Bio

Recognizing the need for additional capacity and new technology in turbine controls and turnkey power plant design and construction, Hal Pontez ’75 founded HPI LLC. Since its launch in 2002, HPI has grown at a dramatic 200% annually.

Upon graduating from Our Lady of Lourdes in 1975, Hal attended Syracuse University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.  He then quickly began to apply his academic training and business acumen to the world of industrial controls. Hal also began pursuit of his MBA at Marquette University’s Business School program.  His successes were well documented, resulting in his being offered growth opportunities from industrial control companies from around the world while still in his mid-twenties. Hal has subsequently held executive management positions with Allen-Bradley, Eaton/Cutler Hammer, Honeywell and, finally, with Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Engineering, then Vosper Thorneycroft Controls.

His thirty-five years of corporate experience encompasses company ownership, executive management and the business development of capital engineered projects. Hal has successfully implemented a unique blend of enterprise and strategic solution selling across the defense, industrial and government industries. As a mark of his success, Hal was nominated as a finalist for the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. 

Currently residing in Houston, Texas, Hal does not allow distance to limit his involvement with his high school alma mater.  Hal ranks among the most generous benefactors in the history of Our Lady of Lourdes High School. He was the largest individual donor to the school’s recent Capital Campaign; has provided funding, as well as valuable guidance and counsel, for the school’s recent renovations to its Biology, Chemistry and Physics laboratories; and he is currently establishing an endowed scholarship fund so that future generations of students may have access to a Lourdes education.