The behind-the-scenes story of how Frisco won the PGA HEADQUARTERS and its evolution into one of the biggest sports and entertainment districts in the nation.
Navigating the road to financial freedom can be challenging and complex. Whitley Penn’s trusted advisors partner with you to help uncover unique possibilities that can lead you towards financial freedom and a strong financial future for generations to come. Start the conversation today by visiting www.whitleypenn.com/wpwealth/.
For more than 100 years, we’ve worked with local businesses, international corporations, committed nonprofits and everyone in between, helping them manage operations, grow and expand when the time is right.
JBB Advanced Technologies is a Dallas-based holding company that innovates at the intersection of blockchain, artificial intelligence, and clean, renewable energy.
At that intersection, we’re developing blockchain-based solutions for today’s world, including one to integrate ever-increasing amounts of solar energy seamlessly into our electric grid for greater robustness and resiliency.
Scan the QR code to discover what’s waiting for you at the intersection of JBB Advanced Technologies.
The credibility and success of the Entrepreneur Of The Year® program are largely attributable to the insight, independence and prestige of our judges. Thank you for serving on the panel.
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Nipa Nobel Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer MTX Group 2021 National award winner
Maria Carell President & CEO Revision Skincare and GoodierCosmetics
2022 regional award winner
Barbara Smith Chairman, CEO & President Commercial Metals Company 2022 National award winner
Clete Brewer Managing Partner NewRoad Capital Partners 1997 regional award winner
Sarah Shadonix Founder & CEO Scout & Cellar 2020 regional award winner
Bryan Perkins CEO Novaria Group 2020 regional award winner
Dennis Cail CEO Zirtue 2021 regional award winner
Das Nobel Co-Founder & CEO MTX Group 2021 National award winner
Karen Aldridge CEO Rebel Athletic 2020 regional award winner
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c-level execs, managers, and entrepreneurs make daily sales pitches. Whether you are trying to motivate an employee, sell goods or services, obtain funding, or win an argument with family or friends, persuasion skills are essential. This article details another proven persuasion technique.
As discussed in my April 2022 D CEO article, you are most likely to persuade an audience by showing them or leading them to an answer, rather than telling them the answer or what to think. An easy way to bring this message home is by setting a good example and through leadership. You can tell employees it’s tax season or deadlines are approaching, and they need to work hard. Or you can be the first one in the office each morning or meet your deadlines ahead of schedule.
I have never asked one of my attorneys or paralegals to do anything I don’t regularly do myself. One aspect of leadership is eschewing special treatment. Two examples described in my December 2022 D CEO article were Mickey Mantle standing in a long line to get into a restaurant like everyone else and Dak Prescott cleaning up after himself by getting off the bench, picking up a paper cup that fell to the ground, and putting it in a trash can.
When Alexander the Great was leading his army through a desert thousands died when they encountered monumental depravities with a severe shortage of water. Alexander’s troops found muddy water and brought it to Alexander in a helmet for him to drink. In front of his troops Alexander raised the helmet, turned it upside down and poured the water into the sand. That simple gesture fortified his troops for the long
difficult march ahead. There is a reason Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world at age 32. Ponder what leadership you can exhibit that sets an example that will inspire others. No doubt most readers have led by example, but how many of your leadership efforts are remembered more than a few weeks? It’s truly phenomenal that more than 2,300 years later people remember Alexander’s gesture as powerful leadership by example.
Bobby Jones’ Leadership
Persuasive leadership includes turning down short cuts and privileges based on your status. My grandfather saw Bobby Jones in the ticket counter line at a train station. Jones, one of the world’s most famous golfers, was near the end of his life and in a wheelchair. There was no disabled line in those days. Several people in line turned to Jones and asked, “Why don’t you go first?” Jones replied that he would wait his turn like everyone else. That type of leadership endears you to others and is a powerful persuasion tool. The takeaway: Lead by example, and the people you’re trying to persuade will follow you.
ROGGE DUNN represents companies, executives, financial advisors, and entrepreneurs in business and employment matters.
Clients include the CEOs of American Airlines, Baker Hughes, Beck Group, Blucora, Crow Holdings, Dave & Busters, Gold’s Gym, FedEx, HKS, Texas Motor Speedway, Texas Capital Bancshares, and Texas Tech University, and sports figures like New York Mets Manager Buck Showalter, NBA executive Donnie Nelson, and NBA Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. Dunn’s corporate clients include Adecco, Beal Bank, Benihana, Cawley Partners, Match. com, Rent-A-Center, and Outback Steakhouse.
In 2021, 2022, and 2023 Dunn was included in D CEO Magazine’s Dallas 500 list, which recognizes the most influential business leaders in North Texas.
He has been named a Texas Super Lawyer every year that award has been given and recognized as one of the top 100 attorneys in Texas by Texas Monthly (a Thomson Reuters service) and a D Magazine Best Lawyer 14 times.
Video visits anytime. Even on Sunday.
MyBSWHealth now 24/7.
Congratulations to Jennifer Mitzner, Chief Financial Officer of Baylor Scott & White Health, finalist for the 2023 D CEO Financial Executive Award.
Some people have a way with words, others with numbers. Jennifer Mitzner has both, and she is making healthcare Better with an unwavering focus on the people and communities we serve.
36 42 48 52
A behind-the-scenes story on how
landed the
headquarters—and its evolution into one of the biggest sports and entertainment districts in the nation.
learned through her battle with colon cancer—and challenges she has faced in Corporate America.
Guiding a company through game-changing business transactions is never easy. Here’s how three North Texas CFOs persevered.
M&A projections show a slower 2023 following the recent super cycle, but even as the market cools, Dallas is resilient.
of the six people on d ceo’s editorial team, three, including me, are boomerangs. We left for what we call “corporate sabbaticals,” only to return to D Magazine Partners for a second round. We were all ready for a break; with a constant stream of deadlines, journalism can be exhausting. And the pay is better on the corporate side.
D CEO in 2010 and worked my way up to the No. 2 spot before leaving to take a communications job at Cushman & Wakefield in late 2016. I returned as editor in August 2018. Creative Director Hamilton Hedrick joined the magazine in the summer of 2012 and left to become an art director at The Container Store in early 2018. He returned a year later. Executive Editor Brandon J. Call joined D CEO in September 2018. He went to work as a copy manager at Neiman Marcus in October 2020 and returned to D CEO in January 2022.
We all learned valuable lessons during our time away. I learned a lot about how corporations work, why press releases take so long to get approved, and the importance of work-life balance. Hamilton says he came to realize how much he values having direct access to company leadership and the importance of communication. “Working in product photography and set design, I really honed my attention to detail—not just for the product at hand, but really studying the set, color schemes, and how it can enhance the subject, be it a product or person.”
Brandon says that writing marketing copy helped him become more thoughtful in his storytelling for D CEO. “It’s the opposite of what you learn in journalism—to focus solely on the facts,” he says. “With marketing, you’re trying to evoke emotion—to show, not tell.”
All three of us were also compelled to return to D for the opportunity to have more of an impact through the stories we produce and the important business issues we’re able to bring to light. In this postpandemic world, many of us are looking for meaning and spending time on things we truly care about. Our corporate jobs may have been easier and cushier, but the heart wants what the heart wants.
Christine Perez Editor
For over 20 years Stream has partnered with Financial Executives across North Texas to align their real estate needs with their business goals and objectives. From the moment we begin working with our clients, we “uncover” all direct and indirect costs associated with their real estate transactions.
We combine industry experience with data to eliminate surprises.
PUBLISHER Noelle LeVeaux
EDITORIAL EDITOR Christine Perez
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brandon J. Call
MANAGING EDITOR Ben Swanger
ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Kelsey J. Vanderschoot
SENIOR EDITOR Will Maddox
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Richard Alm, W. Michael Cox
EDITORIAL INTERNS Hannah Ezell, Shreeya Khatry, Yvette Romero
ART
DESIGN DIRECTOR Hamilton Hedrick
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Elizabeth Lavin
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER Rachel Gill
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MARKETING DIRECTOR Gigi Ekstrom
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about 250 guests gathered in february for D CEO’s second annual Women Leading STEM Forum. Held at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, the event hosted leading thinkers, pioneers, and executives who are paving the way for women in STEM. Students from DISD high schools were also in attendance.
Expert panelists included Jennifer Bartkowski, CEO of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas; Claudia Coleman, vice president of design operations at Thomson Reuters; Sara Eaton, managing director at Slalom; and Sandra McNeil, director of operations at Amazon. The discussions were moderated by D CEO Editor Christine Perez and Capital One’s Vice President of Financial Services Marissa Horne. Thank you to title sponsors Amazon, Capital One, Thomson Reuters, and Slalom for supporting this inspiring event.
each year, d ceo honors the region’s top commercial real estate professionals who generate the most revenue for their firms with its signature Power Broker Awards. This year’s honorees were celebrated in February with an exclusive event at Bank of America Plaza. D CEO Editor Christine Perez congratulated attendees on their success and presented a special Legacy Award to Rex Glendenning, founder of REX Real Estate. He reflected on his career and thanked those who made a difference along the way. Thank you to our signature sponsors, Allen Economic Development Corp. and Downtown Dallas Inc., for their support. And a special thanks to founding sponsor and host, Bank of America Plaza. Congratulations to all 2023 Power Brokers who were featured in the March issue of D CEO
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, Barnes & Thornburg welcomed over 150 clients, business and community leaders, and public officials to Celebrate Excellence and 2023, a red carpet experience in its Uptown Dallas office. The reception was not only a celebration for the recently named Dallas office managing partner, Victor Vital, but an opportunity to connect with clients and community partners. Barnes & Thornburg is among the 100 largest firms in the U.S., with over 800 attorneys and legal professionals in offices across the country, serving virtually every legal practice area required to do business in today’s global marketplace.
Congratulations, Santander Consumer USA Capital Markets Team
On being named a finalist for D CEO Magazine’s Financial Executive Awards.
a frustrated scientist. that’s how alok Maskara describes himself early in his career as a researcher who co-wrote nine patents, some of which never made it to market. “I started thinking about leading a business,” says the now CEO of Lennox International. At the helm of the Richardson-based HVAC giant, Maskara has a front row seat to innovation at the growing enterprise. He took over as CEO in May 2022 and led the company to a record $4.7 billion in revenue in his first eight months on the job. “My only goal is to leave Lennox better for the next generation,” he says.
A top priority will be continuing to pioneer more sustainable technology as new environmental regulations come into effect; by 2025, every air conditioner sold in the U.S. will need to use a chemical compound that impacts the ozone layer less than the current industry standard. “In fewer than two years, all of our products must have the new refrigerant, and we are pulling that together,” Maskara says.
Lennox is also testing its cold climate heat pump, which was the first of its kind to meet requirements for the Department of Energy’s Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge. The call to HVAC companies hopes to spur innovation and reduce emissions; space conditioning and water heating account for 42 percent of all building energy bills and 56 percent of household energy bills each year. “We need to win at heat pumps to make our future secure,” Maskara says.
Heat pumps account for roughly 15 to 20 per-
Acent of Lennox International’s revenue, and this new model will open even more doors, allowing the company to warm buildings in the northern regions more cost-effectively. “Overall, I think that percentage of revenue from heat pumps will keep going up,” Maskara says. He anticipates launching Lennox’s new model in the next 12 to 18 months, but says even after the launch, hybrid furnace and heat pump systems will power the way forward in the near term. “Thirty to 40 percent of our sales will be heat pumps in the next four years—that’s what we are shooting for,” Maskara says.
He will need to rely on lean manufacturing to meet demand and facilitate growth. Having held leadership roles at General Electric, water treatment company Pentair, and industrial company Luxfer, Maskara hopes to leverage his channel distribution and manufacturing expertise to continue to navigate supply chain woes at Lennox. The company does its own distribution, supplying its 250 retail stores nationwide. “In today’s digital age, it’s hard to be dependent on a distributor, especially old school distributors,” Maskara says.
He is also helping Lennox rethink its geographical focus. He pulled the company out of its business in Europe—where it had manufacturing hubs in Germany, France, and Spain—in late 2022, focusing solely on North American operations and sales. “We need to come down to a nimbler footprint,” Maskara says. Lennox recently signed an agreement for a new lean manufacturing facility in Saltillo, Mexico, and agreements for investment in larger distribution centers will be underway soon, Maskara says. Texas will play a key role in the company’s new operations. “We are spending a lot of effort in making Richardson an even bigger location for us,” he says.
Finally, Maskara hopes to guide Lennox through a transition as several C-Suite officers may retire. “In the next two to three years, about half my team may be sailing off into the sunset,” Maskara says. He was responsible for finding his own replacement internally as the former CEO of Milwaukee-based Luxfer and hopes to successfully backfill and develop leadership the same way at Lennox. “I’ll spend a lot of time on talent and leadership transition,” he says.
Before guiding Lennox International, Alok Maskara held key management roles at manufacturing companies around the globe. Here are some previous posts that have helped him build his resume:
General manager of GE’s residential and commercial water divisions, working out of its Fairfield, Connecticut, and Milwaukee offices.
President of five divisions in nine years with Minnesota-based Pentair, culminating as president of the technical solutions reporting segment globally and overseeing more than $2.2 billion in revenue and more than 9,000 employees.
