company that became the number-one provider of digital marketing solutions for under-65 health insurance in the United States, a major player in over-65 health coverage, and a growing presence in auto and home insurance. During his twelve-year tenure as CEO and later chairman, he helped lead the company to become one of the largest privately held businesses in its space.

He authored The Menagerie, a science fiction thriller about the creation of the world’s first artificial general intelligence and its consequences. The story centers on a programmer whose work draws global attention and raises ethical questions tied to powerful emerging technology.

He gives monthly to charitable organizations focused on direct poverty relief and children’s medical care. One organization has delivered over $1 billion in cash directly to more than 2 million people living in poverty since 2009. These causes are personal, as he is a cancer survivor who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent treatment in 2020 for a year.

Chris Kelly, NextGen Leads, is preparing to launch a nonprofit foundation and plans to donate $1.5 million to charity in the first half of 2026. He has two boys, ages 7 and 3, and values time with family, music, outdoor activities, and maintaining a balanced life.