Board of Directors

Ross Perot is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Perot Systems Corporation. From April 1988 to June 1992 and again from August 2000 to September 2004, Mr. Perot held the position of chairman of the company. He has served on its board of directors from April 1988 to August 1994 and from November 1997 to the present.

In 1988, Mr. Perot founded Perot Systems and subsequently led it to the Fortune 1000 status it holds today. Prior to that, he founded Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 1962 with a $1,000 loan from his wife. Over the next 22 years, he built EDS into one of the world’s largest technology services firms, and in 1984, he sold it to General Motors for $2.5 billion. Before founding EDS, Mr. Perot worked for IBM in the late 1950s as a salesman in the Data Processing Division.

Mr. Perot ran for president of the United States in 1992 as an independent candidate, winning 19 percent of the vote—one of the largest percentages ever for an independent candidate. He ran again in 1996 on the Reform Party ticket.

Mr. Perot has received numerous awards and honors, including:

• The Winston Churchill Award – 1986. Mr. Perot was the third recipient and the only businessman to receive this award, given to those who best exemplify the imagination, boldness, and vigor of the late British Prime minister. Prince Charles and First Lady Nancy Reagan made the presentation.
• The Jefferson Award for Public Service – 1986. Mr. Perot was honored in the category, "Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen."
• The Raoul Wallenberg Award – 1987. As the first recipient of this award, Mr. Perot was honored for a lifetime of service that embodies the spirit, courage, and dedication of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved more than 100,000 Hungarian Jews from the Nazis during World
  War II.
• The Patrick Henry Award – 1989. Presented by the National Guard Association of the United States, the civilian counterpart to the NGAUS Distinguished Service Medal is given in recognition of outstanding and exceptional service to the Armed Force of the United States, the National Guard, or the National Guard Association of the United States.
• American National Business Hall of Fame Award.
• The Sarnoff Award. For contributions to the electronics industry.
• The Eisenhower Award – 2004. Presented by Business Executives for National Security in recognition of support for the U.S. armed forces.
• The Smithsonian ComputerWorld Award – 1988. As the first recipient of this award, Mr. Perot was recognized for his contributions to the computer industry.
• The Horatio Alger Award – 1972. Presented by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans to individuals who overcome obstacles to achieve significant success in their careers.
• The Texas Business Hall of Fame Award – 1986
• The Texas Science Hall of Fame Award – 2001
• Distinguished Business Leader Award – 2004. Presented by Texas Association of Business.
• In 2004, Mr. Perot was named on MSNBC.com as one of "History’s Ten Greatest Entrepreneurs," including individuals dating back to the 5th Century A.D.

Mr. Perot is the author of seven books on a variety of subjects: United We Stand; Not for Sale at Any Price; Save Your Job, Save Our Country (co-authored with Pat Choate); Intensive Care; Preparing Our Country For the 21st Century; The Dollar Crisis (co-authored with Sen. Paul Simon); and Ross Perot, My Life & The Principles for Success.

Ross Perot, Jr. was elected chairman of the board of Perot Systems Corporation in September 2004. Prior to that, he served as president and chief executive officer of Perot Systems since August 2000. Mr. Perot has been an active member of the Perot Systems Board of Directors since the company’s founding in 1988.

In 1988, Mr. Perot founded Hillwood Development Corporation, a highly regarded real estate development and investment firm that is recognized globally for its high-quality, long-term projects. Hillwood’s largest project is Alliance, a master-planned international business center that is known as one of the world’s most technologically advanced trade complexes.

In 1996, Mr. Perot became the majority owner of a National Basketball Association team, the Dallas Mavericks. He sold equity interest in the team in April 2000, but he and Hillwood Development Corporation are involved with the "Victory" development site in Dallas. Victory, a 70-acre complex, encompasses seven million square feet of high-density retail, residential, and office space, including the new American Airlines Center, which is the home arena for the Dallas Mavericks and the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars.

Soon after graduating from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Mr. Perot completed the first flight around the world in a helicopter. He joined the United States Air Force in 1983, completing pilot training in 1984. He completed more than eight years of service with the Air Force.

Mr. Perot is Chairman of the Air Force Memorial Foundation, President of the Board of St. Mark’s School of Dallas, and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Business Leaders Forum, the Board of Trustees of Southern Methodist University, the Board of the East-West Institute, and the Board of Directors of the Dallas Citizens Council.

Peter Altabef became president and chief executive officer of Perot Systems Corporation in September 2004 and is a member of the Perot Systems board of directors. Mr. Altabef joined Perot Systems in 1993 and has contributed to building an information technology services and business solutions company with $2.6 billion of annual revenue in 2007 and more than 23,000 associates worldwide.

He serves on the board of directors of Merit Energy Company, the board of trustees of the Dallas Children’s Theater, and the associate’s board of Children’s Medical Center Dallas. He also serves on the Americas Advisory Group of the International Business Leaders Forum.

Mr. Altabef served as 2007 co-chairman of the American Heart Association’s Dallas Heart Walk.  He is a past member of the advisory board of the Dallas Museum of Natural History and of the Highland Park Independent School District technology board advisory committee.

Mr. Altabef received a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from The University of Chicago Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, with outstanding academic achievement, from Binghamton University.