CEO of advanced materials company Luxfer, where he helped the company develop and backfill its succession plan.
Chief Marketing and Growth Officer
AT&T COMMUNICATIONS
after leading marketing efforts for hilton, Kellyn Smith Kenny was appointed to a new chief marketing and growth officer role at AT&T Communications in 2020. A division of the Dallas-based telecom, media, and tech giant, it focuses on mobile phone, broadband, fixed-line telephone, cybersecurity, and business services. As part of her work to promote the organization, Kenny says she is passionate about closing the gaps that exist in technology access and is proud of AT&T’s work to engage the community and expand its network and product offerings. “We have to address the digital divide in this country,” she says. “Not all Americans, especially those in unserved and underserved communities, have access to the high-speed, reliable broadband connectivity they need to thrive in a digital world.”
EDUCATION: Northwestern University (MBA), Colgate University (BA)
BIRTHPLACE: “New York”
FIRST JOB:
“I was a lifeguard and swim instructor when I was 14. In addition to teaching kids how to swim and ensuring everyone’s safety, I was responsible for cleaning, testing, and treating the pool, as well as cleaning the bathrooms. It wasn’t always glamorous, but I learned the value of hard work and taking responsibility for the safety of others.”
BEST ADVICE:
“Early in my career, one of my mentors told me, ‘Attitude is the greatest predictor of your altitude.’ I have tried to live by that mantra every day.”
Ronnie Green has cracked the code to automated retirement investing with fintech platform AlgoPear.
song resonates with me because I’m someone who likes to challenge the status quo and make an impact. I’m resilient in the face of adversity.”
MUST-READ:
“In Adam Grant’s book, Think Again, he proposes a new approach to improving one’s thinking—he calls it rethinking. He encourages readers to think like a scientist because scientists are constantly curious, experimenting, and discovering new information.”
SPIRIT ANIMAL:
DESTINATIONS OF CHOICE:
“We love the mountains during the winter. Both of my daughters are hardcharging skiers, so we try to get to Colorado and Utah as often as possible.”
LOCAL FARE: “Hands down, Carbone. We’ve sampled almost everything on the menu and it’s all divine, but the biggest can’t-miss items on the menu for me are the Calamari Marco, Caesar alla ZZ, and meatballs.”
FUN FACT:
“My dad was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1960s.”
FIRST CAR:
“I owned a white Toyota Camry; shout out to my mom and dad.”
WALK-UP SONG:
“I’d choose ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor. This
“A bluebird. They are considered flexible, innovative, kind, grateful, and in pursuit of glory. It’s a bonus that my spirit animal’s color matches that of AT&T’s logo.”
ALTERNATE REALITY:
“I love adventure and adrenaline so maybe I’d be a big mountain skier, African safari tour guide, or oceanographer on the Great Barrier Reef.”
BUCKET LIST: “Heli-skiing in the Alps”
KEY STRATEGIES:
“A practice of equal parts head and heart: rigorous data collection meets intense listening and teamwork.”
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK:
“I’m excited about AT&T’s combined power of 5G and fiber. These two nextgen technologies will serve as the digital backbone of the country’s economy for years to come.”
he was living out of his car, playing college football, and working two jobs before Ronnie Green turned $5,000 into $100,000 in eight months on the stock market. “It was just being disciplined and knowing how to maximize strategy,” he says. After graduating, he worked at TD Ameritrade, where he found that the tech used by accredited investors was inaccessible to most. So, he built an AI platform that pairs retail investors with an algorithm that does all the work of a financial adviser without management fees. Since launching in 2019, AlgoPear became the first portfolio company for Dallas-based accelerator Impact Ventures, partnered with brokerage service Alpaca API, and opened a $2 million funding round. This year, Green is aiming to expand the platform’s reach tenfold, unveil a new mobile app, and announce a banking partnership.
“AlgoPear can beat the market with AI, and we want to do that for 100,000 users,” Green says.
— Kelsey J. VanderschootWe anticipate our client’s needs and outcomes, preparing them for what’s next by offering innovative solutions. Created
We are FORVIS. Forward vision drives our Unmatched Client Experiences.
story by BRANDON J. CALL
award-winning architect nunzio desantis and his son marc aren’t afraid to face off against the giants of the industry. Their namesake firm, Nunzio Marc DeSantis Architects has had an outsized impact since it launched in May 2017. For Nunzio, it was a chance to get back to the roots of design after 40-years in hospitality architecture at HKS led him into a leadership role that was more administrative than creative. For Marc, it was a chance to come back home to Dallas and be closer to his family after going away for school at the University of Notre Dame and cutting his teeth at a large architecture firm in New York City.
With its headquarters in the Design District, the father-son-led architecture firm specializes in hotels (including convention center hotels), resorts, restaurants, and other hospitality concepts. The firm’s portfolio boasts work for major luxury brands across the U.S. and in Mexico, Costa Rica, and other markets around the globe. Locally, NMDA recently designed the forthcoming 223-room hotel at Cityplace Tower, an iconic 42-story office highrise off U.S. 75 at Haskell Avenue. “Some of the most memorable times of my life are made when I’m traveling,” Marc says. “The thing I love most about my job and our company is that we get to help create those same experiences for others.”
NMDA has seen rapid growth in its first five years, ballooning from three full-time employees at founding to more than 30 employees today. Despite the slowdown in hospitality development during the pandemic, NMDA persevered without a single layoff because of strong client relationships, Nunzio says. In a David-versus-Goliath moment, Nunzio, Marc, and two architecture interns designed one of the firm’s first major projects—an 800-room hotel for the $1.1 billion Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center expansion—beating out some of the country’s largest firms. How? Marc says NMDA remains steadfastly focused on design. It partners with other architecture firms for construction documents, permitting, and delivery. “We know the value that we bring to our clients is design,” Marc says. “And we are purposefully small but mighty. It’s the DNA of our company and what helps us stay agile and innovative in what we do.”
And it’s a winning strategy that NMDA plans to employ well into the future. “One of the greatest things about working with my son,” Nunzio says, “is knowing that the business relationships we forge and the projects that we help create will transcend for generations to come.”
FROM ALL OF US AT JACKSON-SHAW, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE DCEO FINANCIAL EXECUTIVE AWARD FINALISTS AND WINNERS, INCLUDING JACKSON-SHAW’S CFO, JOHN STONE.
Since 1972, Jackson-Shaw has chartered a different course in commercial real estate. Mixing practical experience with vigorous entrepreneurship, Jackson-Shaw combines varied services and products within diverse markets to create original results in commercial real estate development.
story by BRANDON J. CALL illustration by JAKE MEYERS
sitting down at a table at true food Kitchen in Preston Center, Blueprint Marketing Group founder Jenica Oliver welcomes me with a hug and a big, friendly smile. As she orders the Ancient Grains Bowl (sesame-glazed sweet potatoes, charred onions, snap peas, portobello mushrooms, avocado, and a pumpkin seed pesto) and I opt for the Tuscan Kale Salad with chicken, Oliver shares how much she loves her profession. “Marketing has always been my passion,” she says.
After earning a bachelor’s in business administration from Texas Tech and an MBA from SMU, Oliver began her ascent up the corporate ladder. Her resume reads like a Rolodex of major local consumer packaged goods brands, including stints with Dean Foods, Borden Dairy, and Mission Foods. She regales me in stories of new product launches, recalls, and attention-getting campaigns that she helped to execute in her 20-year career.
But Oliver’s business journey is anything but ordinary. After the economy tanked, in 2009 she was laid off from her director of marketing role.
“To say I was devastated would be an understatement,” she says. “But I pushed those feelings aside and focused on what to do next.” Oliver became intentional about putting herself back into the job market by growing her network and seeking out the right opportunity. That’s also when she gave more focus to Blueprint Marketing Group, an LLC she first formed in 2008 to take on project work as a side hustle.
Oliver’s persistence paid off—she landed a senior director role with Borden Dairy in 2010, reporting
directly to the company’s CMO. But again in 2016, she found herself unemployed after her position was eliminated. “I’d like to say that I dove headfirst into entrepreneurship, but I was pushed,” she says. “With discomfort comes growth, though. And in hindsight, getting laid off was one of the best things that could have happened to my career.”
The LLC Oliver formed became her main focus thereafter, and she re-launched with a new mission. “I hope to be a resource for small businesses and nonprofits that don’t always have access to on-staff marketers or agencies to help grow,” she says. “Everyone should have access to good, quality marketing strategies and direction.”
With her women- and minority-owned consultancy, Oliver is also working to popularize the idea of fractional CMOs—an outsourced C-Suite executive with part-time hours and a proportional cost. When large companies lose their marketing leadership, Oliver steps in as an executive consultant while a replacement is found. For midsize and smaller companies with junior-level marketers and leaner budgets, Oliver offers strategy and guidance that is cost-effective.
A niche where fractional CMOs are making headway is in the startup space, Oliver says, where she can position a company to be more attractive to investors, help lead consumer research on new products, or get a product into the test market. She has also worked with companies through ownership changes and buyouts to ensure brand continuity and eliminate bumps in the road that come with newness.
“One thing I know for sure is that although people think marketing is easy, it is not,” Oliver says. “It’s a discipline like everything else and should be treated as such. Just like you’d hire an attorney for a legal issue or an accountant for financial advice, marketing leadership is no different.”
the oakland athletics’ moneyball movement is built around the theory that baseball is business and can be narrowed down to data that supports profit. The idea is to use historically overlooked statistics alongside predictive analytics to map out a framework for success. Today, Dallas-based Expo is using that same concept in the restaurant industry.
The company collects data around sales, staffing, and more, then uses analytics to help restaurant managers optimize growth, improve employee performance, and decrease turnover. “We tie together all the data points coming in from Uber Eats, Yelp, and guest services—all the way to which employee is selling the most wine or appetizers—and bring that data to the player level, just like Moneyball, so the restaurant’s general manager can better coach employees,” says Expo co-founder and CEO Will Pacio. The idea for the venture came to Pacio after pandemic closures and staffing shortages rocked the industry. A Stanford and French Culinary Institute graduate, Pacio worked his way up in the business from a prep cook to managing the IT department for renowned Chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry.
In 2010, Pacio opened fast-casual Asian street food chain Spice Kit and scaled the concept to three locations. He noticed inefficiencies in the market and launched Pared—an app enabling restaurant employees to work shifts at a rotating cast of eateries. Pared operated in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., servicing “thousands of shifts per day,” Pacio says. In the wake of the pandemic, he needed a new direction, so he spun off Pared into Expo—which now has 30 employees—and moved operations to North Texas. “Dallas is one of the hubs for American restaurants,” Pacio explains. “Yum! Brands and Brinker being here was a big pull.”
With just a year under its belt, Pacio says Expo is adding millions of dollars to its clients’ top lines and decreasing management turnover by more than 50 percent. Its thousands of national restaurant clients include Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Burger King, KFC, Popeyes, Cava, and more. Looking ahead, Expo has procured investments from Silicon Valley investors Charles River Ventures, Uncork Capital, True Ventures, and Calibrate Ventures to spur growth, and Pacio has high hopes for revenue gains in 2023. “We’re going to grow at least five times over this year,” he says.
DHA, Housing Solutions for North Texas provides quality, a ordable housing to low-income families and individuals through housing assistance programs across North Texas. As chief financial o cer for DHA, Chetana’s leadership is essential to the success of the agency’s work to provide housing solutions in healthy, inclusive communities.
The entire DHA team congratulates Chetana for her great accomplishment and sends their most profound gratitude for her commitment to DHA’s mission each day.
Chetana’s dedication to DHA and the North Texas community is invaluable as she continues to oversee DHA’s complex financial operations with a high level of care.
D CEO
From tirelessly ensuring the integrity of DHA’s financial operations and sound internal controls to managing the rigorous auditing processes under her watchful eye and careful guidance, Chetana has led DHA through eight consecutive annual financial and compliance audits with zero deficiencies. DHA deeply appreciates Chetana’s strong leadership and hard work in advancing DHA as a progressive, leading agency.
Learn more about our mission: dhantx.com
THE BEHIND-THESCENES STORY OF HOW FRISCO WON THE PGA HEADQUARTERS AND ITS EVOLUTION INTO ONE OF THE BIGGEST SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS IN THE NATION.
portraits by SEAN BERRY
MONTH, THE 660-ACRE, $550 MILLION PGA of America complex will open on what used to be barren farmland in far north Frisco. It features two championship courses, which will host dozens of professional golf events, a 500-room Omni Resort, myriad restaurants, and an entertainment district and outdoor areas, all of which will be open to the public.
But without the involvement of three key figures, who would not take no for an answer and overcame every obstacle they encountered, the deal would never have materialized in the form it is today.
They include Blake Rowling president of TRT Holdings—the group that owns and operates Omni Hotels & Resorts and other companies— which provided the advance $525 million guarantee for the resort and golf courses. Another key player was Frisco attorney David Ovard, who pushed the original concept in his hometown and navigated the deal through city hall corridors leading to a $35 million dollar contribution from Frisco. And rounding it out was Mark Harrison, executive director and CEO of the Northern Texas PGA, who worked with Ovard and the PGA of America to bring its headquarters to Frisco after nearly 60 years in South Florida.
