The Honorable and Mrs. John N. Palmer

Biography

Native Mississippian and former Ambassador to Portugal John N. Palmer is an entrepreneur, telecommunications pioneer, community leader, and venture capitalist.

Before he was appointed ambassador in 2001, Ambassador Palmer was the chairman of GulfSouth Capital, Inc. in Jackson, Mississippi—a position he holds today. He also served as founder and chairman of SkyTel Communications from its founding in 1989 until its sale to MCI WorldCom in 1999.

Ambassador Palmer began his career in telecommunications in 1965 with the purchase of a local Mississippi radio common carrier. By 1973, he had developed more than nine regional paging companies throughout the South and formed the Mobile Communications Corporation of America (MCCA). During his 16-year tenure as chairman and president, MCCA grew to become a significant force in the cellular telephone business.

In 1989, Ambassador Palmer sold MCCA to BellSouth but retained certain businesses that he forged into SkyTel. These operations included SkyTel's domestic one-way paging and advanced messaging system and Latin American paging services. SkyTel became a leader in advanced wireless messaging and deployed the first nationwide two-way wireless messaging network.

Ambassador Palmer has served on the President's Export Council as a private sector advisor to the Secretary of Commerce and as a private sector trade advisor to the Office of the US Trade Representative. He was a member of the boards of three New York Stock Exchange companies: AmSouth Bancorporation, EastGroup, and Entergy Corporation.

Ambassador Palmer’s civic leadership efforts included several board memberships: chairman of the National Trustees of the National Symphony Orchestra, the Institute for Technology Development, and Foundation for the Mid-South; trustee of Millsaps College; member of the board of trustees of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana; and president and director for The University of Mississippi Foundation. He also served as chairman of the Advisory Board of the MIND Center, an Alzheimer’s research center.

Ambassador Palmer was also president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and Telocator, both national trade associations. He is a past member of the Young President's Organization and a member of the Chief Executives Organization.

Ambassador Palmer holds a bachelor of arts and master of business administration degrees from the University of Mississippi, as well as an honorary doctor of laws degree from Millsaps College.