Keith Powers

Keith is currently the COO of Prize Capital, LLC an innovative financial model at the intersection of invention, investment and philanthropy. Prior to Prize Capital Keith was the EVP of Strategic Development at the X PRIZE Foundation where he spearheaded an effort to create a modern-day version of the Nobel Prize. He then led a successful effort to raise the funding to support the development of a series of global inducement prizes in a variety of areas including energy, the environment/carbon, genomics, medicine, nanotechnology, transportation, education and social entrepreneurship. Keith previously started and sold several companies, including a non-traditional media company in 2000, and a Hispanic DRTV- advertising agency in 2003. From 1996-1999, Keith was the Director of Operations at Sun Apparel-The Polo Jeans Company, a $500M global manufacturer, distributor and retailer of casual apparel. Civic leadership, youth development and national service has long been a focus for Keith, including a stint at the US Embassy in Mexico City in 1994 and as a volunteer corps member and then later as a national staff member with City Year, an “action tank” for national service. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Kids Korps USA, Prize4life.org and is an advisor to several start-ups including Overdrive Interactive, Idea Crossing and Rigital Communications. Keith holds a B.A. in Political Science with honors from Northeastern University, an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and has attended several executive seminars including Governing for Nonprofit Excellence: Critical Issues for Board Leadership at Harvard Business School. He has lived, worked, studied or traveled to over 30 countries and is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Japanese. He currently lives in Palo Alto, CA with his wife Michiko and their new baby girl Harmony.