Although the three men had put plenty of deals together in their various careers, they had never done one this large, this complex, with so many part-
ners, and chances to fail. “The deal died 15 deaths from Jan. 18 until Dec. 4 [2018] when we signed the documents with the city of Frisco,” says Rowling.
“Mate, Omni wasn’t involved nearly as long as I was,” Harrison chimes in. “This thing died hundreds of times over the last decade. There were so many egos and people butting heads; there were a lot of times I thought this would never happen.”
And just when it seemed that the deal had died a final death, an under-the-radar golf advocate, Dallas’ Pat Taylor, a five-time local ladies club champion, came to the rescue. She convinced her non-golfing husband, Dr. William Taylor, to sell his majority share of land in a key sector of the golf course, after he turned down other offers to sell for years.
“It’s mind-blowing,” says Robert Elliott, founding partner of Stillwater Capital who initially approached Rowling and Omni about the potential development in early 2018. “We first talked five or six years ago,” Elliott
says. “At the time, it involved one course, then two, then a resort. David [Ovard] kept planning and finally he said, ‘We need somebody to raise capital.’”
A decade earlier, with his sons showing promise as junior golfers, all Ovard wanted was a good place in Frisco for his boys to play and practice without having to join a pricey country club.
“In Frisco, there was something for every sport except golf,” he says. “We didn’t have a place to play. I thought the city could have a facility where kids could go practice and seniors could play, grab a burger, hang out, and relax.”
With the Dallas Cowboys headquarters and adjacent sports and entertainment district, The Star, the city pulled off a wildly successful public-private partnership. Ovard wondered if the same approach could be used for golf. After about a year of talking to neighbors and friends, he became convinced that such a plan could work. And he was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen.
A Frisco resident since 2004, Ovard had built plenty of relationships with city officials. He served on several committees and boards, and his wife, Wren, was on the board of the Community Development Corp. from 2014 to 2021, serving as president for the last couple of years.
“I thought we could at least have a driving range and that the city would put some money into it,” Ovard says. At the time, his sons were taking lessons from noted golf instructor Cameron McCormick. Knowing of Ovard’s interest, McCormick connected him with Harrison, who was independently peddling the concept of an urban golf park for junior golfers. At the time, the Northern Texas PGA was looking for a new home base.
“We got together to sketch out a plan,” Ovard says. “Mark brought the panache of the NTPGA and its new headquarters. Then Cameron mentioned the PGA of America— that’s the business of golf—and it really made sense. But the things that had to be negotiated were tough.”
Harrison and McCormick went to work on the PGA of America about moving to DFW, an idea that gained credence when the Florida-based organization put out a Request for Proposals in 2017 to potentially relocate. Frisco emerged as a strong candidate.
The first of many roadblocks proved to be one of the easiest to surmount; the relocation of Legacy Drive, which would have to go around a planned golf course instead of through it. Ovard sketched out a revised pathway and met with former Frisco City Manager George Purefoy. “I told him what we needed,” Ovard says. “He suggested some different land, but the architect told him we needed this land, and we got it done.”
A linchpin deal for land for one of the courses proved to be more of a challenge. Although the 600 acres once owned by banker Bert Fields had been largely purchased by Hunt Realty and Stillwater Capital in 2017, there was a 13-acre tract on what would become the East Course holes 13-14. It was known as the Will-Pat Property, named for Dr. William and Pat Taylor of Dallas. They controlled 60 percent of the land, with 11 friends holding the remaining interests.
Course architect Gil Hanse told planners the proper-
MARK HARRISON | Northern Texas PGA“ This thing died hundreds of times over the last decade. There were so many egos and people butting heads; there were a lot of times I thought this would never happen.”
ty was essential. “We could have a golf course without it, but not the championship one we wanted to build,” Ovard says. That conjured up not-so-good memories for Elliott, who worked on the private Trinity Forest Golf Club in southern Dallas, only to see promised championship events never occur and the PGA Tour’s AT&T Byron Nelson tournament leave after two years.
“We tried building championship courses at Trinity Forest and other places,” Elliott says. “You talk to golf leaders about championship courses, and if they never come, and if you don’t have a championship commitment, then you just have a defunct golf course in the center of Frisco.”
To make matters worse, Taylor had already turned down multiple offers to buy the land for other uses, and had what Purefoy describes as a very tough relationship with the city manager and the city government. “When I told George who we were meeting with, he said, ‘I think your dream just died,’” Ovard recalls. “Talk about a heart attack moment for me.”
Nevertheless, Ovard got a meeting with Taylor and his wife at their North Dallas home to give his pitch on why they should sell the land to Frisco to allow championship golf to return to the region.
“I don’t believe you,” was Dr. Taylor’s quick response.
PGA Frisco
“That’s just the way he was,” says Pat Taylor of her husband, who passed away two years ago. “He didn’t believe a lot of people when they told him something.”
During the meeting, Taylor picked up his cell phone and called Purefoy while Ovard listened in. “I got this guy in my living room saying if I sell my land, championship golf is coming to Frisco,” Taylor told the city manager. After a few minutes, Taylor hung up the phone and turned to Ovard and remarked, “George says you’re telling me the truth.”
It was then that Pat Taylor made a plea that allowed the deal to proceed. “I’ve always loved golf—really loved it,” she told her husband. “I think we should do this.”
Once Taylor was on board, the couple was able to get the 11 minority owners agree to the sale.
“I know I had some rough times with Dr. Taylor; I know he was a hard negotiator,” Purefoy says. “The ace in the hole was that his wife loved golf. I didn’t know that, and I don’t think anybody did.”
Another big Frisco roadblock was funding for the fire, police, and emergency services that the dozens of PGA tournaments would need. The PGA had never paid for such services in the past and had always had them included as part of championship agreements. The city insisted that every sports team had always covered these costs.
“If we set a precedent with the PGA, if we blinked dealing with them, we would have faced something else the next time,” Purefoy says. “Mr. Jerry Jones thought he had a pretty strong argument against paying, but he ended up doing so.”
In the end, so did PGA of America.
With pivotal land agreements reached and the PGA interested in bringing its headquarters and dozens of championships to Frisco, all that was needed was somebody to fund the multimillion-dollar deal. Elliott knew just who to call and dialed Blake Rowling.
“Robert, who’s a friend, and he said they were talking to the city of Frisco, and the PGA was very interested in this, and that they guaranteed championships,” recalls
Seth Waugh was a PGA of America director in 2017 when he got his first look at the Frisco site. He became the organization’s CEO in September 2018.
“It was a cold November morning in 2017, and the land was wet and muddy. We took ATVs to look at the property, and there was nothing there but fences and cattle and brush.
“You could see the elevation changes and the water features, though, which make for great golf courses. Then, we had to make a deal that made sense for us. Dealing with three different parties (PGA, Frisco, and Omni Hotels & Resorts) was complicated, but we got it done.”
“For the first time, I feel like the PGA has a home—not a headquarters building, but a home. We will have something almost every year in Frisco—from annual meetings to the Junior PGA Championships to the summer buying show, plus the championships, starting with the KitchenAid Championship in May, then the women’s PGA and the men’s PGA.”
“We are making our mark here and making a difference for all of golf with our championships. I really feel this will be a laboratory to make this the Silicon Valley for golf’s future innovation. It will benefit the game we love and allow us to to see it grow.”
Rowling. “When he said guaranteed championships, I don’t know if he meant PGA Championship or what—it might have been the U.S. Open. We take a lot of meetings, but 90 percent don’t work out.”
Still, a few weeks later, Elliott found himself at Old Parkland in Rowling’s office with Mike Smith, another TRT/Omni exec, laying out the PGA Frisco details. It was followed by an evening meeting at Dallas Country Club with Robert Rowling, Blake’s father and TRT’s CEO.
“I thought it was going to be a 15-minute meeting and it turned out to be two hours,” Elliott says. “Truth be told, there was really only one partner to raise this much capital and get it done, and that’s Bob and Blake Rowling.”
The father-son duo had done plenty of deals over the years with Omni and operated some of the largest and most notable resorts in America. They already had a successful hotel at The Star in Frisco. But something on this scale for the Dallas-Fort Worth region would be a first.
“I thought it was an incredibly unique idea,” Blake Rowling says. “There hadn’t been a major championship in Texas since 1960s. That was incredible as a golf fan.”
“There are a ton of resorts in South and Central Texas, but not here. So, the lack of resorts here, in the dead center of the country, with DFW and Love Field airports—it all made sense.”
The price tag for a huge 500-room resort, two golf courses, 13 restaurants, four pools, and everything else which went with the project is approximately $525 million, all personally guaranteed by the Rowlings and TRT.
“In order for the PGA of America to commit to moving here and Frisco City Council [to support it], someone had to guarantee the whole project would happen,” Rowling says. “We never had any idea that a global pandemic would hit in the middle of this project when we granted the funding, but that’s the only way PGA and the Frisco City Council would go forward. That’s the risk you take.”
While the Rowlings had done plenty of projects, including the Omni Frisco Hotel at The Star and the Omni Fort Worth Hotel near the Fort Worth Convention Center, they had never done one with this many partners and this many chances for everything to go wrong.
“Partners make things complicated, but can also help things come together,” Rowling says. “There were a couple of times I didn’t think we could get there. We had three parties with different interests involved, they all had needs to be met; if one party walks away, the deal is not going to happen.”
Northern Texas PGA executive director and CEO Harrison initially wanted an urban golf park to further his
junior program, which produced major champions like Justin Leonard, Scottie Scheffler, and Jordan Spieth. Starting in 2013, he took his idea to any city or organization that would listen and says he got his biggest break when he was turned down by one of his first choices.
“I talked to Irving, Richardson, and Addison,” Harrison says. “Addison saying no was one of the best things that happened. We wouldn’t be here now if they had said yes. I promise, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Irving was great,” he continues. “They said they were in but didn’t want us to talk with any other cities. I said, ‘Thanks but, we’re going to chat with a few others.’”
That led Harrison to Frisco, where he teamed up with Ovard and turned his sights on the PGA of America leaving its longtime home in South Florida.
“We had a firm study it, but like many large organizations, the PGA was dominated by East Coast courses that were very comfortable with being in Florida,” says Paul Levy, former PGA of America president. “It was painful at first for them to consider leaving, and we had some board members who didn’t like Texas, but we slowly won them over. When business people in Texas get behind a project, things seem to happen. You can’t say that about everywhere.”
The final PGA board vote to move was 21-0, and when the 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship tees off in Frisco on May 25, Harrison will be caddying for NTPGA Pro Cameron Doan in the first group.
In the end, PGA of America contractually committed to bring nearly two dozen championships to its new North Texas home, including two PGA Championships and the 2041 Ryder Cup matches between the U.S. and Europe, provided certain financial metrics are met.
“It just continued to evolve, like a snowball rolling down the hill, and it got bigger and bigger,” Harrison says. “I wasn’t on the PGA payroll, but I was sure working for them—working on their behalf.”
The formal agreement was structured between the PGA of America, Omni Stillwater Woods (a joint venture led by Omni Hotels & Resorts and including Stillwater Capital and Woods Capital, a Dallas-based real estate development and investment company led by Jonas Woods).
The PGA of America and the NTPGA have already moved into their new, high-tech headquarters, and the Omni PGA complex will open for food, fun, golf, and luxury lodging on May 2. It’s all thanks to three Dallas-area leaders who never gave up, each in their own way—and one passionate female golf fan who rescued it at its darkest hour.
“I don’t know about our legacy,” Rowling says. “We’re capitalists, and we do deals when we think we can make money. But this is a great service to the city of Frisco, and it will be a real game-changer for North Texas.”
DALLAS MAVERICKS CEO CYNT MARSHALL SHARES LESSONS
LEARNED THROUGH HER DIFFICULT BATTLE WITH COLON CANCER — AND CHALLENGES SHE FACED IN CORPORATE AMERICA.
intro by CHRISTINE PEREZ
photography
by
JAMIE CHUNGAS SHE ENDURED A FIERCE BATTLE WITH COLON cancer, former AT&T exec and current Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall found solace by journaling. Through 12 rounds of chemo, she documented her feelings and experiences. Later, after beating the odds, others asked to read the journals as they went through battles of their own. That led Marshall to think about turning them into a book.
She connected with Dallas literary agent Jan Miller, who loved the story but told Marshall she had important lessons to share about leadership and motherhood, too. “I thought the original was a masterpiece, and didn’t want the cancer story to get lost,” Marshall says. But in the end, she hunkered down and wrote. Ballantine Books, a division of Penguin Random House, published her memoir, You’ve Been Chosen, last fall.
The experience of sharing her story changed her as a leader, Marshall says, driving home the importance of authenticity as a core value. The evolution comes at a time when people are demanding authenticity and empathy in the wake of the
pandemic. “Everyone has gone through a lot, and people have learned how to integrate their lives to prioritize their physical and mental and spiritual health,” Marshall says. “And it’s not just leaders, but all of us. We’ve all been chosen for different roles. It’s all about being there for others.”
