Professor Kempf's academic career has led him from the universities of Mannheim and Frankfurt (Oder) to the University of Cologne. In 1999 he joined the University of Cologne as the managing director of the Department of Finance. Since 2002 he is also the coordinating professor of the Graduate School of Risk Management. Since 2008 he is a member of the executive Board of the Cologne Graduate School at the University of Cologne.

Professor Kempf is dedicated to empirical and theoretical research of financial markets. His main research interests are asset management and risk management. Among academic professionals, Professor Kempf is a popular discussion and project partner. He is an advisory consultant for companies and scientific organizations as well as a referee for national and international journals. Since 2006 Professor Kempf is a member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Class for Engineering and Economic Sciences. He was a member of the Executive Board of the European Finance Association (EFA) between 2006 and 2008.