Dennis W. Archer, Jr.

Dennis W. Archer Jr., Esq. is the CEO of Ignition Media Group, a leading integrated marketing agency, and president and founding partner of Archer Corporate Services (ACS). Mr. Archer’s hospitality holding company, Congress Hospitality, is creator and managing partner of Central Kitchen + Bar, named by The Detroit Free Press as one of Detroit’s 2016 top new restaurants of the year, within a year of opening.

Founded in 1998, Detroit-based Ignition Media Group specializes in strategic matchmaking, experiential marketing, public relations and event production for numerous clients including Common Citizen, WCCCD, General Motors, BMW, Pernod Ricard and Bacardi North America. Ignition’s leadership team has significantly grown in the last decade, carrying a large network of local contacts in the media, business, political and philanthropic communities.

In conjunction with Ignition, Archer leveraged his background in marketing and advertising, creating a portfolio of companies, each of which thrives in a specific niche. In 2004, he co-founded ACS with CEO Mike Carr. Under their leadership, ACS has grown into one of the nation’s leading marketing fulfillment service firms, serving clients such as General Motors, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Prestige Brands and Blue Buffalo. For these companies, ACS provides trade and consumer fulfillment, printing and print management, promotional merchandising, plastic card services and call center services.

In addition to the aforementioned entrepreneurial endeavors, Archer is a real estate developer who is dedicated to giving back to Detroit and the surrounding areas. In the early 2000’s he realized it was the perfect marketplace to acquire, reposition and sell properties while simultaneously encouraging job creation, creating affordable housing units and overall bringing entrepreneurial opportunities into the city to promote economic growth.

Since that time, he has participated in several high-profile projects such as Redford Marketplace, The Talon Center, 1250 Rosa Parks Boulevard, Kercheval Point in Grosse Pointe and presently a downtown Detroit retail development anchored by a Meijer operated grocery store and a redevelopment project in Harmonie Park. In addition to Dennis’ direct investments and principal involvement in the projects listed, he has participated in a number of other significant developments alongside his development partners with whom he later created Lormax Stern Detroit, a 50-50 partnership. These include several regional shopping centers.

Archer’s civic and philanthropic involvement includes Chair Emeritus of the Detroit Regional Chamber Board of Directors where he also sits on the executive committee and chaired the 2016 Mackinac Policy Conference, and the 2019 and 2020 Detroit Policy Conferences. Archer also sits on the boards of the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Dennis W. Archer Foundation, and Citizen Detroit.

Corporately, Archer also serves on the General Motors Supplier Council and as a director of Main Street Bank, where he has served on the audit, loan and CRA committees.

Dennis Archer, Jr. received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan.