John Poindexter is a third-generation Texan, a military veteran and an entrepreneur who lives in Houston, Virginia and the Big Bend region of West Texas.
Education and Academic Work
In 1966, John received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with Honors, from the University of Arkansas. Subsequently, New York University conferred upon him a Master’s degree in Business Administration in 1971 and a Ph.D. in Economics and Finance in 1976. He taught economics and finance as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Long Island University.
Military Service, Decorations, and the Presidential Unit Citation
Following his undergraduate education, John volunteered for the U.S. Army and for Officer Candidate School. After serving as President of his OCS class and of the Student Brigade at Fort Knox, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in armor. John’s first assignment was with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Germany, where he was promoted to the command of L Troop. After airborne and ranger training, he volunteered for service in the Republic of South Vietnam where he was assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. John commanded Headquarters Troop and Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, successively, in 1969 and 1970. In addition to two Purple Hearts, John was awarded two Silver Stars, the Soldier’s Medal, two Bronze Stars, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star and other decorations for service and valor.
In 2009, the Presidential Unit Citation was conferred on John’s Vietnam command of four decades earlier, Alpha Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The nation’s highest decoration for a combat unit was awarded to Alpha Troop for the “truly extraordinary” rescue “against all odds” of an American infantry company that was facing certain annihilation. The granting of the decoration was commemorated in a nationally televised ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House addressed by President Barack Obama. John led the 200-man relief force, the principal element of which was Alpha Troop, that effectuated the rescue mission. A nationally released hardcover entitled Blackhorse Riders and a television documentary first broadcast on March 14, 2016 on the American Heroes Channel entitled Against the Odds describe the rescue mission and the White House Ceremony.
Investment Career and Leadership of J.B. Poindexter & Co., Inc.
In 1971, John joined Salomon Brothers in New York City as an investment banker but within a few years transitioned into private equity investment. Later, he became a partner at Smith Barney Venture Corporation, an affiliate of Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. Later still, in 1983, he was Managing Partner of two investment partnerships, KD/P Equities and J.B. Poindexter & Co., L.P., which acquired companies with aggregate revenues of more than $1 billion.
Today, John is the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and sole owner of J.B. Poindexter & Co., Inc., a diversified manufacturing company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company has nine subsidiaries, with combined revenues of about $3 billion and 8,500 valued team members. The company is the largest producer in the world of commercial truck bodies through its Morgan Corporation subsidiary. Its Leer, Century and Pace Edwards brands are prominent names in pickup truck caps and tonneaus, an industry in which it also is the world leader. JBPCO’s Morgan Olson subsidiary is the largest worldwide fabricator of high-capacity delivery vans for UPS (the ubiquitous brown truck), FedEx and others. Through its remaining subsidiaries, J.B. Poindexter & Co., Inc. produces limousines and hearses, and engineered packaging.
In 2010, the Stern School of Business at New York University honored John with the C. Walter Nichols Award that is conferred annually upon a leader who “exemplifies the qualities of integrity, enterprise and service.” Also in 2010, Sul Ross University in the Big Bend established the School of Professional Studies John B. Poindexter Speakers Series. The Borderlands Research Institute in Alpine, Texas created the John B. Poindexter Endowed Fund for Desert Quail Research in 2014 with contributions from a number of John’s friends. In 2018, John was recognized by the Museum of the Big Bend as the recipient of its Heritage Award. For two years through 2019, he served as Chairman of the Partnership for New Kent, a citizen’s advocacy group dedicated to improving the future of the Virginia county in which the Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation is situated.