Austin Speakers

KATHLEEN BAIREUTHER
Assistant Director, Clean Energy Incubator
Austin Technology Incubator
IC2 Institute – University of Texas at Austin
www.ati.utexas.edu
Kathleen Baireuther is a strategic planning and business development professional with 13 years combined experience in economic development, management consulting, and technology commercialization. As the Assistant Director of the Clean Energy Incubator at ATI, she provides direction to portfolio companies and supports the clean energy ecosystem in Austin through local, statewide, and national initiatives.
Previously, Kathleen served as Director of Economic Development at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, where she recruited businesses to the 5-county Austin region and directed the Chamber’s international program. Prior to joining the Austin Chamber, Kathleen managed economic development strategic planning engagements in nine different states as a consultant with TIP Strategies, Inc. She has also evaluated a wide range of technologies from India and South Korea for entry into the US market as a commercialization consultant with the Global Commercialization Group at IC2.
Kathleen graduated with her Masters in Economics and International Development from the University of Cambridge and earned her B.A. with high distinction from the University of Virginia.
Assistant Director, Clean Energy Incubator
Austin Technology Incubator
IC2 Institute – University of Texas at Austin
www.ati.utexas.edu
Kathleen Baireuther is a strategic planning and business development professional with 13 years combined experience in economic development, management consulting, and technology commercialization. As the Assistant Director of the Clean Energy Incubator at ATI, she provides direction to portfolio companies and supports the clean energy ecosystem in Austin through local, statewide, and national initiatives.
Previously, Kathleen served as Director of Economic Development at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, where she recruited businesses to the 5-county Austin region and directed the Chamber’s international program. Prior to joining the Austin Chamber, Kathleen managed economic development strategic planning engagements in nine different states as a consultant with TIP Strategies, Inc. She has also evaluated a wide range of technologies from India and South Korea for entry into the US market as a commercialization consultant with the Global Commercialization Group at IC2.
Kathleen graduated with her Masters in Economics and International Development from the University of Cambridge and earned her B.A. with high distinction from the University of Virginia.

GEORGE P. BUSH
Commissioner
Texas General Land Office
www.glo.texas.gov/
George Prescott Bush is a native Texan, born in Houston on April 24, 1976. He was elected Texas Land Commissioner on Nov. 4, 2014, earning more votes than any other statewide candidate on the ballot. Commissioner Bush took office on Jan. 2, 2015.
As Texas Land Commissioner, Bush works to ensure Texas veterans get the benefits they’ve earned, oversees investments that earn billions of dollars for public education and manages state lands to produce the oil and gas that is helping make America energy-independent. Commissioner Bush also watches over the Alamo and preserves historic archives at the General Land Office that date back to the Spanish Empire.
Commissioner Bush has dedicated his life to public service, working as a public school teacher in Miami after graduating from Rice University and serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Commissioner Bush is a successful businessman. He joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP after earning his Juris Doctorate at the University of Texas School of Law. He subsequently co-founded Pennybacker Capital LLC, a real estate private equity firm, in 2007, and St. Augustine Partners LLC, a Fort Worth-based investment firm focused on oil and gas transactions and consulting for private businesses.
Commissioner Bush is also committed to helping fellow Texans in his private life. He co-chaired a $30 million capital campaign for Big Brothers Big Sisters in North Texas and served as the co-chairman of the Dallas/Fort Worth Celebration of Reading. He was the Tarrant County chairman for Uplift Education — a highly successful Dallas-based public charter network focused on closing the achievement gap in inner-city public schools. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.
Commissioner Bush is the grandson of President George H.W. Bush, the son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the nephew of President George W. Bush. He lives in Austin with his wife, Amanda, who is an attorney and partner at Jackson Walker, LLP, and their son, Prescott.