Here are three lessons for business leaders, excerpted from Marshall’s new book. ONE
In the spring of 2010, not too long after my 50th birthday, I sat in a Dallas conference room with my colleagues, AT&T leaders from across the country, filling out the human performance expert Jack Groppel’s The Corporate Athlete assessment questionnaire. As the president of AT&T North Carolina, I was required to be there. But I didn’t expect much from the session.
I was sure I wouldn’t find out anything new about myself. I knew me! I was in excellent emotional, mental, and spiritual health. I read and kept my mind sharp. I spent time with my family and friends to get the emotional support I needed. I was intentional about making time for prayer, going to church, and feeding my soul. As I remember it, my results were off the chart in those categories.
My physical health, though? I thought it would be my lowest score but figured it would still be decent. I used to be an athlete, and now as an executive and a mom, I was constantly on the go. I had already cut back on Ding Dongs and fried chicken. What else would they want from me? I was partially right. Physical health was my lowest-scoring area on Jack’s assessment, but the score was far from decent. It was clear where I needed to put my attention.
A few months earlier, my primary care physician had given me a referral slip for a colonoscopy test, which he called a routine precaution for all his patients when they turned 50. I thought about that slip at the end of Jack’s program, when we were all told to choose accountability buddies within the group and then share one specific action step that we would take for improvement. I turned to Frank, a straight-talking executive from New Jersey, and told him I would get a colonoscopy. I was a busy woman, I reasoned, so I picked something I thought wouldn’t require extra energy.
Over the following weeks and then months, Frank somehow always managed to call me when I was in
the Starbucks drive-thru. “Did you get that thing done yet?” he’d ask in his gravelly New York accent. I’d tell him no and change the subject.
Seven months and many Frank phone calls later, I finally got to say yes; the appointment was made, and so could we please talk about something else now? I scheduled my colonoscopy for Dec. 14, the day before my 51st birthday. I was cutting that “get it done at 50” close.
I will remember the anesthesia-induced sleep that day as the best I’ve ever had. I didn’t feel a thing. When I woke up, though, the first thing I saw was my husband Kenny standing over me. Through my anesthesia haze I saw that he was frowning, biting his lip the way he does when he’s bothered. I knew right away something wasn’t right.
“Wife, we’ve got a problem,” he told me, and then he stopped, not sure how to continue. “The doctor saw something he didn’t like.”
I didn’t know how to respond, and my brain still wasn’t working at its normal speed. I reached out toward the paper I could see in his hand. “What’s that?” After a second of hesitation, he said, “Maybe you should read this later when you feel better.” But, Kenny relented, and handed over the report from the gastroenterologist, who had gone off to see another patient while I was still in recovery. He’d given Kenny copies of the scans they took, promising to call the next day to talk me through them. I’m no doctor, but when I looked at the pictures of my body, even I could see the nasty-looking mass.
The day after my colonoscopy, my actual 51st birthday, I went back to the office. I have a tradition that I always work on my birthday, and not just because I don’t want to miss my cake and ice cream at the lunchtime “surprise” party. Growing up poor taught me to not take my career for granted, and whenever I count my blessings, two near the top of the list are a great job and the ability to take care of my family.
Instead of enjoying ice cream with my team, though, I found myself stuck in a conference room, being grilled by auditors making a surprise visit. I had been the president of AT&T North Carolina for almost four years at that point, and we had become a model program that other AT&T programs across the country followed. But that birthday meeting with the outside interrogators was unusually intense, and the way they asked me about some of our business practices sounded more like an inquisition than a normal audit.
As a Black woman in Corporate America, I had learned long ago that I would sometimes be treated as if I were unqualified or untrustworthy. It was an unfortunate reality. I sat with no notes in front of me,
grateful for my good memory as I honestly answered all their questions and gave them facts.
I had nothing to hide and kept my cool, but after about five hours and one missed birthday party, my aggravation was starting to show. When my assistant stuck her head into the room to tell me that my doctor was on the phone, I gratefully took the opportunity to step out.
That out-of-body feeling struck as I stood in my office on my 51st birthday and heard for the first time that the nasty thing in the scan was a tumor in my colon and that I needed to talk to a surgeon right away. At the end of the call, he again said that it didn’t look good.
I went back to the inquisition much calmer than I had been before. The auditors’ questions were still ridiculous, but suddenly insignificant compared with what else I was facing.
SERVE OTHERS.
When I weighed my career options after college, I had two priorities: I wanted to make as much money as possible, and I wanted to be a boss. Money was what would help get us out of the projects but being a boss would give me the chance to impact others.
TWO
Pacific Telephone and Telegraph made me the best offer; as I remember, they beat out the competition by just $600 a year. I said I wanted to lead, and just a couple of weeks out of college, I was made a shift supervisor in charge of a roomful of operators and part of a management fast-track program that offered mentoring and a commitment to advancement.
That’s not to say the road was always smooth for a Black girl making her way in 1981 Corporate America.
My very first week of work, my boss’s boss pulled me aside and told me I couldn’t wear my shoes—my only pair of dress shoes, mind you, because I was still waiting for my first paycheck—to work anymore, because red wasn’t an “appropriate” color for the workplace. “And your braids have to come out tonight,” she told me, looking at my hair with distaste. She said it made her uncomfortable to be in a meeting with someone who looked the way I did. I was too “ethnic.”
Yes, that was her word, but I didn’t take offense. In fact, in that moment I was grateful, thinking that this woman was looking out for me and helping me advance. I went back to the office the next day with straight hair, wearing some black shoes and a blue suit my sister lent me. That conservative, all-business style became my workplace look for the next 19 years.
In my 40-plus years of work, I’ve learned that to be a good leader, I need to spend at least half of my working
hours investing in the people around me: listening, learning, and loving them. It doesn’t matter whether they’re telephone operators or NBA superstars. I know that I was put on this earth to serve others.
If that means I take paperwork home and do it after my own kids are in bed, so be it. If it means I have worked seven days a week for most of my career, that’s all right. And if serving the people on my team means learning how to climb telephone poles, then that’s what I’ll do.
Back in the early 1990s, I was a district manager overseeing several departments, including the on-theground telephone pole repair crews. I was told that I was the second woman to have my job, and the first Black person to have my job, so it was triply important that I knew what I was talking about when I represented the people who reported to me. I wanted to understand what my team experienced. What did they go through?
When one of the union representatives mentioned that the crews all had to go to “pole-climbing school,” I told him to sign me up. He laughed at me. “District managers don’t go to pole-climbing school.”
“Well, I do,” I said. How could I lead someone if I wasn’t willing to step into their job? How else was I going to know what this team needed?
So, I went to pole-climbing school. Somewhere in a closet I still have the boots and belt I wore on my last day of training when I had to climb more than 30 feet up a pole and hang a drop. The union reps and the techs were incredulous that a “suit” would be getting her hands dirty. They came and cheered for me, and it smoothed our relationship for years to come.
Then, one night, my boss called me at home. “I have some good news,” she said. “The board just met, and they selected you to be an officer of the corporation.”
I was shocked. I knew I was doing well, but an officer? That was the highest level a person could go, and I was barely 40. It would make me a top shareholder—an owner, in other words—of Southwestern Bell, not just an employee. There were only 110 officers in a company of 200,000 employees, and at the time, only two of them were Black women. This was a very big deal for a girl from Easter Hill. I could tell Kenny was listening to my end of the conversation. When I said, “Becoming an officer is quite an honor,” his eyes got big. He’d worked for Pacific Bell for a time, and so had his dad. He knew what being an officer there meant.
Then my boss shifted gears. “Of course, you’ll need to cut your hair,” she said. No, I hadn’t gone back to braids or grown out an Afro. I had a totally respectable corporate style, but this woman had the nerve to tell me that she thought I would look better, and “more like an officer,” in a shorter cut. Then she gave me the name of a clothing brand that I should buy. She told me to wear more white, because it would complement my skin color. “I left a magazine on your desk,” she said. “There are Black people in it, and they’re wearing white, and they’re just stunning. One of them even has the short haircut I was talking about.”
“You want me to cut my hair?” I asked, trying to keep up. What did that have to do with a promotion?
Cynt Marshall became the Mavericks’ CEO in 2018, after 36 years at AT&T.
Birmingham, Alabama
University of California, Berkeley (BS, BA)
“My three Ls of leadership are listen to, learn from, and love the people. It’s important to be an all-in leader and lead with intent, insight, inclusion, and inspiration. Lastly, do the whole job—not just the parts you like the most.”
The more I served, the more my teams produced. I’d worked on merger teams and helped transition half a dozen new companies into the business, navigated multiple company name changes linked to the acquisitions, and most important, supported the overall business shift from “the phone company” to a technology and entertainment company. The more my teams produced, the more promotions I got—from supervisor to manager, manager to director, director to vice president, vice president to senior vice president, and finally, three years before my diagnosis, to the position of president of AT&T North Carolina. THREE
“And you shouldn’t be Cynt anymore. You’ll need to be Cynthia. Cindy, maybe, but not Cynt,” she sniffed. “No one knows what that is.”
“Black people know what that is,” I shot back. I had been Cynt my whole life. When I was on the track team in high school, everyone called me “Cynt the Sprint.” But my first few bosses at Pacific Bell regularly called me Cindy, no matter how often I corrected them. I tried to roll with it, but after 20 years, talking about my name was getting old.
And yet my supervisor on the phone, supposedly calling with good news, still wasn’t done.
“I don’t want you to talk so loudly anymore,” she said. “Or laugh so much. This is a serious job, and you’ll need to tone it down and put up some boundaries. No more open door.”
DO YOU.
Nineteen years after my first boss told me to take out my braids before I came back to work, I had moved up the ranks to become one of the youngest vice presidents at Pacific Bell, which had merged with Southwestern Bell. I’d climbed further and faster than I’d ever dreamed.
I rolled my eyes. We’d been talking about that door ever since I moved into the vice president’s office suite. I had an open-door policy for anyone who wanted to drop in that her predecessor had loved, because he knew that visiting my office was the best way for him to get the scoop on things.
And then she hit the big one. “You’ll need to stop us-
“My theme song is ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. I like the message that nothing is too hard, as long as we tackle it together.”
“A brown 1977 Chevrolet Chevette I got my freshman year in college.”
“I don’t know. I’m afraid of animals.”
“Our children excite me. They are smart and love their neighbors. They are bold and speak up. They care, and they show it.”
ing words like ‘blessed.’ It’s too churchy. You need to say ‘lucky’ instead.”
That’s where she lost me. Sure, the rest of it was unsolicited leadership coaching, but I would have considered some cosmetic changes. I was already skilled at the “code switch,” leaving most of my colloquialisms and family stories about the projects at home and away from my mostly White workplace. But not saying “blessed?” She couldn’t just start erasing words from my vocabulary.
I politely thanked her for her time and then turned down the promotion. I wanted the job, of course, but I didn’t need it. I was already one of the highest-ranked women in a global company. I made more money than I’d ever dreamed of, and plenty to support my family. We had a good house. My mom had a good house. I loved my team and my job. I loved the company. I was blessed.
My boss finally sounded happy. In fact, she was practically cooing with delight. “I agree with your decision,” she said. “It’s too much to ask you to fit the mold of an officer. You’re smart, but you don’t have what it takes for this.” She assured me that she would smooth things over with her bosses and hung up.
I looked at Kenny. “Nineteen years ago, I had to take off my red shoes and take down my braids. I’m not going to do that again. I’ve got to be me, and I am Cynt. Period.”
After that conversation, I started to change my look. More bright colors. More patterns. Cheetah print was no longer out of the question. On casual days, I started rolling into work with my Berkeley sweats. The line between “home” and “work” styles started to fade.
One thing I’ve learned is there’s a difference between moderating who you are and changing who you are. I’ve always said that if I couldn’t talk about the Lord at work, they could hand me a retirement check, but that doesn’t mean I’m going around preaching and trying to baptize my co-workers. And if someone ever asks my kids or the people who work for me to compromise their integrity, or fundamentally change who they are, that’s when they know they can calmly stand up and walk out, and I’ll have their backs 100 percent.
There’s no job or relationship that’s worth turning into someone you’re not.
I turned down four promotions over the course of my career, and each time it was because at some fundamental level the new job didn’t feel like a good match for who I was as a person or what I wanted at the time. But the decision was never easy.
Let’s be real. Nothing about being a woman in a male-dominated industry, or a Black person in a busi-
ness dominated by White executives, is easy. I’ve dealt with people who think I’m fundamentally not as smart as them, not as talented as them, or not as worthy as them. I’ve mostly had amazing bosses, but there were a few over the course of my career who tried to shuffle me off to a corner where no one would see me. There were people who told me I should be home in the kitchen with my kids. More than once, some vendor or customer walking into our offices mistook me for an executive assistant.
There were people who couldn’t believe that a woman—let alone a Black woman—was capable of being an effective, powerful executive. With every promotion, someone in my circle assumed I would fail.
And this isn’t just something that happened “back then” and not today. When I got to my current job as CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, there was a person who openly said, “Don’t listen to her. She won’t last 90 days.” Five years later, I’m still here, and that person is not.
I’ve spent far too much of my professional time overcoming biases, proving that I’m honest, that I’m qualified, that I can do the job. I’ve learned to don my armor and let a lot of insensitive and downright hateful things slide off. But I’ve still brought my whole self to every job.
