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W. Dal Berry, Former Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, IP Communications

Matthew Blanton, Founder and Managing Partner, STARTech

Pike Powers, Of Counsel, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Dr. James Truchard, Co-Founder, President & CEO, National Instruments

W. Dal Berry, Former Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, IP Communications

Dal Berry is a former chairman of the Texas Council of AeA and a member of the National Board of Directors of AeA. He was a long-standing participant in AeA over the years while holding different positions with various AeA member companies during his 30 years in the technology space.

Dal Berry has over 30 years of senior managerial expertise in both private and public technology companies. He has served as president and CEO of Graphic Sciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Burroughs Corporation and as vice president of Xerox Worldwide Facsimile Business Operations. He also took 2 companies through IPO’s and then went on to become a serial entrepreneur for many technology startups.

In addition to AeA Association positions, he was vice-chairman of the Committee of Business Executives for Better Education in Texas and on board of directors for the Technology Executives Roundtable. Dal also serves on the advisory board of Nokia’s Innovent Group and Genesis Campus.

Dal Berry had a huge impact on the technology industry and the North Texas economy. He was the CEO of VMX, Inc and took the company public in 1983. VMX invented voicemail. He was also the President and CEO of Telscape International Inc. (formerly PTMC), which was taken public in 1994. 

He was a “consulting board member” on the board of directors for Microdynamics, Inc., Unified Communications, CVC Corporation, Networth, Inc., and Southwest Network Services. 

Upon retiring he became a founding member of the Dallas Angels, a seed financing organization established to assist start-up businesses in the DFW area. In addition, he is currently a volunteer for DFW airport’s Ambassadors Programs (greeting returning Iraqi troops and assisting other travelers).

Former positions and companies:

Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder, IP Communications

CEO, Global Wireless Holdings (GWH)

CEO, Graphic Scanning

CEO, Telscape

CEO, Polish Telephone & Microwave Corp.

CEO, VMX

VP & GM, Xerox

Matthew Blanton, Founder and Managing Partner, STARTech

Matthew Blanton is one of the founders of Startech. After many years in the high tech industry he found his niche supporting and educating others in High Tech start-up businesses.

Matt has over 30 years of experience as a business executive in the computer and telecommunications industries. Prior to founding STARTech in 1997, Matt directed research and development as a lab manager for Hewlett Packard, and served as vice president of engineering for Convex Computer Corporation. He was also president of Vadis, Inc., a venture capital-backed telecommunications start-up company. Additionally, Matt has held various positions in product management, marketing and engineering at Siemens, IBM, ROLM, Data General and the NASA manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. Blanton holds a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University.

STARTech Early Ventures was founded as a business incubator to focus on developing technology-based start-up and entrepreneurial activity in the Telecom Corridor® in Richardson, Texas. In 1998, STARTech formed a seed-stage investment fund to complement its methodology for company creation and growth. STARTech has created strong networks of executives, entrepreneurs, co-investors, and other partners, allowing them broad visibility into Texas deal flow. In addition, STARTech has taken a leading role in establishing relationships with Texas-based research institutes, including top tier university systems, to translate technology commercialization initiatives into strong IP-based deal flow.

A very unique aspect of the STARTech that Matt implemented is the STARTech Mentor Program. Matt recruits and trains high-level high-tech executives to volunteer their time for the program.  As Mentors, they help evaluate tech companies seeking seed funding for potential inclusion in the STARTech network.  A great number of STARTech Mentors have gone on to join highly successful technology companies, many of which are AeA members.

Pike Powers, Of Counsel, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Pike Powers has been called "Austin’s technology godfather" because he helps guide new growth to the city and to the state of Texas as well. His influence in the economy of the central region and the state is far-reaching.

Pike Powers was the leader in creating the Texas Technology Initiative, which was established in 2002 and was a collaboration between the government, academia and private industry. The state of Texas created a $295 million Enterprise Fund under the leadership of Powers that lead to retention by Texas of International SEMATECH. Other successes followed with the co-location of the Advanced Processing and Prototyping Center and the operational Advanced Materials Research Center.

The Texas Technology Initiative, Phase II, provided a cost-effective, leveraged technology platform available to advanced technology innovators in conjunction with a unique, world-class capability. The Texas Technology Initiative provides support for advanced integrated technology research programs in nanotechnology, micro-electro-mechanical systems, biotechnology, IT/ wireless, photonics, energy, and other emerging technologies. Significantly, it has retained and expanded targeted corporate R&D and manufacturing with direct high tech jobs in the region and has accelerated commercialization of emerging technology research. This phase resulted in the passage of the Texas Emerging Technology fund in 2005 where Powers serves as vice-chair of the Advisory Board.

Powers received a B.A. from Lamar University in 1962 and a law degree from the University of Texas in 1965, and was admitted later that year to the Texas Bar.  He has been a Partner with Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.’s Austin office since 1978. Powers was Executive Assistant to Governor Mark White in 1983 and from 1972 to 1979 represented Jefferson County in the Texas House of Representatives.  He has extensive experience in handling complex legal and political issues before state courts and federal courts, as well as federal and state agencies.

Powers has played key roles in recruiting major high-tech employers to Texas. Companies like 3M in 1984, Applied Materials in 1991, and Samsung Electronics' decision in 2006 to build a second chip factory in Austin.

