Ken Barnes, Founder & Senior Vice President

Ken Barnes is the Senior Vice President of Upper Mohawk, Inc. (UMI), where he directs marketing, sales, and strategic business development. He founded UMI in 1988. In March 2018, Mr. Barnes turned over all the UMI stock to his wife Patricia Barnes. She owns 100% of UMI.

Ken holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from St. Clair College. His career began with various computer programming roles at Chrysler Corporation, followed by a pivotal role at Federal Mogul Corporation where he played a key role in selecting major manufacturing systems, including both hardware and software. As Manufacturing Systems Manager for ARO Corporation, he managed the IT systems across five plants.

Ken, a Native American from the Mohawk Tribe on the Six Nations Reserve in Canada, has been instrumental in evolving UMI from a commercial IT company into a prominent government contractor. Under his leadership, UMI expanded its services to include IT support for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, training and development for the Department of the Interior’s Office of Special Trustee, and accounting services within the USAF. Ken has testified before both the House and Senate of the United States Congress, advocating for legislation and measures to provide fair and effective support for the Native American community.

He continues to contribute to the community as Co-Founder and Secretary to the Board of 7th Generation Community Services Corp.