Kenny and I were still standing in the kitchen, a little in shock over the offer I’d just turned down, when my phone rang again.
“Cynt,” said a male voice I recognized as our CEO, Ed Whiteacre, my boss’s boss. I noticed that he put the emphasis on the “t” in my name.
“I just heard what happened,” he told me. “Let’s start this conversation again. The person the board of this corporation elected to be an officer is the same person whose office I sat in a few months ago.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“I’ve seen your sign that says, ‘Lord, there’s nothing that can happen here that You and I can’t handle.’ I saw the rock on your desk that says, ‘I can do all things through Christ.’ And I like that you’re a praying woman. I want someone on the team who’s praying us through all of this. So, you go ahead and call yourself blessed because that means we’re blessed with you.” I was speechless.
“We selected you to be an officer just the way you are now, Cynt,” he said. “You’re the person who’s getting everything done. I don’t want you to change a thing. So, let’s start over.”
He offered me the officer position, and I accepted. And I didn’t change a thing.
GUIDING A COMPANY THROUGH GAME-CHANGING BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS IS NEVER EASY. HERE’S HOW SEVERAL NORTH TEXAS CFOS PERSEVERED.
story by KELSEY J. VANDERSCHOOT photography by MILLES STUDIO
BUT THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT A GOOD CFO DOES during a company transition. Whether it’s helping close an M&A deal, guiding through phases of rapid growth, or navigating economic crises, financial leadership in times of transition requires finesse. “I’d go to confer with the CEO, of course, but I had my hands on the steering wheel all the time,” says Tom Zelewski, the former CFO of Fort Worth’s Freedom Powersports, who helped lead the company to $225 million in revenue, then guided it through its sale to Irving-based RumbleOn in February 2022.
Zelewski says interpersonal skills have been key during times of change. Like many financial executives, he has coached his team members to be more than back-of-house accountants running numbers.
Driving a bus during a storm is a tall order; you’re tasked with keeping things on track, maneuvering with low visibility on slippery terrain, and making sure everyone feels safe.
ZELEWSKI HAS LED SEVERAL MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR companies through large transactions. He was the VP of finance for AMR Global Services, a $550 million subsidiary of American Airlines, as it acquired several airport-focused businesses. And he assisted in the sale of AMR Global Services businesses through four transactions. He also helped Plano’s Safety-Kleen through a bankruptcy exit in the 2000s then helped pet product manufacturer Petmate reach $200 million in revenue and sell to a Chicago PE firm in 2011.
Now the vice president finance, corporate services at $1.8 billion powersports marketplace RumbleOn, Zelewski says the most challenging aspect of financial leadership during mergers and acquisitions is personnel moves. “Those changes are difficult, especially when you’ve worked with people, you respect them, and you see their value. But just because they’re good at what they do doesn’t mean they’re going to be a fit for the new company,” Zelewski says. That’s where Zelewski says keeping the lines of communication open becomes crucial. “The only thing I think you can do is communicate,” he says. “Tell people everything that you can as soon as you can and be honest with people that there are going to be things you cannot tell them.”
The biggest takeaway from RumbleOn’s acquisition of Freedom Powersports was the importance of financial re-
Zporting systems, accounting, and HR platforms, Zelewski says. “When you combine companies together, sometimes none of the systems that everybody’s using are going to work together,” he says. During major operational shifts, risk assessment and anticipation are critical. “It’s never going to be perfect, but it’s about figuring out those things as best you can to mitigate the risks and the harm from the change,” Zelewski says.
Moe Haidar, CFO of Dialexa, has also seen the importance of effective coaching and solid infrastructure during business transitions. Haidar moved from Lebanon to DFW to become the Dallas-based tech company’s first employee in its core business in 2011. Initially, he oversaw much more than finance. “Pretty much everything from running the operation of the business to cleaning out the toilet came to me, except delivery and sales,” Haidar says. He helped his brother Mark and Dialexa co-founder and CEO Scott Harper scale the company without external capital or investment. Ten years later, Dialexa doubles its size annually and sold to IBM Consulting in 2022.
When Dialexa successfully grew beyond survival as a startup, Haidar built a finance team and implemented a platform to manage and automate tasks. “The second phase was to transition from being one person with an Excel sheet, to eight people and an ERP system (enterprise resource planning system) ,” Haidar says.
His role shifted from having all the answers and running all the numbers himself to guiding others to success. “It’s pretty much creating that challenging environment for direct reports in a fair and healthy way, where I can help them level up,” he says. His team made the shift to an ERP—a transition that would normally take more than two years— in six months, during the peak of the pandemic.
Soon after that, Dialexa began its sale process to IBM Consulting, and Haidar essentially took on another full-time job doing the deal’s M&A finance. “We had to run our company, and we had to run the deal process, and both of them are extremely demanding jobs,” he says. Tech supplier shortages in the first half of 2022 and market slowdowns in the second half of the year made forecasting and maintaining growth even more of a challenge for Haidar and his team.
But the financial exec thrives in the space outside his comfort zone: he and his brother, Mark, grew up around explosions in Lebanon during conflict within the country. “We
FINANCIAL got used to finding an order within chaos,” he says. How do they do it? By focusing on others involved. “I always remind people that if you go in with a giving mindset, you are always going to get more from yourself and your team,” he says.
Once all the players are in the right frame of mind, Haidar says leaders can help their teams find the right method to make it through the madness. “We can easily die as individuals, or we can win as a big team,” he says, adding that these collaborative values, and their dissemination across Dialexa’s leadership, are part of what he believes made the company attractive to IBM.
Teamwork during transitions has also been key for Misty Kawecki, CFO of DZS. “I like to facilitate a lot of collaborative discussions with my team to make sure that we’re staying aligned with where we’re going,” she says.
Kawecki joined DZS in 2021 and led the Plano telecom networking equipment company through a follow-up IPO in November 2022 to invest in innovation with new tech products and acceleration to market. She also helped its global teams shift from four operations systems to one, plowing through the challenges presented by varying time and comfort zones during the past 18 months. “We talk about being buffalos and charging the storm and getting through it quicker and faster,” Kawecki says of her team.
At the financial helm of a global company, Kawecki has had the added challenge of assessing and revamping DZS’ approach to business in countries where currency is heavily fluctuating, including Korea, Japan, and Egypt. In economic transitions, patience and adaptability are necessities, she says. “You cannot learn everything all at once; sometimes you learn as it comes to you,” Kawecki advises when navigating shifting markets abroad. “Sometimes, economic shifts come often, and sometimes they’re spread out. Either way, the approach is the same—customers and employees first, and then figuring out how to go to market in those regions and tweak.”
Kawecki says she spends more time worrying about the knowns than the unknowns. “It’s never a straight line to growth,” she says. “Sometimes it’s a step sideways, sometimes it’s a step back, but you’re always working toward the step forward, and as long as you keep that path in mind, good companies will adapt to where they’re headed.”
She, Zelewski, and Haidar agree that finance, will continue to provide the info needed to make the best decisions when navigating a storm. “You can run a story through numbers to protect people’s lives without actually telling them you’re protecting their life,” Haidar says.
CONSTANTINE “CONNIE” KONSTANS AWARD
Larry King, Private Directors Association
EMERGING LEADER IN FINANCE
Michael Castaldo, Texas Security Bank
Finalists:RayEstep,Transmira;WhitneyFranklin,JPSHealthNetwork;MatiasZatonyl,CBRE
INNOVATIVE FINANCE TEAM
Priority Power
Finalists:SantanderConsumerUSA;TheDoveAgency;TrueNorthAdvisors;Valor
CFO: LARGE PUBLIC
Misty Kawecki, DZS
Finalists:ScottCooke,ToyotaCreditCorp;KenDodgen,PrimorisServicesCorp; ScottRichardson,CelaneseCorp;DanWinston,BoeingGlobalServices
CFO: SMALL PUBLIC
Manmeet Soni, Reata Pharmaceuticals
CFO: MIDSIZE PRIVATE
Moe Haidar, Dialexa
Finalists:DonClevenger,Oncor;ScottGressett,OceansHealthcare; GregJaynes,LMCLandscapePartners;JeffPeterson,LightbeamHealthSolutions; MichelProvosty,RREAFHoldings
CFO: SMALL PRIVATE
John Stone, JacksonShaw Co.
Finalists:KristinFrost,Worlds;SohailHamirani,MohrPartners
CFO: NONPROFIT
Marsha Beasley, Parkland Health Foundation
Finalists:JoshuaAudi,CatholicCharitiesFortWorth;ChetanaChaphekar,DHA;RobertFries, Children’sHealth;JenniferMitzner,BaylorScottandWhiteHealth
CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER, CONTROLLER, OR TREASURER: PUBLIC Donna Burgess, AECOM
CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER, CONTROLLER, OR TREASURER: PRIVATE
Karyn Brown, Austin Industries
Finalists:KatyCasso,AnsiraPartners;BarbaraGeorgakis, WestmountRealtyCapital;AdamPowell,Valor
INTERNAL AUDITOR
David Price, The University of Texas at Arlington Finalists:LaToyaDuncan,EnLinkMidstream;JessicaGrigsby,JPSHealthNetwork
ACHIEVEMENT IN M&A FINANCE
Tom Zelewski, RumbleOn
in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book is this: “The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf.” The same could be said for the current mergers and acquisitions market, where national trends are tempering local activity. But the region’s strengths will help insulate it from the headwinds blowing in the face of transactions.
After the immediate shock of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, the next two years brought an explosive snap back to performance, with deal volume driven by pent-up demand and record low interest rates. More recently, increasing interest rates have slowed down deal volume—by as much as 40 to 50 percent compared to last year.
Fortunately, DFW is well positioned to weather the storm, says Rob Kibby, a shareholder at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr. He notes the region’s “three Ds” that he says make North Texas a resilient market. First, Dallas has a diverse and robust economy, with corporate relocations and population growth propelling the region’s M&A market and business activity. The next D is demographics, where North Texas’ significant baby boomer population is fertile ground for companies to change hands, as around 60 percent to 70 percent of family businesses won’t be passed down to heirs. The final D is dry powder; there is plenty of capital looking for a home, with everything from family offices to private equity and institutional funding on deck to help investors buy or grow enterprises.
“The network that has sprung up in services and M&A is a meritocracy. It’s not a good old boy network,” Kibby says. “It’s an open community, so the best tends to rise to the top.” Going forward, structured earnouts will be more likely in transactions, an element that was not as common during the past few boom years. Companies being acquired must prove their worth after the deal is signed, with significant portions of the purchase price being contingent upon performance in this more challenging economy.
North Texas should continue to see strong growth in the healthcare industry. Along with a lower volume of deals, the market should bring more middle market transactions and a focus for business buyers on growth through improving the portfolio companies they already own, says Adam Gersting, managing partner of M&A consulting firm West Monroe’s Dallas office. “We’ve seen some portfolio companies looking to invest further, take this time to grow their businesses, and shift more toward the post-close work,” he says.
All eyes are on the second half of the year, when some experts hope inflation will stabilize and rates will tick back down, enticing more capital on the sidelines back into the market. “Ultimately, yes, you’re going to have bumps in the road, and yes, 2023 is a down year,” Kibby says. “But this is a great place to be long-term because of the way that the business community works around here. We feel super optimistic about it.”
JUDGES: Joining D CEO editors to select honorees in the 2023 M&A Awards, presented in partnership with the Association for Corporate Growth Dallas-Fort Worth, were Jordyn Arons of IMA, Jay Desai of Kainos Capital, Rob Kibby of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, Larry King of Private Directors Association, and Dan Olsen of BVWD.
ATTORNEY
Justin Ferguson, DZS; Melissa Kalka, Kirkland & Ellis; I. Bobby Majumder, FrostBrownToddAttorneys; David McLean, McGuireWoods; Adam Shulman, CelaneseCorp.
