William A. Porter
Encyclopedia
In 1982, William A. Porter (born November 10, 1928) and Bernie Newcomb
founded the first ever electronic stock brokerage, E*TRADE — heralding both the demise of the ticker tape
and the advent of the electronic trading
age.
After the success of E*TRADE, Porter also co-founded International Securities Exchange (ISE)
with Marty Averbuch and became (the first) chairman of ISE on his 70th birthday in 1998. Porter is former chief executive officer, current board member, and chairman emeritus of E*TRADE.
In 2000, CNN
called Porter the "forefather of online trading."
interview, Porter attributes his self-confidence to his work as a young cowboy:
As a student at Adams State College, Porter and other students would take turns visiting and reading aloud to the aged and infirmed former governor of Colorado, Billy Adams
.
, Porter met Bernie Newcomb at a party. Having recently purchased an Apple II
computer, Porter had the idea that a personal computer could be used to buy and sell stock. Having no means of accessing the necessary information with his modem, Porter convinced Newcomb to become his partner and together create a company that would enable any individual with a personal computer to trade stocks from their home—thereby disintermediating
stock trades. Newcomb developed the programming which enabled the project to succeed.
According to Porter, the first actual trade, made on July 11, 1983, was made by a dentist in Michigan.
In 1992, PC Magazine
featured Trade*Plus on its cover. In 1992, The San Jose Business Journal named Trade*Plus the year's fastest growing private company in Silicon Valley. In 1996, Trade*Plus was renamed E-Trade Group and went public. Newcomb retired soon after and established a philanthropic foundation, the Bernard A. Newcomb Foundation.
Porter received a B.A.
from Adams State College
, an M.S.
in Physics from Kansas State University
, and a Master's degree in Management (M.B.A.) from the Sloan Fellows
program at the MIT Sloan School of Management
.
First Company
Porter started Commercial Electronics Inc. in 1968 and developed the first commercial low-light night vision
for electron microscopes and the first color low-light (night vision
) broadcast television camera, a technology that's used today in all broadcast cameras. Porter sold Commercial Electronics to Warner Communications after the cancellation of a large order during the 1974 recession.
Patents
Porter holds 14 patents, having developed a number of electronic devices and processes—including for the aforementioned "first" shoulder-mounted-backpack broadcast color TV camera, the first infrared horizon sensor for satellite stabilization (prior to Sputnik), and several other breakthroughs still in use today in a variety of fields—including, according to the 2000 CNN interview, devices used by the US military to this day.
The Search
Under the project name The Search, Porter developed the first electronic diesel-electric locomotive "checkout
system," whereby a testing device could be inserted into a locomotive engine. The Southern Pacific and B&O Railroads suggested the system could improve operating capacity of the approximately 33,000 locomotive engines in the US by roughly 10 percent.
Management and Directorships
Porter has served as Chairman of Trelleborg Rubber Company, President of Tretorn Shoes, and President of Commercial Electronics Incorporated (see below). Porter was Director of Research and Planning for Textron from 1962–67, and Research Manager and Electrical Engineer of General Electric's Advanced Electronics Center at Cornell University from 1957-62. He was a physicist with the National Bureau of Standards from 1952-1957.
and Princeville, Hawaii
. Together, the Porters have ten grandchildren. Joan Porter is the founder and president of the Stillheart Institute in Woodside, CA.
In 1999, Porter and his wife Joan gave $25 million to MIT's Sloan School of Management :
In 2007, the Porters gave 250,000 shares of E*trade stock to Adams State College (worth approximately $5.8 million at the time), the largest gift in school's history.
Bernard A. Newcomb
Bernard A. Newcomb is an American businessperson and philanthropist who, along with William A. Porter, founded the online discount stock brokerage firm, E*TRADE.-Early life:...
founded the first ever electronic stock brokerage, E*TRADE — heralding both the demise of the ticker tape
Ticker tape
Ticker tape was the earliest digital electronic communications medium, transmitting stock price information over telegraph lines, in use between around 1870 through 1970...
and the advent of the electronic trading
Electronic trading
Electronic trading, sometimes called etrading, is a method of trading securities , foreign exchange or financial derivatives electronically...
age.
After the success of E*TRADE, Porter also co-founded International Securities Exchange (ISE)
International Securities Exchange
International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of German derivatives exchange Eurex. It is a member of the Options Clearing Corporation and the Options Industry Council . Historically, responsibility for organizing the Options Industry Conference is rotated amongst...
with Marty Averbuch and became (the first) chairman of ISE on his 70th birthday in 1998. Porter is former chief executive officer, current board member, and chairman emeritus of E*TRADE.
In 2000, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
called Porter the "forefather of online trading."
