(Meal Provided by Chick-Fil-A)

JEFF AUSTIN III

VP Austin Bank and former Texas Transportation Commissioner

Jeff Austin III is a seventh generation Texan, a fourth generation banker and currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Austin Bank Texas, N.A. and Austin Bancorp.  He previously served as President and CEO of affiliate bank First State Bank, Frankston, now merged into Austin Bank Texas, N.A.  He serves on the Board of Directors for affiliate banks First State Bank, Athens and Capital Bank, Houston.  He worked away from the family banks for 10 years before returning in 1990 to East Texas.  In January 2009, the Austin family celebrated 100 years of being active in Texas banking.

Jeff graduated from Jacksonville High School. After attending SMU, he earned his MBA and BS degrees from the University of Texas at Tyler. He also graduated from the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program, Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU, Banking Leadership Texas and Leadership Tyler.

Appointed twice by Governor Rick Perry, Jeff served as Commissioner on the Texas Transportation Commission from October 2011 to August 2019. The Commission oversees statewide activities of the Texas Department of Transportation.  He also served as Chairman of TxDOT’s Audit Committee for five years. 

Jeff is a Past President of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra and the Jacksonville Rotary Club.  He is a past Board Member of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum Foundation, the Frankston, Texas ISD Board of Trustees, the Anderson County Appraisal District Board, the Trinity Mother Frances Hospital Foundation Board, the University of Texas Tyler Business School Advisory Board, the Development Board and Audit Committee of the UT Health Science Center in Tyler, the Better Business Bureau of East Texas, and the Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County in Tyler. Jeff is a Texas Lyceum alumnus, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Sons of the Republic of Texas, and the Texas Navy Association. Jeff and his wife Becky live in Tyler, Texas and have four adult daughters. His hobbies include hunting, hiking, skiing, genealogy, photography and travel.