Powers has received numerous honors and awards throughout his career and was named as a “Texas Super Lawyer” in general litigation law in the November 2003 issue of Texas Monthly. 

Powers currently sits on more than twelve technology board positions.  To date, he has held at least as many former community, charitable, and chamber board positions.

Dr. James Truchard, President and CEO, National Instruments

National Instruments has been a member of AeA for 18 years, since 1995. Dr. Truchard signed the original membership application. Today, NI is highly engaged with AeA in many areas of the company, including the financial department, local council activities, Trade Compliance and others.

Dr. James Truchard, National Instruments president and CEO, cofounded the company in 1976 while working at The University of Texas at Austin. Under Truchard's leadership, National Instruments has pioneered the development of virtual instrumentation software and hardware that has revolutionized the way engineers approach measurement and automation applications.

In 1986, Truchard and Jeff Kodosky invented LabVIEW graphical development software. With LabVIEW, engineers and scientists can quickly and intuitively build a customer-defined solution for measurement and automation. The intuitive graphical environment of LabVIEW revolutionized the way engineers and scientists work, much like the spreadsheet provided a new way for financial professionals to do their jobs. When combined with continuously improving computer-based measurement hardware, LabVIEW programs, known as "virtual instruments," create measurement systems that work at ever-increasing frequencies and resolutions.

As NI has grown from a three-man team to a global organization with more than 4,000 employees, Truchard has led the company with a conservative, deliberate approach that has yielded steady company success. He has incited innovation, growth, and expansion in a highly successful, worldwide enterprise while maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit that spurred the start of the company. As a result, NI has seen 29 years of growth in its 30-year history.

Truchard's long-term course for NI equally balances the success of its customers, employees, shareholders, and suppliers. Truchard and his management team have created such a winning corporate culture that FORTUNE magazine has named NI as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America for the past eight years.

Truchard also is a recognized industry leader. In 2007 he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering, what is widely considered to be the highest honor given in the engineering profession. He is one of only 156 Texans to be elected in the history of the Academy. Truchard was also named The University of Texas Distinguished Engineering Graduate and in 2003, he was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. In 2002, a leading electronics publication, Electronic Design, inducted Truchard into its Engineering Hall of Fame and in 2001, a global market consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, honored him as the CEO of the Year for the test and measurement industry. In addition, Worth magazine named him one of the best CEOs for three consecutive years, emphasizing his focus on long-term growth and innovation.

While successfully directing the company's innovation of industry-leading software and hardware, Truchard participates in many community organizations. He is a member and former chairman of the Engineering Foundation Advisory Council, works closely with The University of Texas at Austin as a member of the Chancellor's Council, and is a former member of the university's Electrical and Computer Engineering Visiting Committee. He is a founding member of the Austin Software Council and was a member of Texas Governor Rick Perry's Advisory Council on the Digital Economy. Truchard also is an active supporter of the NI LEGO® MINDSTORMS® program, which, in conjunction with Tufts University and the Pitsco LEGO Educational Division, seeks to introduce students from kindergarten through high school to basic engineering and computing skills. In 2005, Governor Perry asked Truchard to chair the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Industry Advisory Council, which directly addresses the declining interest and preparation of young people to pursue careers in technical fields.
Before founding NI, Truchard worked as managing director of the acoustical measurements division at Applied Research Laboratories at The University of Texas at Austin. Truchard holds a doctorate in electrical engineering, as well as a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in physics, all from The University of Texas at Austin.

James Truchard's Awards and Honors
2007 - Elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering
2005 - Named as a member of ISA
2004 - Named University of Texas Distinguished Engineering Graduate
2003 - Elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
2003 - Named one of the 50 Most Influential Industry Innovators by In Tech magazine
2002 - Inducted into Electronic Design's Engineering Hall of Fame for his work pioneering virtual instrumentation
2001 - Frost & Sullivan names Truchard CEO of the Year for the test and measurement industry
2001 - Worth magazine names Truchard One of the Nation's 50 Best CEOs - third consecutive year
2000 - Worth Magazine names Truchard One of the Nation's 50 Best CEOs - second consecutive year
1999 - Worth Magazine names Truchard on its 50 Best CEOs in the Country list
1999 - Truchard receives the Texas High Technology Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award
1987 - Truchard receives one of the first Texas High Technology Entrepreneur awards

"I am very pleased to nominate Dr. James (Jim) Truchard for the Texas Legend Award. I have known Jim for a number of years and have been absolutely inspired by his remarkable engineering leadership. He is a true Texas Legend.

Jim came from humble beginnings on a farm near Columbus, TX, but today he heads one of the most important and innovative companies in the world, National Instruments.

Having co-founded the company in 1976, he has built NI into one of the most powerful forces of innovation in our country. NI today makes possible the dreams of engineers all over the globe. Along the way, he has dedicated himself to many important issues associated with education and the economic development of Texas and the USA.

It is not an overstatement to say that Jim Truchard's leadership in the development of a technology culture in our state and nation is absolutely critical to all of our citizens. And when he takes something on, he succeeds.

Simply put, I can imagine no more deserving individual for the Texas Legend Award than Jim Truchard. We are all much better off for having him here in Texas!"

- Dr. Geoffrey Orsak, Dean of Engineering, SMU

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