Nick Pugh, III

BS Electrical Engineering – 1968
Founder – Rig Telephone, BlackHawk Datacom, and the Pugh Family Foundation

A native of Lafayette and graduate of Cathedral High School, Nick is credited with establishing the first microwave loop in the Gulf of Mexico just two years after his graduation from USL (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). His pioneering leadership with telecommunications technology in and around the Gulf of Mexico over the years has spurred regional economic development.

Nick is also a longtime community volunteer. He directed UL Lafayette’s successful effort to become the first college team in Louisiana to build and launch satellites. He also advised the David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy’s high school student team, which placed a biological experiment on the International Space Station. Nick is also a ham radio enthusiast, a member of the Acadiana Area Radio Association and the Lafayette Computer Club, and a founding member of Acadiana Open Channel.

Nick has served as chair of Habitat for Humanity Lafayette. He was a member of Leadership Lafayette Class XXVII and is a 1998 graduate of Harvard’s Owner/President Management program. He is also the founder of the Pugh Family Foundation, a philanthropic venture focused on helping to create a world-class public education system in the Acadiana region.