DEBT PROVIDER
Charles Adams,PatriotCapital; A.J. Fazalbhai,BankOZK; Shannan Pratt,WoodforestNationalBank; Chase Wildes, SunflowerBank; Ryan Voorhies,WoodforestNationalBank
DUE DILIGENCE PROFESSIONAL
David Harner,Embark; Dane Harris,BennettThrasher; Ryan Irby,BVWD; Matt Klauser,Forvis; Brad Porter, MossAdams
INVESTMENT BANKER
Jared Behnke,TransitusCapital; Wesley Romanowski,Pinecrest CapitalPartners; Robert Rough,TelosCapitalAdvisors; Dan Vermeire, CorporateFinanceAssociates; Todd Viegut,TKV-6Strategies
PRIVATE EQUITY (FAMILY OFFICE & INDEPENDENT SPONSOR)
Brandt Hamby,SixPillarsPartners; Aaron Handler, Elm Creek Partners; Ralph Manning,ColtalaHoldings; Austin Santoro,Rosewood Private Investments
PRIVATE EQUITY (MANAGED FUND)
Kyle Bradford,LatticeworkCapitalManagement; Quinn Heidenreich, AlliedStrategicPartners; Rob Langley,AlignCapitalPartners
$1 BILLION + CelaneseCorp.’sacquisitionofamajorityofDuPont’sMobility &Materialsbusiness;ChiefE&DHoldingsandTugHill’ssaleto ChesapeakeEnergyCorp.;DarlingIngredients’acquisitionofValley Proteins;KainosCapital’ssaleofKettleCuisinetoNestlé&LCattertonbackedFreshly;KKRandGIP’sacquisitionofCyrusOne
$250–999 MILLION
AlignCapitalPartners’saleofWilliamsMarstontoKelso&Co.;Arcosa’s saleofitsstoragetankbusinesstoBlackDiamond;Dave&Buster’s Entertainment’sacquisitionofMainEvent;TailwaterCapital’ssaleof NorTexMidstreamtoWilliamsFieldServicesGroup
$50–249 MILLION
CrossplaneCapital’sacquisitionofKaemark;FrontierWasteSolutions’ saletoSummerStreetCapitalPartnersandConcentricEquityPartners; PacelineEquityPartners’AHFFlooring’sacquisitionofArmstrong Flooringassets;RosewoodPrivateInvestments’StationServ’sadd-on acquisitions;SixPillarsPartners’saleofTheLibertyGrouptoHalifax
UNDER $50 MILLION
ColtalaHoldings’acquisitionofPondRobinson&Associates;Crossplane Capital’sacquisitionofVikingFence;ElmCreekPartners’mergerof UrbanAirfranchiseestocreateElevatedVentureGroup;ParkHub’s acquisitionofFuzse;Sconce’ssaletoPDSVisionGroupAB;TKV-6 Strategies’discoverIEGroup’sacquisitionofMagnasphereCorp.
The melding of real with virtual turned DFW into a sports-centric ‘eatertainment’ powerhouse. Now, the virtual is evolving the real.
Ii recently found myself staring at an hourglass, watching the sand fall grain by grain. Once the sand filled the bottom, I flipped it. As I did so, it hit me: the hourglass is a perfect metaphor for what’s happening with DFW’s experience economy—and one local trailblazer in sports-centric “eatertainment” (an entertainment venue with food and beverage offerings) is flipping things around for the first time. The experience economy ignited in the 1990s when companies noticed that consumers were spending a higher allotment of money on experiences versus things. Over the last 30 years, companies have built billion-dollar enterprises through melding sports and technology with entertainment and F&B. Throughout DFW there is a bounty of such concepts; but without the foundational sport itself, the venues wouldn’t exist. Without golf, there is no Topgolf, no Drive
Shack. Without pickleball, there is no Chicken N Pickle. Without baseball, there is no BatBox. Without soccer, there is no Toca Social. Sports are, and always have been, the upper vessel funneling its sand (purpose, objectives, principles, and innovations) into the hourglass’ lower vessel—the experience economy.
In 2022, Dallas-based Topgolf reported $1.5 billion in revenue. Acquired by Callaway in 2021 for $2.6 billion in stock, Topgolf already accounts for 39 percent of the company’s total revenue—and Topgolf CEO Artie Starrs expects to account for most of the portfolio’s revenue within the next several years. But the trickle-down effect that Topgolf had on traditional golf is the groundbreaking flip of the hourglass.
In 2022, Callaway stated that 10 percent of all golfers in the U.S. started playing because of Topgolf. According to the National Golf Foundation, 25.6 million Americans played traditional golf at least once in 2022. That means that more than 2.5 million of those golfers got their start at Topgolf.
And Topgolf is just scratching the surface. It currently has 78 venues operating across the U.S., with a goal of opening at least 11 venues per year for the foreseeable future. Each venue, Starrs says, opens the door to 300,000 unique Topgolfers. According to the NGF, 75 percent of non-golfers who visit Topgolf say they’re interested in on-course golf. “The economic impact we drive for local communities allows the golf courses to be viable and thriving,” Starrs says.
In 2020, Drive Shack Inc.—which logged approximate revenue of $325 million in 2022— moved its headquarters from New York to Dallas and opened its flagship 21-and-up mini golf concept Puttery in The Colony. “DFW is filled with people spending more money on experiences versus things,” says CEO Hana Khouri. At Drive Shack venues, Khouri says that fewer than 10 percent of customers are avid golfers. But with 54 owned, managed, or leased golf courses under DSI’s American Golf brand—which claimed 84 percent the company’s 2021 revenue—the hourglass flip influences in-house growth. “We’re in a period where we’re seeing more entertainment golfers than traditional golfers—and that gap is widening—but we’re working to get those entertainment golfers over to our courses,” she says.
Experiential retail expert Larry Leon, a partner with RetailUnion, believes Dallas is the breeding ground for eatertainment venues— and the tech that powers these venues (see sidebar) is only advancing. “If concepts want to grow into markets like Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso, Dallas is the no-brainer starting point,” he says. “The computer power behind these concepts is only going to grow—and it will lead to very novel, interesting, fresh concepts.”
Add the ‘Topgolf of soccer’ Toca Social— which raised $100 million as of 2022—to the list of companies using Dallas as its U.S. launching pad. The European concept, which uses immersive, gamified screens for games like target practice and penalty kick competitions, will open in the Dallas Design District in 2023 and create up to 175 local jobs. Mexico-based BatBox, an eatertainment concept built around baseball simulators, also is opening its first U.S. location in North Texas by the start of 2024.
“We needed a state with inexpensive land, and it wasn’t even a long discussion on where we should go first,” BatBox Founder Jose Vargas says.
Chicken N Pickle, a pickleball court and restaurant venue leveraging the boom of pickleball in the U.S., is finding success in DFW with its highest performing venue being Grapevine. “When we launched in 2016, most of my days were spent explaining to people what pickleball even was,” says Kelli Alldredge, a managing partner who oversees DFW locations and openings. But now, there are an estimated 36.5 million pickleball players in America—up from 2.8 million when Chicken N Pickle opened its first location. “We were a trailblazer,” she says.
Historically, most people have been drawn to sports by watching them on television. For today’s consumers, the entry point and—even re-entry point—is no longer through observation. It’s through immersion and gamification.
“Our venues make the game accessible, and it allows people who thought they’d never swing a bat again the chance to do just that,” says Vargas of BatBox. Starrs doubles down, saying, “If venues can provide their customers with euphoria—like Topgolf does when customers hit the perfect shot—it significantly increases the chances they’ll fall in love with whatever sport it is that they’re playing.”
Here’s a look at the tech three local concepts are using to create their signature experiences:
TOPGOLF
Topgolf’s proprietary golf tracer tech Toptracer is installed in approximately 20,000 hitting bays across 33 countries. It locks onto a golf ball and tracks the ball’s flight from contact to landing point.
BATBOX
BatBox’s baseball simulator tech Strikezon was developed by Golfzon Newdin Group, which has more than 40,000 sports simulators installed in more than 7,000 global locations. At BatBox’s batting cages, the venue uses a projector screen to simulate the field and pitcher as if hitters were playing in a real baseball game.
PUTTERY
Drive Shack Inc.’s mini golf venues, Puttery, are outfitted with tangible design elements such as trees, ski lifts, bookshelves, animal statues, and more. But CEO Hana Khouri says, “We’re testing projection technology to provide a more immersive experience.”
“The dot-com crash of 2000 was the biggest shock I had to my business. At that time, I was doing a lot of tech work and I learned a lot about bankruptcy. I too had to retool my practice and find new clients. It was then that I made sure I diversified my client base in terms of avoiding customer concentration risk and extending the industries in which I operated to energy and healthcare.”
TAYLOR SHEAD
Founder and CEO STEMULI
“In the middle of the pandemic, I signed a $3.2 million contract and staffed up accordingly. Unfortunately, the customer stopped paying after two payments. Our team deeply cared about the school community we had pledged to support and chose to continue working for eight months without pay before we were able to raise venture capital funds to make everyone whole.”
“My toughest challenge was when I opened Le Bilboquet nine years ago. I picked the wrong business partner—a childhood friend. Because of the friendship, it took me a while to face the issue and part ways. Luckily, I found a new partner in Edward Goemans, who started on day one at Le Bilboquet as a lead waiter and manager. Nine years later, he is my director of operations and partner.”
Presenting Members of Attorneys
Serving the Community
Thompson
Kilpatrick
Sheppard,
Crystal Anonymous
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BAL
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
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Business Owner’s MBA owner Deb Purvin shares strategies for growing your small business.
1.
BE INTENTIONAL.
Don’t settle for 5 percent growth. Pick a lofty goal and set your sights on 20 or 30 percent annual growth. Then determine the steps you’re going to take to get there. If you’re running a $1 million revenue business, 20 percent growth means an additional $200,000 in sales. That’s $50,000
Ssmall businesses are the backbone of the economy. Nearly 50 percent of the U.S. workforce is employed by small businesses and about 65 percent of new jobs are created by small businesses. Yet more than half of those enterprises fail before their fifth year. Why? Because it’s hard to run a successful business. Owners have to be experts in their fields, and they have to be experts in every aspect of managing their businesses—including marketing, sales, operations, finance, human resources, and IT. Owners also need to know how to make a profit. Small businesses that survive the first few years still face challenges. They must grow profitability to keep pace with inflation and cost of living. Owners are working longer hours instead of fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams. What they need to do is scale—grow to the point where the company’s owner is not running the daily operations but overseeing an experienced management team that makes the day-to-day decisions. Is this possible? Yes! As someone who has started, grown, and sold two $50 million companies, here are some recommended steps:
per quarter. Determine where that will come from and set a course of action to make it happen.
HIRE THE BEST PEOPLE. Assess your team and their capabilities. Ask people if they are willing to learn and determine if they have the grit to stick with you on the journey. Be clear that they will have major responsibilities (and a share of the profits) if they work hard and contribute to the company’s success. If not, great. Replace them with experienced pros that are hungry for the challenge.
DELEGATE.
This is one of the most difficult steps for most business owners. With the right people in place, give your employees authority to make decisions. Gradually step back from operations and lead your company’s strategic vision. Not overnight; they have to earn your trust. But as they do, take something off your plate. Free up time for strategic decisions or a vacation with your family—one of the many benefits of scaling!
USE LEVERAGE.
Seventy-seven percent of business owners don’t understand their financials and are making decisions without analyzing financial impact, which leads to poor outcomes. Once learned, leveraging your recurring operating profits will generate the resources needed to accomplish your short- and long-term goals.
A 30-year business leader, Deb Purvin is a faculty member of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program and founder of Business Owner’s MBA.
D CEO brings together the brightest, most driven C-suite executives in North Texas, in one room.
June 29: Women’s Leadership Symposium
September 13: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Symposium
Ongoing: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Speaker Series (3x/year); Healthcare Panel Series (3x/year)
D CEO is more than an award-winning business publication.
The LifeStyle Plan founder and CEO says aviation and personal finance are both about assessing information to make good decisions.
photography by SEAN BERRY
nader yassa marked his 30th wedding anniversary and daughter’s graduation from 41,000 feet in the air. The founder and CEO of North Texas-based financial management services firm LifeStyle Plan celebrated both milestones by flying his family from Dallas through New Mexico, Idaho, and on to the Pacific Northwest during a 10-day trip on his private plane.
A dedicated hobbyist pilot, Yassa has accrued 1,500 training hours (as much as commercial pilots), can operate certain multi-engine jets, and has received an instrument rating—meaning he can fly without visibility, except for takeoff and landing, using only the aircraft’s instruments. “The cockpit is the great equalizer,” he says. “If you take the most macho person and put them into a storm, you find out who they really are.”
When his family moved to Arizona in 2009 after living in Egypt for two years, Yassa committed to becoming a pilot, a skill he had always wished to learn but never had time to pursue. As motivation to complete the training, he bought a plane before he had a license to fly it. “Goodness gracious, what did I
just do?” he remembers thinking to himself as he was flown back to his hometown hangar in his plane, the “Nad-Air,” which he has since sold.
But once he sunk his teeth into the training, Yassa was hooked. Flying himself and his family fit well with his preference for self-sufficiency, and he kept upping his game until he was about the only person in the classroom who wasn’t aiming to become a professional pilot. His career even found its way into aviation when he became the CFO and CEO of what is now Aerogaurd Flight School in Arizona from 2013–2016. There, he helped lead one of North America’s largest flight academies, with 225 employees, 125 certified flight instructors, and 400 on-campus international cadets.
He moved to Dallas to take the helm of a financial services firm in 2017 and launched his own company two years later. Both flying and entrepreneurship are about moving from fear to confidence, he says. “It’s about having the capacity and information you need to make decisions you know are correct.”
Neena Newberry, the founder of leadership consultant firm Newberry Solutions, doesn’t fancy herself an adrenaline junkie; rather, she says she is a fear challenger. Over the years, Newberry has raced around the 3.4 mile, 20-turn Formula One track in Austin, flown in a doors-off helicopter sprint at 100 mph, hiked the Grand Canyon on a torn hamstring from rim to rim—24 miles in all—hunted alligators and piranhas, and much more. “I use passion to overcome fear,” she says. “In my travels I’ve used my lessons to help coach executives. Racing around the F1 track was exhilarating; I used that to teach leaders about anticipation and preparing for the unexpected around each turn. During a career transition, I spent time in the Amazon jungle— which was an entire lesson about unplugging. We all have so much to offer this world. When we are willing to stretch ourselves a little bit more than we have in the past, the impact we can have is amazing— be bold about that.”
