Roger Fisk
National Director of Special Events of Obama’s Presidential Campaign, Limkokwing International Advisor for Change Leadership Academy, 2013
Limkokwing is a very vibrant and alive place. The vibrancy, the energy, ideas and passion in artistry and creativity are similar to campuses in the USA.
27 May 2013
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Obama Campaign Marketing Whiz
It was in 1998 when an ad looking for an intern for Senator John Kerry’s office in Boston was circulated. Roger Fisk, aged 21, showed up for an interview like the rest of the applicants – except he showed up a week earlier.
“I advanced myself, if you will,” he says.
Fisk was the person responsible for running Kerry’s presidential campaign from its very first day up to the end, leading across 14 states including Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Being a loyalist for Kerry, Fisk had no other plans lining his way. Yet after a day or two of Kerry’s January announcement, he decided to move on, creating larger rallies for Senator Obama and later helping in producing one of the biggest moments in America history.
The sought after public speaker who combines humour and deep insight into American politics was at Limkokwing in March 2009 to share his insights and views.
“Limkokwing is a very vibrant and alive place. The vibrancy, the energy, ideas and passion in artistry and creativity are similar to campuses in the USA”, said Fisk who was inspired with the new wave in education concept brought by Limkokwing, bringing together students from 145 countries from all cross the globe.
During his visit to the university, he added that he was thrilled to witness the confidence in the students when it comes to expressing their opinion.
Limkokwing is a very vibrant and alive place. The vibrancy, the energy, ideas and passion in artistry and creativity are similar to campuses in the USA
The former Director of Special Events to Obama also stated that such development proved that Limkokwing is truly successful in moulding innovative and creative students.
At the Cyberjaya campus, Mr Fisk focused on innovation and creativity, the main elements of Limkokwing University while also touching on the strategies he used during the presidential campaign such as venturing into new media including the usage of blogs, text-messaging and emails.
Fisk insisted that the new media plays a big role in the world today and in fact, new media was one of the main factors for Obama’s victory in the presidential election, which was extensively used during the Obama campaign.
“A good political campaign can be made stronger with the utilisation of new media such as websites and internet and other online tools,” he said.
A good political campaign can be made stronger with the utilisation of new media such as websites and internet and other online tools.
However, he added, human interaction still plays the vital role to the success of any political campaign. It is only with natural interaction that one can touch a human heart, thus making a difference.
The programme was organised by the Change Leadership Academy, a unit within the university that is in the forefront of managing change and transformation.
Fisk, who holds a BS and MS from Suffolk University in Boston, worked for Senator Kerry for about a decade. His insight was highly regarded on a wide range of political issues including Medicare/Medicaid, AIDS, community health and child nutrition.
Apart from his service for Senator Kerry, Mr. Fisk was also liable for the success of Deval Patrick’s campaign for Governor of Massachusetts where he was in charge of all logistics for large events including; a 7,000-person “Rally for Change” on the Boston Common and a 10,000-person rally with former President Bill Clinton.
With such vast experience, Mr. Fisk is without doubt equipped with a profound understanding of 21st century presidential politics.
The presidential campaign for Barrack Obama is widely reputed to be the best run in modern history and the mastermind, Roger Fisk, started working on it when it was still budding in January 2007.
His hard work paid off as soon as he accomplished the presidential announcement tour, as he was appointed the National Director of Special Events in what would become history in the making for the Finance Department.
During this campaign, his management of fundraising team targeted at the nation’s grass roots was a revolution in modern political fundraising. In 11 months, some USD 100 million was raised from what was to be the largest donor base the US had ever known.
Life is not only about hard work and politics for Fisk; when he is not running campaigns, he spends his free time playing the guitar in the pop reggae band The Popgun Seven.
According to the man himself, his band has already come out with 12 to 14 songs and is looking forward to completing his album.
Fisk, who performed at open-mic gigs all across the USA during the presidential campaign, has surely built a huge fan base.
Despite his obvious talents, Fisk has also indicated that he would like to redirect his energies to his band.
