Chairman, Hypertherm Inc., Hanover, NH

Board Member: Elected 1992

AB Dartmouth College
BE Thayer School of Engineering

Dick Couch is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Hypertherm, Inc., a manufacturer of plasma arc and laser cutting systems. After graduating from Dartmouth, Mr. Couch was employed by Creare, Inc. as a project engineer. In 1968, he and Robert Dean (then a professor at Dartmouth and President of Creare) co-founded Hypertherm to apply ultra-high temperature technology to industrial problems. In 1971, Mr. Couch purchased the majority interest in Hypertherm and became Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. Mr. Couch has numerous patents in the fields of plasma cutting and pollution control. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and one of the founders of Ledyard National Bank in Hanover. Since its inception, Hypertherm has grown to over 1,200 associates worldwide.

Mr. Couch and his wife, Barbara, live in Hanover and have three children: Chloe, Alexa, and Brooke.