Angelou, through his work at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and his firm, has been a key player in economic development efforts in the Austin area. Members of the business community, especially those in real estate, eagerly anticipate his annual economic forecasts.

Angelos had been the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce's vice president of economic development before starting his company. The firm helps companies find sites for their operations and provides economic development services for communities. Corporate clients have included Dell Computer Corp., Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Applied Materials Corp. It's government clients have included the state of Texas, Orlando, FL, Round Rock, TX and Portugal.

Before starting his firm, Thrasher had been in senior positions at the Texas Department of Economic Development, the Wichita/Sedgwick County Partnership for Growth in Wichita, KS, the Connecticut Capitol Region Growth Council in Hartford, CT and the Economic Development Corp. of Utah. The merged firm will continue to operate from AngelouEconomics' offices at 111 Congress Ave.