Richard C. Powell

Biographical Details
"Rick Powell, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Burson-Marsteller, works with the management team on its operations, on key strategic clients, and help execute the firm’s plan. He served as a managing director of Quinn Gillespie & Associates (QGA), one of Washington, DC’s, leading public affairs firms, since 2001, overseeing the financial and operational functions of the firm. He has also provided public affairs and corporate communications counsel to a variety of QGA clients, including Bank of America, Hewlett Packard, and Zurich Financial Services. Powell joined QGA after working in venture capital management, first as cofounder and Managing Director of Washington, D.C.-based technology incubator VenCatalyst. When VenCatalyst was bought by rival idealab!, Powell became Managing Director of idealab!‘s New York office. Prior to founding VenCatalyst, Powell served as Chief Knowledge Officer and member of the Worldwide Operating Committee at Burson-Marsteller. He joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office in 1992, where his work focused on public affairs issues. In 1995, Powell moved to Burson-Marsteller’s New York office to become chief of staff to the firm’s COO. He was named Chief Knowledge Officer in 1998. Powell is on the board of American Council of Young Political Leaders and the National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneurs Foundation. A native of Tennessee, he is a graduate of Southern Methodist University."


 * Director, Global Action for Children