Kenneth Gamble
Chairman, Universal Companies
Chairman, Philadelphia International Records
Co-Founder of TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) 

Since 1977, starting with the purchase of the home he was born and raised in, Kenneth Gamble began buying vacant and depilated houses in his old neighborhood in south Philadelphia with the intent of rebuilding the community.  In a period of 15 years, Mr. Gamble assembled more than 120 properties at a significant personal cost.  In 1990, he and his family made the ultimate commitment to the organization and the community when they gave up the quiet, luxurious life of the suburbs and moved back to south Philadelphia to take a "hands on" leadership approach to this effort.  Universal Companies is considered by many one of the largest and most successful community revitalization efforts in the history of the city of Philadelphia.

Mr. Gamble has founded or helped to build numerous organizations, including the African American Foundation, Universal Institute Charter School, The Universal Community of Truth, the South Philadelphia Ministries Task Force, The Philadelphia Music Foundation, and his biggest and most successful venture, Universal Companies, which has begun to build the organization and institutional capacity to challenge and reverse the effects of economic and social decline in several south Philadelphia communities.

Mr. Gamble serves on numerous boards, including the National Rhythm and Blues Foundation, Regional Performing Arts Kummel Center, African American Museum, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and the Avenue of the Arts to name a few. 

Mr. Gamble is also recognized as a true pioneer in soul and rhythm & blues music.

Kenneth Gamble began as a singer at a young age, recording for various labels, including Epic, Columbia, Arctic and Atlantic Records. He had his own band, Kenny Gamble and Romeos. During the mid-'60s, Mr. Gamble founded Gamble Records and won fame with the young Philly group The Intruders. That success laid the groundwork for subsequent ventures - the most well-known being Philadelphia International Records, which he co-founded with Leon Huff in 1971, and which he still serves as Chairman and CEO.

He and his partner Leon Huff, has written and produced more than 3,000 songs recorded by numerous artists, including the Jackson Five, the Intruders, Teddy Pendergrass, Billy Paul, Phyllis Hyman, Jerry Butler, Nancy Wilson, Lou Rawls, the Ojays, MFSB, Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, the Three Degrees, McFadden & Whitehead, the Delfonics, and many others. Mr. Gamble's musical output includes more than 170 gold and platinum songs and albums. In 1974 and 1989, he won the coveted Grammy Award for "Me & Mrs. Jones" and "If You Don't Know Me By Now."

During his illustrious career, Kenneth Gamble has received numerous awards, not only for his musical contributions, but for his sincere dedication to address the plight of those less fortunate, that include this partial list:

• Proclamations from the Governors of Pennsylvania, Tennessee, California, New Jersey, New York, and also from the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, proclaiming one week during the month of August "Clean Up The Ghetto Week".
• Invited to the White House by President Jimmy Carter, in a policy discussion to address the needs and concerns of the music industry.
• NAACP Image Award
• Urban Bankers Coalition Award
• Urban League Image Award
• England Conservatory of Music Community Service Award
• The Key to the City of Tuskegee, Alabama, presented by the Mayor
• The Laborers Local 332 Community Service Award
• The OIC World Community Service Award
• The Philadelphia Music Makers Award
• AMC Cancer Research Center & Hospital Humanitarian Award
• Philadelphia "Walk of Fame" Induction
• National Academy of Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction
• Grammy’s Life Time Achievement Hall of Fame Induction
• Essence Magazine’s Founders Award
• YMCA of Philadelphia – Chairman’s Award
• Freedom Magazine’s Human Rights Award
• Edward Powell Philadelphia Award
• Cardiovascular Institute’s Leadership Award
• Boys Scouts of America’s Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award
• Honorary Doctorate Degree for Public Service from Cheyney University
• Urban League of Philadelphia’s Harmony Award

Mr. Gamble, a true Philadelphia success story, continues to stake his own future on the success of the community rebuilding effort he has initiated, demonstrating his continuing high level of commitment to helping those who are less fortunate.

A man known worldwide for making hit records, he calls the rebuilding of the neighborhood where he was born and raised "The Biggest Hit of My Life."

Mr. Gamble has four children, Caliph, Salahdin, Princess Idia, Tamelia, and two grandchildren, Janiah and Faatimah.