DAVID A. HAMOD
President and CEO
National U.S.- Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC)
www.nusacc.org
David Hamod is President and CEO of National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), a position he accepted in 2004. Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, NUSACC has been the preeminent organization for fostering trade and investment between the United States and the 22 countries of the Arab world. Mr. Hamod has been a prominent and active member of the U.S. business community for more than two decades. In 1988, he founded Intercom International Consultants, a Washington‐based consulting firm that has served as an advisor to numerous business groups, including more than 30 U.S. companies. As President of Intercom, Mr. Hamod served on the International Policy Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for more than a decade.
Prior to founding Intercom, Mr. Hamod worked for the Brookings Institution, International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and The New York Times, among others. As U.S. Representative of the American Business Council of the Gulf Countries (ABCGC) for more than 15 years, Mr. Hamod served as the Washington‐based voice of the American business community in the Arabian Gulf. He played an instrumental role in the success of the U.S.‐GCC Business Dialogue, as well as the U.S.‐GCC Standards Cooperation Program.
Mr. Hamod has worked with the U.S. Congress on business issues since 1985, and he is familiar with every facet of the legislative process. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on numerous occasions and has played a role in just about every major piece of trade‐related legislation to work its way through Congress in the past decade. In 1997, in a ceremony on Capitol Hill, Mr. Hamod was honored with a “Patriot of the Expatriates Award” for his outstanding commitment to U.S. international business competitiveness.
As a result of his active role in the U.S. private sector, Mr. Hamod has developed expertise in transparency and best commercial practices. As a consultant to the Development Center of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is playing a lead role in promoting good business ethics internationally, Mr. Hamod served as a liaison to such groups as Transparency International, World Bank Group, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In recent years, Mr. Hamod has held leadership positions in and/or served as a consultant to such business organizations as: the Greater Washington Board of Trade; the American Chambers of Commerce in Egypt, Lebanon, and Canada; World Federation of Americans Abroad; Small Business Exporters Association; and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). He also serves in a leadership capacity at the Middle East Policy Council, the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, and American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA).
Mr. Hamod is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (M.A.) and the University of Iowa (B.A.). He was selected as the University of Iowa’s “Distinguished Young Alumnus” for 1999‐2000 and, ten years later, the U.I. Honors Program chose him as its first “Outstanding Alumnus.” A member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, Mr. Hamod has been the recipient of 15 scholarships, two of which took him to Yale University and the American University in Cairo, Egypt.
President and CEO
National U.S.- Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC)
www.nusacc.org
David Hamod is President and CEO of National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), a position he accepted in 2004. Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, NUSACC has been the preeminent organization for fostering trade and investment between the United States and the 22 countries of the Arab world. Mr. Hamod has been a prominent and active member of the U.S. business community for more than two decades. In 1988, he founded Intercom International Consultants, a Washington‐based consulting firm that has served as an advisor to numerous business groups, including more than 30 U.S. companies. As President of Intercom, Mr. Hamod served on the International Policy Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for more than a decade.
Prior to founding Intercom, Mr. Hamod worked for the Brookings Institution, International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and The New York Times, among others. As U.S. Representative of the American Business Council of the Gulf Countries (ABCGC) for more than 15 years, Mr. Hamod served as the Washington‐based voice of the American business community in the Arabian Gulf. He played an instrumental role in the success of the U.S.‐GCC Business Dialogue, as well as the U.S.‐GCC Standards Cooperation Program.
Mr. Hamod has worked with the U.S. Congress on business issues since 1985, and he is familiar with every facet of the legislative process. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on numerous occasions and has played a role in just about every major piece of trade‐related legislation to work its way through Congress in the past decade. In 1997, in a ceremony on Capitol Hill, Mr. Hamod was honored with a “Patriot of the Expatriates Award” for his outstanding commitment to U.S. international business competitiveness.
As a result of his active role in the U.S. private sector, Mr. Hamod has developed expertise in transparency and best commercial practices. As a consultant to the Development Center of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is playing a lead role in promoting good business ethics internationally, Mr. Hamod served as a liaison to such groups as Transparency International, World Bank Group, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In recent years, Mr. Hamod has held leadership positions in and/or served as a consultant to such business organizations as: the Greater Washington Board of Trade; the American Chambers of Commerce in Egypt, Lebanon, and Canada; World Federation of Americans Abroad; Small Business Exporters Association; and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). He also serves in a leadership capacity at the Middle East Policy Council, the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, and American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA).
Mr. Hamod is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (M.A.) and the University of Iowa (B.A.). He was selected as the University of Iowa’s “Distinguished Young Alumnus” for 1999‐2000 and, ten years later, the U.I. Honors Program chose him as its first “Outstanding Alumnus.” A member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, Mr. Hamod has been the recipient of 15 scholarships, two of which took him to Yale University and the American University in Cairo, Egypt.