Pike Powers

John Pike Powers IV (May 1, 1941 – October 31, 2021) was a civic entrepreneur, public servant and attorney who played a pivotal role in accelerating the economic expansion of the Austin, Texas area from 1985 until his death in 2021. During that time, the region experienced a 146 percent spike in population, from 530,508 residents in 1985 to 1,305,184 in 2020 while maintaining an average long-term unemployment rate of 4.1 percent , well below the national average of 5.7 percent .

Applying an "anchor store" model to economic development, Powers built diverse coalitions that leveraged the engineering and scientific resources of the University of Texas to attract investment from major technology companies including 3M, Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and spur entrepreneurship throughout the region. In the process, the University of Texas’ Cockrell School of Engineering became a world-class research center .

Early life and career

Powers was born in Beaumont, Texas, attended Lamar University and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1965. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1972 and represented Jefferson County until 1979. In 1978, he opened the Austin office of the Houston-based law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton, Fulbright & Jaworski) where he served as managing partner until his 2006 retirement.

Accomplishments

Powers served as executive assistant to Texas Governor Mark White from 1983-1984 and was instrumental in structuring the bid that brought the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) consortium to Austin. Austin was an unlikely choice for MCC, which had chosen Admiral Bobby Ray Inman to head its selection process. The bid made the talent and facilities of the University of Texas’ engineering school (which became the Cockrell School of Engineering) the centerpiece of a $47 million offer that included endowed chairs in electrical engineering, material, computer science, molecular biology, chemistry, math and physics funded by the Dallas philanthropist Peter O’Donnell).

In 1987, Powers led Austin's bid for SEMATECH, a public-private partnership aimed a recapturing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing from the Japanese. SEMATECH was jointly funded by the Dept. of Defense and the semiconductor industry. Austin won the competition against 137 cities in 34 states. The University of Texas invested $22 million to double the school’s computer chip research operations and provide students with a 12,000 square foot clean room to be used to explore new research methods

Aside from his legal work and his stint in Governor White's office, Powers volunteered his time to attracting investment and talent to Central Texas, focusing on technology and research and development initiatives. In 1996, Powers headed the effort to recruit Samsung Semiconductor's first manufacturing, or fabrication (fab) site. Samsung's initial investment of $17 billion in Austin and the Central Texas region has since exceeded $47 billion, making Central Texas the company's largest U.S. investment . To encourage the region would remain competitive, in 2003, Powers led initiatives to encourage increased collaboration among government, academia and private industry, including the $295 million Texas Enterprise Fund, "the largest deal-closing fund of its kind in the nation" which continues to provide funding to Texas communities competing against out-of-state entities for projects with significant job-creation and capital investment.

A champion of clean energy, Powers was a key supporter of the Pecan Street Research] project, a collaboration between The University of Texas, the City of Austin, Environmental Defense Fund and Austin Energy on the impact of alternate power sources on the Mueller housing development. The Pike Powers Commercialization Lab is located in that development.

Collaboration and Commercialization

Powers worked with and supported a cadre of innovators -– including Dr. George Kozmetsky, Frank McBee, Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, Laura Kilcrease and many others -- to jump start the startup culture in Austin with a focus on commercializing university-based the research and development:. His activities and recognition include:

• Austin Chamber of Commerce, chair (1989) and vice chair (1990
• Austin Technology Incubator
• 100 Most Influential Lawyers in the United States (1988,1991, 1994)
• Governor’s Science and Biotechnology Council (2002-3)
• Austinite of the Year (2005)
• Texan of the Year (2017)

Late career

Powers continued to collaborate with civic and university leaders until the end of life on projects including MassChallenge, the Army Futures Command, and the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School.