—Ben SwangerHow Neena Newberry faces challenges head on to spark ambition and build wisdomPILOT POWER Nader Yassa inside the flight deck of a twin engine jet similar to the one he used to own.
WHAT I DO:
“I’m the founder and CEO of La La Land Kind Cafe, an organic café with the purpose of empowering youth aging out of the foster care system through employment and mentorship opportunities. We’re also on a mission to normalize kindness.
We dream big and hope we can make a statement that business can, and should, be doing more. Social enterprises should lead our future to create a better world.”
STYLE ICON:
“I don’t think I have one. I don’t dress to be someone else. I dress to be me.”
ON THE JOB:
“I have to move around a lot, so I can’t dress up as much as I would like.
I have to be somewhat comfortable and flexible, while also dressing professionally. In any one day, I could be meeting with business prospects or helping to restock a cafe.
I need versatile looks that can do both.”
FASHION INSPIRATION: “I love Paris. I’d say I dress with a Parisian or European style.”
FASHION ESSENTIALS:
“I don’t go anywhere without all of my silver and white gold jewelry. I
haven’t taken it off in years.”
GO-TO LOOK:
“My everyday outfit is a flowy linen buttondown with slacks and comfortable white sneakers. Casual, but professional.”
HOW I ACCESSORIZE:
“I love watches, rings, bracelets, necklaces, and occasionally, bandanas.”
FAVORITE STORE:
“I love anything Sandro. It is known for its clean lines and sophisticated aesthetic, featuring refined and versatile men’s collections.”
BEACH BBQ
The dining experience, Humo, features mouth-watering smoked meats and vegetables.
OPEN WATER Charter a boat for a day trip to the popular snorkeling destination of Manzanillo Bay.
WELL TRAVELED
The quaint fishing village is a relaxing retreat for Colby Walton of Cooksey Communications.
story by BRANDON J. CALL
GRAND VIEWS Beach resorts Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo are set against the the Sierra Madre Mountains.
GOOD EATS
Enjoy upscale Mexican fare at Thompson Zihuatanejo’s open-air bar and restaurant, Hao.
GO FISH Wake up early to watch local fisherman as they haul in the day’s catch from Zihuatanejo Bay.
OCEAN VIEW The resort’s beachfront swim-up suites open up to a private terrace and adults-only swimming pool.
i’m almost embarrassed to confess that I’ve never seen The Shawshank Redemption So, I didn’t understand the reference to Andy and Red’s embrace at the end of the movie when someone commented about it on my Instagram post during my recent trip to Zihuatanejo. Thanks to Google, I learned that the final scene was not filmed in Mexico but featured a different tropical locale: St. Croix. But that doesn’t stop curious visitors from seeking out this sleepy resort town on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. My knowledge of Zihua (as the locals and regulars call it) is that of a funky beach escape for those-in-the-know since the 1970s. Back in the day, Studio 54 regulars Elizabeth Taylor, Betsey Johnson, and Andy Warhol flocked to the area’s beachfront villas for some R&R. Indeed, some much-need Vitamin Sea (and a margarita or two!) beckons me to Zihua, which sits about 5 miles southeast of neighboring resort town Ixtapa. And the Thompson Zihuatanejo resort, situated along the pristine white sands of the famous Playa La Ropa, makes for a getaway fit for any Hollywood A-lister.
I stay in one of the property’s 11 swanky swimup suites, with its private pool and the soothing sounds of crashing waves just outside its sliding-glass doors. After checking in, I make a
Ibeeline for the beach and a shady palapa for an afternoon siesta. I can almost feel my worries and stresses slipping away with each sip from an ice-cold Mezcalita. (Seriously, what is it about tropical fruit and alcohol that always taste better while on vacation?)
Early the following day, I take a peaceful stroll along Playa La Ropa, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Bordered by palm trees and picturesque cliffs that rival the Italian coast, La Ropa is excellent for swimming, parasailing, waterskiing, paddleboarding, kayaking, and surfing. Try a morning yoga class on the beach or an oceanside massage for more tranquility. I opt for a cozy barstool at one of the many hip beach bars and sip a Corona while watching a game of beach volleyball.
For world-class cuisine, I don’t have to stray far from the resort: standouts include the Seafood Chilaquiles from on-site al fresco restaurant Hao for breakfast; the banana-leaf wrapped sea bass I learn to make during an interactive cooking class with Chef Javier Garcia Cerillo for lunch; and all of the dinner dishes prepared at Humo, a family-style beach barbeque where a variety of slow-roasted meats and vegetables will leave you in a food coma. Be sure to leave room for a carajillo, a popular coffee-based cocktail as a nightcap.
On my final day in Zihua, I take some time to wander cobblestone streets downtown to peruse a few of the enchanting shops. Parts of the city have become a bit touristy, but for the most part, Zihua has retained its charm, full of beautiful beaches, friendly people, and an easygoing lifestyle. I pause in appreciation of this seaside treasure, one of Mexico’s few remaining beach towns with intact local culture, and I think again of Shawshank and its famous line: “Tell you where I’d go. Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Little place right on the Pacific. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory. That’s where I’d like to finish out my life.”
The Mexican Riviera playground of Ixtapa and its neighbor Zihuatanejo offer a profusion of freshly caught seafood. So, when Cooksey Communications’ chairman and CEO Colby Walton and his wife, Kimberly, visited in 2022, they enjoyed staples like ceviche and fish tacos. But another must-have is one of Mexico’s most famous dishes: pozole, a hearty soup made of hominy and pork. Pozole is traditionally made red, getting its color from dried chiles; but in this region, the soup is made with tomatillos— doctored up with lime, avocado, onion, oregano, and various salsas and hot sauces. “Don’t miss Pozole Thursday,” Walton says. “We went to Pozolería Santa Prisca for lunch at 1 p.m. when it opens and were glad we did.”
the cultural adjustment hasan pirkul made when he moved from Ankara, Turkey, to Pasadena, California, in the 1970s was seamless. “I was already listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in Turkey,” he says. Pirkul was one of 58 Turkish high school students selected for a year-long program abroad. He returned home to attend college, then decided to pursue post-graduate degrees at the University of Rochester. He worked as a professor at The Ohio State University for 15 years before taking the helm of UTD’s business school in 1996, where he has helped grow it to more than 10,000 students while accounting for about 15 percent of M.S. degrees in information systems granted by business schools. Here, he talks
about the pressures of being a first-generation American: “Immigrants are not average people; average people don’t leave their homes, their comfort zones, and their families to live in a different environment. Immigrants are always under extra pressure to succeed. They don’t have something to fall back on. I felt that I had to succeed not only for myself but also for my country. There were so few Turks those days [in the U.S.] that everybody was looking at me, and if I did something dumb, they would say, ‘Look at the dumb Turk.’ They wouldn’t say, ‘Look at the dumb guy.’ A lot of immigrants face that level of pressure. If you have thin skin, you will have issues as an immigrant, but America has been very good to me.”
WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT D CEO’S 2023 MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS AWARDS
CONGRATULATIONS TO MAIN EVENT AND KAINOS CAPITAL FOR BEING RECOGNIZED AS DEAL OF THE YEAR FINALISTS.
At Reata Pharmaceuticals, our mission is to develop and commercialize innovative therapies that change patients’ lives for the better.
As Reata’s President, CFO, and COO, Manmeet has led the team to achieve and exceed our goals. We are proud to celebrate his recognition in being nominated as one of this year’s finalists for the D CEO Financial Executive Awards.
His strong financial acumen has positioned Reata to move forward as a commercial company, and we are thrilled to be celebrating this honor with him.
We are honored to work with Darling Ingredients Inc. in matters that generate significant sustainable solutions.
All great companies have an interesting story, and that story is best told by the people behind its success. The individuals on the following pages—CEOs, executives, founders, and entrepreneurs—are all leaders in their respective fields. When you are in the market for the services featured on the following pages, these Faces of Dallas Business are the experts to call first.
according to the american cancer society, more than 130,000 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in Texas in 2023, which ranks third in the nation for most new cancer cases and third in expected cancer deaths.
Despite these numbers, the medical community is making great strides in the treatment of cancer as a result of providing patients with more options. These improvements run the full gamut from a better understanding of prevention and improved early detection methods, more effective chemotherapy medicines and radiation tools, and faster and more precise treatment options such as targeted therapies and immunotherapy.
A pioneer in community-based cancer care, Texas Oncology’s mission is to provide high-quality cancer care and leading-edge technology and therapy options to patients where they live, without leaving home and the critical support of family and friends.
A commitment to quality cancer treatment is tailored to patient needs, including medical oncology, radiation oncology, hematology, imaging services (X-rays, PET, CT), laboratory, and pharmacy services. In addition, patients have access to numerous other services that can enhance and facilitate their medical care, such as pain management, palliative medicine, nutrition counseling, social services, and financial counseling.
A wide scope of subspecialities provide a broad range of services including neuro-oncology, blood and marrow transplant, colon and rectal surgery, genitourinary oncology, gynecologic oncology, hematology, orthopedic oncology, pediatric oncology, and breast surgery. Evidence-based and value-based care models focus on overall value and patient outcomes, significantly improving how cancer care is managed.
Patients have the opportunity to participate in some of the most promising national clinical trials for a broad range of cancers. Texas Oncology’s robust community-based clinical trials and research program has helped develop more than 100 FDA-approved cancer therapies. At any given time, more than 150 national clinical trials are open throughout the network.
With more than 530 physicians and more than 280 sites of service, Texas Oncology offers comprehensive, multidisciplinary care combined with the power and resources of an outstanding network to more than 71,000 new patients fighting cancer yearly. 888.864.4226
texas center for proton therapy has been serving cancer patients in Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond for nearly eight years. It is the first proton therapy center in Dallas-Fort Worth and the most technologically advanced in the state and region. The 63,000-square-foot facility, located in Irving/Las Colinas, is one of approximately 40 proton therapy treatment centers in operation in the U.S. and is the first standalone, LEED-Certified proton therapy center in the country. The center reached a milestone last year by treating its 3,000th patient. “We have improved the overall level of care for patients through a combination of technological advances, hard work, and gaining expertise on how to better utilize the technology we have,” says Dr. Andrew Lee, medical director. “As a team and as a center, we are proud of this accomplishment. Not only have we fine-tuned our existing technology and treatment techniques, we have developed new ones, which has kept us on the leading edge of proton therapy.”
People typically don’t know about Texas Center for Proton Therapy until they or a loved one need its services. Among the center’s most effective treatments is the pencil-beam scanning proton machines. The center is the only one in Texas with three pencil-beam proton machines, which is the most sophisticated method of proton delivery, and the only center with the ability to do volumetric on-board cone beam CT imaging when a patient is on the treatment table. Any cancer that requires radiation as a treatment component could likely be treated with proton therapy. Says Dr. Lee, “Proton therapy may be combined with other treatments, such as chemotherapy and surgery. Minimizing normal tissue exposure may increase the patient’s tolerability of other concurrent treatment.”
The team at Texas Center for Proton Therapy believes the goal of proton therapy treatment is not only to rid patients of cancer, but to maximize their quality of life during their treatment and beyond—even decades later. “Most people with cancer still have to work and raise their families, which is why we try to preserve and minimize treatment-related side effects,” Dr. Lee says. “We understand that a cancer diagnosis, and the subsequent treatment course, can be difficult for patients. This does not define them, and we understand they have full lives to lead.”
celebrating 106 years in business in 2023, wafd bank is a national bank with more than 200 branches across eight western states. Since the beginning, WaFd Bank has helped communities thrive while delivering simple, straightforward banking solutions with the latest in digital banking tools. In fact, WaFd Bank has been awarded Best Bank by Newsweek three years in a row, from 2020 to this year in 2023. Not only that, WaFd has been named one of America’s Best Mid-Size Employers in 2022 and 2023. Currently, WaFd Bank reports nearly $21 billion in assets and posted record earnings in 2022. WaFd Bank is well capitalized with one of the strongest balance sheets in America. On average, WaFd finances more than $1 billion in commercial loan originations right here in Texas.
WaFd Bank has earned a reputation as a steadfast and secure bank that stands by its clients, ready to help as best they can. In addition to offices in Dallas, WaFD Bank also opened a new location in Austin to serve your personal and commercial banking needs. After so many years in business, WaFd’s Texas team understands that their success depends on yours and believes it’s not the first deal or the first loan originated with someone that matters most—it’s the opportunity to be of service in the future.
dallas-fort worth, one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S., is a hub for innovation, and Slalom has played a significant role in this statistic. Just as important as Slalom’s consulting services are the people behind its success. Their commitment is the reason Slalom has become a $2.9 billion global consulting firm in 44 markets across the world. It’s clear that Slalom’s team members love what they do, and their clients recognize this. The synergy created by the positive working relationships between clients and consultants is evident. Slalom’s entire framework and methodology, based on how the company defines and measures “customer love,” is coupled with living its core values to create the Slalom magic.
“It’s all about our people,” says Jaime Grassi, general manager. “We are a global company with 14,000 people, but it doesn’t feel that way because of the focus we place on community and relationships. We fo -
cus locally and bring in global talent to augment our capabilities, which strengthens our connection with clients. We are in a fortunate position to leverage our global scale.”
