J. D. Power III

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts,[1] Power was the oldest of four children.[1] Power's father was an English teacher at Worcester Boys Trade High School, teaching at the school for 44 years.[2] Power attended Saint Peter's High School.[1] Following graduation from College of the Holy Cross in 1953, Power served four years as a line officer aboard the Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Eastwind in the Arctic and Antarctic. During his service, he appeared briefly in a Disney documentary “Men Against The Arctic” about icebreakers.[1]

Power subsequently earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Finance. He joined Ford Motor Company as a financial analyst and later worked for Marplan as a marketing research consultant for General Motors Corporation's Buick and GMC truck and coach divisions. In 1965, Power and his family moved to California with the purpose of establishing a family business.[3] Prior to launching J.D. Power and Associates in 1968, Power worked as a marketing research executive for J. I. Case Company, a construction and farm equipment manufacturer, and was director of corporate planning for McCulloch Corporation, a Los Angeles-based engine manufacturer.[4]

Power began conducting customer satisfaction research on April 1, 1968, as founder of the marketing information firm J.D. Power and Associates. Power started J.D. Power and Associates at the kitchen table with his family[3] and initially the "Associates" in the firm's title were his own wife and children.[1] The Power family also took out a second mortgage on their existing house at the time to support the fledgling company.[3]

In 1972, the company first drew national attention when Julie P. Power, David Power's wife, discovered a design flaw in certain Mazda automobiles, which was then publicized by The Wall Street Journal. In the following years, J. D. Power and Associates became well known for its automotive customer satisfaction rankings.[4] Power sold the company to McGraw-Hill in 2005 for an undisclosed amount of money. He also stepped down as chairman but remained active with strategic planning.[5]

In 1992, Power was a recipient of the Automotive Hall of Fame's Distinguished Service Citation, awarded each year to seven of the industry's most accomplished leaders. In 2014, Power was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.[6] He held honorary doctorate degrees from College of the Holy Cross, California Lutheran University, California State University, Northridge, and Misericordia College.

In January 2018, the Power family gifted the College of the Holy Cross $3 million in support of the college's Center for Liberal Arts in the World, to be renamed the "J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World".[7] He also served as an adjunct professor of marketing at California State University, Northridge. Power also frequently spoke to top management and boards of directors of companies worldwide.[8]

Power is the subject of Sarah Morgans and Bill Thorness' book, Power: How J. D. Power III Became the Auto Industry's Adviser, Confessor, and Eyewitness to History.[9]

His family currently resides in Westlake Village, California.

• J.D. Power Corporate Site
• J.D. Power Consumer Site