The Department of Economics is delighted to announce the selection of alumnus Tim Jenkins, BA ’86, as the 2016 Economics Distinguished Alumnus. Tim joins an impressive group of alumni whose professional achievements and cumulative contributions have brought personal distinction, enhanced the profession, improved the welfare of the general public, and brought honor to the department and the UW.
Tim has devoted his career to helping companies of all types form, grow and thrive. The management consulting firm he co-founded, Point B, has focused on turning strategies into reality for hundreds of organizations since its inception in 1995. Tim’s firm has grown from three original partners to nearly 600 professionals, with ten offices throughout the US and annual revenue that will exceed $150M in 2016. Point B works in a wide variety of industries, and has specialties that include Operations & Process Improvement, M&A, Property Development, healthcare strategy, and business technology. Point B is focused as much on its own people as its clients and is regularly listed among the top five management consulting firms to work for in the industry.
In 2010, Point B added a venture capital arm, Point B Capital, and now has investments in twenty portfolio companies. In 2010, Tim was recognized as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Services for the Pacific Northwest. Tim and his Point B co-founders, Darran Littlefield and Jim Hodge, sold their stock back to Point B in early 2014, making Point B, Inc. 100% employee-owned. Tim continues to sit on Point B’s board and is active in advising and promoting the company.
Tim completed his BA in economics at UW, magna cum laude, in 1986, and his MBA in marketing and finance from the University of Chicago (1988). He is listed as a “Notable Alumnus” on websites associated with both universities.Tim's stepfather was Professor and Chair of the UW Department of Electrical Engineering.
In accepting the nomination for this honor, Tim said, "the UW Department of Economics holds a special place in my heart as it was instrumental in helping me launch my business career. I am so very honored to have been chosen."
In addition to his Point B pursuits, Tim is an external director, investor, and writer, and is active with several non-profit organizations in the Pacific Northwest. He is the immediate past Board Chair for Young Life’s Western Washington Region, and the current Chairman of the Board of Trustees for CRISTA Ministries. He has been a member of the Economics Visiting Committee since 1994, also sitting on its executive board. He has served as a mentor to UW students, volunteered for years at New Horizons Ministries in Downtown Seattle and has served as a coach in several youth sports. In 2007 he began coaching football at King’s Junior High in Shoreline and in 2011 became KJHS’ head football coach.
Tim and his wife, Christi, have three children, Chris (20), Abby (18) and Annie (11). He splits his time between homes in Edmonds and Leavenworth, WA and is an avid alpine and skate skier, bicyclist, and hiker. He has a yet-unrealized goal to become an expert fly-fisherman.
This award is presented each June at the Economics graduation celebration, at which time the awardee delivers the commencement address. The 2016 ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 3 p.m. in the HUB ballroom.
The Department of Economics is proud to have many distinguished alumni among its thousands of graduates. Collectively, our alumni have had a profound impact in the public and private sectors of the state, the nation, and the world.