Michael Birck
Encyclopedia
Michael J. Birck is a co-founder and current chairman of Tellabs
Inc.
. He is from Clinton, Indiana. He received a BSEE degree at Purdue University
in 1960 and an MSEE degree from New York University
in 1962.
’s Bell Telephone Laboratories. He went on to manage the Transmission System Design Department at Continental Telephone Laboratories. He was director of engineering at Wescom Inc. from 1968 to 1975.
Birck and five other electrical engineers and salesmen came up with the idea for Tellabs in 1975 while brainstorming and drinking coffee around a kitchen table in suburban Chicago.
football team appeared to be up for sale. Birck had been appearing on the Forbes
list of wealthy Americans since 1996. A radio show host on the WSCR
“The Score” Radio Station picked up on that and suggested that Birck buy “da Bears.”
Birck told the Chicago Sun-Times: "It was kind of amusing. Some guy on The Score said, `How about that Mike Birck guy? He ought to be able to buy the Bears.'"
At the time, while Tellabs stock was soaring, with Birck’s shares then hovering at about $1 billion, he edged out another well-known Chicagoan, Oprah Winfrey
.
Birck was a jock—he had been a star pitcher at Purdue University. But with the bearish telecom industry, which he had described as “the telecom nuclear winter,” Birck wasn’t interested in taking on the bad news Bears.
His only ventures into the sports arena included funding the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, named after him by Purdue University, and donating $5 million to the renovation of the University’s Mackey Arena in 2008.
Birck is a philanthropist outside the sports arena, too, with contributions to Purdue University, Benedictine University
, Loyola University and Hinsdale Hospital, among others.
. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Benedictine University and of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Fund Board.
Purdue and Benedictine University have awarded him honorary doctorate degrees. He also received the Illinois High Tech Entrepreneur award from Peat Marwick and Mitchell/Crain’s Chicago Business in 1984 and the Outstanding Master Entrepreneur award by Inc. Magazine and Ernst & Young
in 1995.
He was honored as a 2001 recipient of the IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition
award. In 2003, the Electronic Industries Alliance
(EIA) presented him with the Medal of Honor Award for his achievements and leadership in the U.S. telecommunications industry.
Tellabs
Tellabs, Inc. is a telecommunications company that designs and manufactures equipment for service providers.Ranked among the BusinessWeek InfoTech 100, Tellabs is part of the NASDAQ-100 Index, NASDAQ Global Select Market, Ocean Tomo 300 Patent Index and the S&P 500...
Inc.
Early life
He was born January 25, 1938, in Missoula, MontanaMissoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
. He is from Clinton, Indiana. He received a BSEE degree at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
in 1960 and an MSEE degree from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1962.
Professional career
Birck began his career on the technical staff at AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
’s Bell Telephone Laboratories. He went on to manage the Transmission System Design Department at Continental Telephone Laboratories. He was director of engineering at Wescom Inc. from 1968 to 1975.
Birck and five other electrical engineers and salesmen came up with the idea for Tellabs in 1975 while brainstorming and drinking coffee around a kitchen table in suburban Chicago.
Sports endeavors
Well known in tech circles in Chicago and around the country, Birck came to the public’s attention in 1999 when the Chicago BearsChicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
football team appeared to be up for sale. Birck had been appearing on the Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
list of wealthy Americans since 1996. A radio show host on the WSCR
WSCR
WSCR is a sports radio station in the Chicago, Illinois radio market. The station is owned by CBS Radio and transmits on 670 kHz on the AM dial. Its transmitter is located just off Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale, which is a western suburb of Chicago. It is known as "The Score," and has been on...
“The Score” Radio Station picked up on that and suggested that Birck buy “da Bears.”
Birck told the Chicago Sun-Times: "It was kind of amusing. Some guy on The Score said, `How about that Mike Birck guy? He ought to be able to buy the Bears.'"
At the time, while Tellabs stock was soaring, with Birck’s shares then hovering at about $1 billion, he edged out another well-known Chicagoan, Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
.
Birck was a jock—he had been a star pitcher at Purdue University. But with the bearish telecom industry, which he had described as “the telecom nuclear winter,” Birck wasn’t interested in taking on the bad news Bears.
His only ventures into the sports arena included funding the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, named after him by Purdue University, and donating $5 million to the renovation of the University’s Mackey Arena in 2008.
Birck is a philanthropist outside the sports arena, too, with contributions to Purdue University, Benedictine University
Benedictine University
Benedictine University is a private Catholic university located in Lisle, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The institution has retained close relations with the Benedictine Order. Originally named St. Procopius College and located in the Pilsen community of Chicago, the school was founded in 1887 by...
, Loyola University and Hinsdale Hospital, among others.
Academic endeavors
Birck is past chairman of the Purdue Alumni Foundation Board and is a trustee of Purdue University. He has been a director at the Purdue Research Foundation and serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Krannert School of ManagementKrannert School of Management
The Krannert School of Management is Purdue University's school of management. The school was established in 1962 as the Krannert School of Industrial Administration with a $2.7 million endowment from Herman & Ellnora Krannert....
. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Benedictine University and of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, or IMSA, is a three-year residential public high school located in Aurora, Illinois, USA, with an enrollment of approximately 650 students...
Fund Board.
Purdue and Benedictine University have awarded him honorary doctorate degrees. He also received the Illinois High Tech Entrepreneur award from Peat Marwick and Mitchell/Crain’s Chicago Business in 1984 and the Outstanding Master Entrepreneur award by Inc. Magazine and Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
in 1995.
Honors
He was inducted into the Chicago Business Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.He was honored as a 2001 recipient of the IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition
IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition
The IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition was established by the Board of Directors of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1985. This award is presented "for exceptional managerial leadership in the fields of interest to the IEEE"...
award. In 2003, the Electronic Industries Alliance
Electronic Industries Alliance
The Electronic Industries Alliance was a standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers in the United States. They developed standards to ensure the equipment of different manufacturers was compatible and interchangeable...
(EIA) presented him with the Medal of Honor Award for his achievements and leadership in the U.S. telecommunications industry.