Echoes

    Jim Huston is looking for the next big technical innovation. So is his competition. That’s why Huston’s success is vital to Intel maintaining its position as a world technology leader.
    What Huston does as Director of Corporate Business Development for Intel’s Communication Products Group seems complex. His responsibilities include technology strategy, strategic alliances, private equity investments, and acquisitions. Plus, he’s been Intel’s lead negotiator on many intellectual property licensing deals.
    Huston explains his job in more simple terms, “I’m a corporate venture capitalist. By combining the role of technology scout with the resources to make investments and acquisitions, I’m leading Intel into the ‘next big thing,’” he explains.
    “The tsunami on the horizon is the convergence of data and voice communications,” Huston said.
    “Intel’s Communication Products Group is at the heart of this emerging revolution, bringing the cost and standards benefits of the computing revolution to proprietary, expensive telecommunication networks.
    “I’ve led investments in companies such as Nuance and Speechworks that are enabling businesses to replace those annoying call distribution systems (i.e. press 1 for sales, etc.) with intelligent speaker recognition technology. We recently completed an $800 million acquisition of Dialogics to enhance our product offerings in this segment,” he stated.
    Even as a chemical engineering major at Rose-Hulman, Huston’s interest in business and economics increased. Huston added minors in economics and psychology before graduation.
    “Tom Mason and others in the humanities faculty at Rose-Hulman were among the best teachers I’ve ever had,” said Huston, who graduated with honors from Rose-Hulman in 1980.
    “Rose provided me with the analytical skills that have been invaluable in my career,” the Indianapolis native said.
    After a two-year stint at Exxon Chemical Co. where he was involved in market and technology forecasting, Huston completed an MBA from Northwestern University, and began his career at Intel as a marketing engineer. Other Intel assignments have included product marketing manager for Intel’s 386 and 486 PC platforms, management of a $25 million business unit, and appointment in 1994 as corporate business development manager.
    As a corporate venture capitalist, Huston says his role differs from that of a private venture capitalist, “The big difference is that no matter how financially attractive a potential deal is, there must be a strategic justification for the deal.”
    The fast pace of technical innovations means Huston’s work is critical to Intel’s competitive edge.
    “Intel recognizes that most of the major innovations in the technology sector have and will probably always come from start-ups run by smart, focused and flexible entrepreneurs.”
    Huston said a return to campus during the winter quarter, 1992-93, to teach technology marketing and management may have resulted in the biggest impact Rose-Hulman has had on his career.
    “The experience provided insight into the higher education process, and I made contacts with key faculty that helped me decide to move out of general management and into my current corporate venture capital role,” he noted.
    Huston doesn’t even slow down when he gets some leisure time. He’s an avid long-distance runner who has completed 10 ultra-marathon relays and two solo marathons. He’s also completed several double-century bicycle rides covering 200 miles in one day. And, he’s summited Mt. Hood.
    Huston and his wife, Jan, along with their daughter, Hannah, and son, Reed, live in the Portland suburb of Sherwood, Oregon.
    He believes his work to “explore the art of the impossible,” goes beyond impacting the future of Intel. “These investments result in benefits to all of us because Intel is able to develop better products and bring them to the consumer more quickly,” Huston says.
— by David Piker