Early life
Porter was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado and spent his childhood summers as a cowboy on a Colorado ranch. He quit high school to join the Navy during WWII and was expelled from the Navy when they learned he was only sixteen. Porter later put himself through college, finishing undergraduate work in three years and working nights as a crew dispatcher on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. According to a 2000 CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
interview, Porter attributes his self-confidence to his work as a young cowboy:
As a student at Adams State College, Porter and other students would take turns visiting and reading aloud to the aged and infirmed former governor of Colorado, Billy Adams
Billy Adams
William Herbert Adams , better known as Billy Adams, was the 25th Governor of the State of Colorado, United States, from 1927 until 1933....
.
Creation of E*TRADE
In 1980, in Palo AltoPalo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, Porter met Bernie Newcomb at a party. Having recently purchased an Apple II
Apple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
computer, Porter had the idea that a personal computer could be used to buy and sell stock. Having no means of accessing the necessary information with his modem, Porter convinced Newcomb to become his partner and together create a company that would enable any individual with a personal computer to trade stocks from their home—thereby disintermediating
Disintermediation
In economics, disintermediation is the removal of intermediaries in a supply chain: "cutting out the middleman". Instead of going through traditional distribution channels, which had some type of intermediate , companies may now deal with every customer directly, for example via the Internet...
stock trades. Newcomb developed the programming which enabled the project to succeed.
According to Porter, the first actual trade, made on July 11, 1983, was made by a dentist in Michigan.
In 1992, PC Magazine
PC Magazine
PC Magazine is a computer magazine published by Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009...
featured Trade*Plus on its cover. In 1992, The San Jose Business Journal named Trade*Plus the year's fastest growing private company in Silicon Valley. In 1996, Trade*Plus was renamed E-Trade Group and went public. Newcomb retired soon after and established a philanthropic foundation, the Bernard A. Newcomb Foundation.
Career prior to E*TRADE
EducationPorter received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Adams State College
Adams State College
Adams State College is a small state-supported liberal arts college in Alamosa, Colorado, U.S., in the San Luis Valley.-History:Adams State was founded in 1921 as a teacher's college but now offers a variety of programs including masters degrees in many fields...
, an M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Physics from Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
, and a Master's degree in Management (M.B.A.) from the Sloan Fellows
Sloan Fellows
The Sloan Fellows program is a mid-career master's degree in general management and leadership supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It is targeted at experienced managers who have already demonstrated a significant degree of career success . Alfred P...
program at the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
.
First Company
Porter started Commercial Electronics Inc. in 1968 and developed the first commercial low-light night vision
Night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
for electron microscopes and the first color low-light (night vision
Night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
) broadcast television camera, a technology that's used today in all broadcast cameras. Porter sold Commercial Electronics to Warner Communications after the cancellation of a large order during the 1974 recession.
Patents
Porter holds 14 patents, having developed a number of electronic devices and processes—including for the aforementioned "first" shoulder-mounted-backpack broadcast color TV camera, the first infrared horizon sensor for satellite stabilization (prior to Sputnik), and several other breakthroughs still in use today in a variety of fields—including, according to the 2000 CNN interview, devices used by the US military to this day.
The Search
Under the project name The Search, Porter developed the first electronic diesel-electric locomotive "checkout
system," whereby a testing device could be inserted into a locomotive engine. The Southern Pacific and B&O Railroads suggested the system could improve operating capacity of the approximately 33,000 locomotive engines in the US by roughly 10 percent.
Management and Directorships
Porter has served as Chairman of Trelleborg Rubber Company, President of Tretorn Shoes, and President of Commercial Electronics Incorporated (see below). Porter was Director of Research and Planning for Textron from 1962–67, and Research Manager and Electrical Engineer of General Electric's Advanced Electronics Center at Cornell University from 1957-62. He was a physicist with the National Bureau of Standards from 1952-1957.
Personal life and philanthropy
Porter has three children from his first wife, Ada Guthrie, now deceased. He and his second wife Joan, who has one child from a previous marriage, have homes in Portola Valley, CaliforniaPortola Valley, California
Portola Valley is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 4,353 at the 2010 census. It was named for Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola, who led the first party of Europeans to explore the San Francisco Peninsula, in 1769.Portola Valley is one of the...
and Princeville, Hawaii
Princeville, Hawaii
Princeville is a census-designated place on the north shore of the island of Kauai in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 1,698 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Princeville is located at ....
. Together, the Porters have ten grandchildren. Joan Porter is the founder and president of the Stillheart Institute in Woodside, CA.
In 1999, Porter and his wife Joan gave $25 million to MIT's Sloan School of Management :
In 2007, the Porters gave 250,000 shares of E*trade stock to Adams State College (worth approximately $5.8 million at the time), the largest gift in school's history.