Moderator: Dave Sullivan, Shareholder & Director of Business Development, Perkins & Co
At the second in our Portland-based series, we were joined by Michael and Emily Powell, second and third-generation owners of Portland’s Powell’s City of Books, and father-daughter team. Emily discussed her experiences after effectively taking over and running the company from her father in 2010.
Powell's began in Chicago, where Michael Powell, as a University of Chicago graduate student, opened his first bookstore in 1970. Michael's dad, Walter Powell, worked one summer with Michael in the Chicago store and so enjoyed his experience that upon returning to Portland he opened his own used book store and laid roots for the Powell's City of Books we know today.
More than 40 years later, Powell's Books is a cornerstone of the Portland community and continues to operate with Emily Powell at the helm.
Says Emily: "My grandfather taught me that our job is to connect the writer's voice with the reader's ear and not let our egos get in between. My father taught me not only the love of the book itself but also how to love the business of book selling."