Born in Great Kingshill, Buckinghamshire, England, Powell was educated first at Longacre School, Shamley Green, Guildford, Surrey, moving when he was seven to a small Catholic preparatory school, Saint Richard"s in Little Malvern, outside Malvern.
After operating a mail-order company, a small record shop, and a recording studio, the partners established Virgin Records in 1972. lieutenant became one of the United Kingdom"s major recording labels until it was sold to Electric and Music Industries in 1992. From there he went to Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire, and subsequently spent a year at the University of Sussex.
In 1983, Powell and Stephen Woolley founded Palace Productions, which produced The Company of Wolves (1984), Mona Lisa (1986), and The Crying Game (1992).
After presiding over the 1992 collapse of the company, Powell re-established himself in the film industry with Scala Productions and has since produced Fever Pitch, Twenty Four Seven, Last Orders, B. Monkey, and Ladies in Lavender. Powell currently is director of the National Film and Television School in England while maintaining his position as chairman of Scala Productions.