Because Slalom is equipped to help clients achieve their most critical objectives, the company is often the only one in the room that can connect with both sides. What Slalom has discovered in the last 20-plus years is that when consultants are immersed in and enjoying their work, they engage more deeply and deliver exceptionally for clients.
“We hire people who are excited to give back and want to be part of something bigger,” Grassi says. “Our employees are interested in what the company is doing as a whole and from a diversity, equity, and inclusion standpoint. They are interested in how they can bring their whole selves to work and to our clients. We are so much more than great consultants.”
With a goal to add more than 600 people to their Dallas-Fort Worth team by 2025, Slalom is excited to expand its services team-wise and geographically. It’s a modern, yet established technology company that has been able to continually capture the excitement of new beginnings, particularly with its recent expansion to nearby states, including Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, to serve a broader area. “Texas—Dallas-Fort Worth in particular— is such a hotbed for businesses and people moving here from other states,” Grassi says. “We are just getting started, and there is so much opportunity to bring the goodness of Slalom to even more clients.”
dallas is the ninth-largest city in the united states and the leading business and financial center in the Southwest. More people in Dallas—and the world—should know this, which is why Visit Dallas, the official destination marketing organization for the City of Dallas, has taken the lead in creating a unified, enduring brand identity.
While Dallas has long been home to a vast array of vibrant experiences and culture, the city has never truly identified a clear differentiator nor established a destination brand. Simply put, there are many people outside of Dallas who don’t know much about it—other than the city’s claims to fame, such as the Dallas Cowboys or the hit television series, “Dallas.” Why would they want to visit or live here? The new branding efforts will tell the story and answer that question.
The vision for this new destination brand is larger than Visit Dallas alone. The goal is to create a competitive positioning platform that can be adopted citywide, building equity and interest in Dallas as a world-class destination. As an initial step, Visit Dallas formed a committee comprised of a diverse set of stakeholders, along with consulting as many community leaders as possible—economic development, civic, business, arts/culture, and hospitality leaders; restauranteurs; sports and events pros; local media; and residents—to guide the effort. Following an extensive RFP search, the committee selected the aptly named umbrella agency Vision Collab, an alliance of four independent agencies, to conduct extensive research and develop the brand platform that will be used to bring Dallas’ new brand to life. “On the precipice of such exciting changes in our city, doing the work to define a cohesive identity for Dallas is one of monumental importance,” says Carrie Freeman Parsons, chair of the board at Freeman Company and Visit Dallas board chair.
Successfully establishing a destination brand requires universal community adoption, and building brand equity and awareness can take years. This group of change-makers are up to the challenge and know the potential impact of this new Dallas brand can generate unprecedented awareness and reach that will benefit the community as it continues to grow and change. Coming soon—a new brand advertising campaign to increase domestic business and leisure visitation to Dallas, among a few other surprises.
calvetti ferguson, a middle-market-focused accounting and advisory firm, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. As the third-largest independent accounting firm headquartered in Texas, Calvetti Ferguson has enjoyed fast-paced growth and many accolades, including top workplaces awards and being ranked in the top 200 firms in the U.S. for the third year in a row.
“Our focus on client service has been well-received, and it has been exciting to see all we have accomplished in the past 20 years,” says Brad Cummings, Dallas office managing partner.
Cummings cites Calvetti Ferguson’s high net promoter score as a primary indicator of its ability to double in size within the past five years. “Our score places us as best in class within the industry,” he says. “We know we are only as good as our people. While the firm’s growth is unceasing, this is one constant attribute.”
The team’s consideration and commitment to clients directly correlates to the firm’s success. Cummings says, “We have 92% employee retention on average, which shows our dedication to fostering a sustainable and collaborative culture. With our core clients being dynamic, middle-market companies, we hold firm in our team’s abilities to meet their unique needs,
build strong relationships, and provide unparalleled service.”
Calvetti Ferguson provides premier services to the middle market, including tax, assurance, transaction advisory, technology advisory, family office, and accounting services. Whether addressing complex corporate and partnership tax needs or streamlining business processes for a growing company, the firm’s advisors energetically pursue new avenues for clients to add value to their businesses. In the next few years, Calvetti Ferguson’s footprint will grow to cities outside of Texas and continue to focus on providing premier services to the middle market.
dpr construction’s customers change the world we live in. They invent new technology. They discover and manufacture new medicines and delivery methods. They teach. They help heal the sick and deliver new life. Project leaders know the market, your business, your goals, and your pain points—delivering your project with predictable results every time. Where you work is where they work, and your business is their priority. With technical knowledge within their specialized core markets, DPR’s project leaders focus on the needs of their customers, regardless of project size, and have an unmatched passion for building it right the first time, which sets DPR apart.
Whether it’s a minor renovation, expansion to an existing campus, or transformative tenant improvement on an accelerated schedule, DPR Construction’s project teams are agile to minimize operational impacts and facility downtime. From large-scale complex commercial interiors to occupied healthcare facility upgrades, DPR’s expertise is unmatched. Even within the frequently evolving advanced technology/mission-critical and life sciences markets, DPR’s specialists deliver quality results and lasting partnerships. Being a self-performing general contractor allows DPR to better control the life cycle of your project from preconstruction through closeout.
DPR focuses on delivering high value without sacrificing quality and is the trusted partner you can count on for cost-effective solutions, schedule enhancements, and zero rework.
“Ever Forward” is one of DPR Construction’s four core values, and it is exemplified when veteran knowledge meets next generation mentality. The Dallas-Fort Worth industry specialists are passionate, experienced, forward-thinking builders who operate in a culture of shared leadership, making it possible for individual strengths and subject matter experts to develop the best execution plan for each project while delivering bestin-class facilities throughout North Texas.
DPR has put solid stakes in the ground around its customers based on one key attribute: a focus on what they do best. By sticking to what it knows and does best—serving customers with technically complex, sustainable needs—DPR helps its customers build great things. DPR Construction is a company of builders who exist to build great things—projects, people, and partnerships. 3131
managing partner of verner brumley mueller parker pc, Jim Mueller is well-versed in a wide range of family law issues, including complex divorce cases, high-asset property division, and contentious custody battles. He is often described by clients as having the precise blend of what everyone needs in a family lawyer—genuine compassion and understanding combined with a tenacious, unrelenting pursuit to protect his clients’ best interests.
Mueller and his team provide effective, results-oriented representation in contested and uncontested divorce, divorce mediation, and arbitration. The aim is to resolve all issues efficiently and effectively, allowing clients to preserve their emotional and financial well-being. Mueller understands that, for many, this is their first encounter with the court, and it can often feel like an overwhelming and trying time. He assists his clients in navigating the sometimes complex and confusing pathways of the court system to a brighter and more uplifting result. Mueller approaches each divorce case with the goal of helping clients divide their assets without unnecessarily dividing the family, especially where the interests of children are concerned. Mueller’s methodology is that, while a marriage may end, parenthood never does. Finding a
healthy and balanced way for both the mother and the father to remain in the child’s life is paramount when approaching any divorce case involving children. His work as court appointed amicus attorney displays his genuine drive to work toward the greatest outcome for the children throughout the court process.
With a statewide practice, Mueller prides himself on his ability to handle complex matters no matter the jurisdiction. Mueller is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has been inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and International Academy of Family Lawyers. He authored the book, Divorce in Texas: The Legal Process, Your Rights, and What to Expect He regularly is asked to speak to family lawyers around the country and serves on the board for the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists, the Texas Family Law Council, and the Committee for Qualified Judiciary, as well as the executive committees for the Texas Chapter and National American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
blaine l. nelson founded blnelson group llc in early 2017 . BLNelson Group provides executive search and consulting services nationwide and serves professional financial services, banking, construction, technology, healthcare, not-for-profits, private equity portfolio management, C-suite executives, and executive outplacement services.
BLNelson Group is pleased to announce that it has recently welcomed former PGA of America chief operating officer Darrell Crall as a partner and chief client officer. Crall brings substantive C-suite experience, a broad based business network, and strategic leadership experience to the core industries of sports, media, entertainment, and hospitality.
“Darrell is a truly unique and talented visionary leader, as he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the largest working sports organization in the world, all the while leading the expansive, multidimensional, and experientially focused PGA Frisco project that includes the PGA of America’s recent relocation,” Nelson says. “Adding Darrell to the BLNelson Group team will bring greater results for our clients.”
BLNelson Group is revolutionizing executive search by matching clients that are seeking executive talent with extraordinary and transformational attributes. BLNelson Group’s growing and ever-evolving company uses
proprietary software and algorithms in its searches which are applied to targeted databases. The firm is bespoke and client centric, offering a personal and customized approach to ultimately securing transformational leadership for each client. Data shows that the right people are as much as four times more productive than average performers. Doing more with less has become a standard business mantra. Finding the right people is science, educational marketing, and articulating a vision of possibilities. It often includes introducing a new or different career path.
If you are looking for transformational talent and the right people to fill critical positions, BLNelson Group is your solution. For most companies, talent—especially executive talent—is their only sustainable differentiator. BLNelson Group will help your company differentiate itself in the marketplace with better talent. Nelson is often quoted as saying to business leaders, “People are not your greatest asset—the right people are! Innovation, performance, and reliability are the foundations of BLNelson Group and the promise we make to our clients.”
the american heart association, the world’s leading nonprofit focused on the prevention and treatment of heart disease, claims Dallas as its home. A dynamic North Texas team is a relentless fundraising force and advocate for the citizens of North Texas to enjoy longer, healthier lives.
Region senior vice president Chris LaTurno leads a staff comprised of Samantha Eppler, Go Red for Women vice president; Jenny Eyer, Community Impact vice president; Diana Rivas-Smith, Cotes du Coeur Gala vice president; Renee Gadson, Heart Challenge vice president, and Karen Fleig, senior director of communications and marketing. These execs focus on eradicating cardiovascular disease and stroke, as heart disease continues to be the No. 1 killer and stroke remains the No. 5 killer of all Americans.
But the Association is fighting back. Last year, the Dallas division led the advocacy for the city of Irving to go smoke-free. They continue to reach thousands of patients through blood pressure monitoring initiatives and educating North Texas about the simple “2 Steps to Save a Life with Hands-Only CPR.” The goal is to make sure that at least one member of every family in North Texas knows bystander hands-only CPR. In partnership with the North Texas Regional Area Council, a formal policy now en-
sures stroke patients get to the most appropriate stroke facility based on severity no matter where they live in the region.
To support these programs, the Dallas team hosts several annual fundraisers. Its signature Heart Walk raised more than $5.5 million and focuses on new ways to boost physical and mental health. CycleNation™ empowers the community to use all types of bikes to get brain and heart healthy while raising funds to reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease. Côtes du Coeur annually welcomes 1,200 attendees and celebrates nearly $55 million in mission investments during its 32-year history.
The Go Red for Women movement, celebrated in February, raised more than $1.9 million and empowers women to take charge of their health in hopes to change the statistic that one in three women will lose their life to cardiovascular disease. A key focus area for the Go Red movement is closing the gender gap in research in STEM. As the Dallas team focuses on future health strategies and goals, they are excited to prepare for the celebration of the American Heart Association’s 100th Anniversary in 2024.
stream realty partners’ industrial capital markets team, led by native Texans Seth Koschak and Matteson Hamilton, has quickly grown to a team of eight with the additions of Lee Belland III, Haili Rumsey, Trey Mahla, Blake McVean, Alex Keeton, and Jennie Wu.
Focusing on institutional investment sales, equity, and debt sourcing for industrial projects across Texas, the team’s market-first mentality provides a unique perspective within a service line that is more in focus now than ever before, given the volatility within capital markets. Having executed thousands of lease transactions and numerous development projects in their careers before transitioning full time to capital markets, the team’s unique perspective and boots-on-the-ground experience allows for value creation by helping buyers and sellers understand real-time market dynamics to extract the utmost value.
By leveraging Stream’s significant presence within the industrial market across Texas (current industrial portfolio exceeds 150,000,000 square feet), there is no stone unturned when it comes to market information and identifying trends. Koschak, executive managing director and partner, says, “The current volatility within the capital markets space has spotlighted market fundamentals and what is truly taking place on a microlevel with each asset. Being able to leverage our 15-plus years of experience and lo-
cal brokerage teams on the ground across the Texas markets allows us to provide buyers and sellers with the latest information to make informed decisions and drive value on behalf of our clients.”
Despite headwinds being experienced within the capital markets, vacancy rates across all Texas industrial markets remain at or near record lows. The team will be closely tracking leasing velocity as any pullback in demand could result in a handful of submarkets being over-supplied for a few quarters. As market dynamics continue to take shape, it is no longer feasible to paint all markets with a broad brush, and evaluating opportunities on a microlevel is paramount. With a healthy pipeline of projects in the market (and others soon to be launched), the team expects the remainder of 2023 to be active. While market volatility will continue, they view this environment as a great time to invest in industrial real estate as the fundamental drivers for industrial assets continue to grow, unlike other product types. As population growth accelerates across Texas, the need for industrial space to serve the surrounding rooftops will remain a top focus for retailers, distribution companies, and alike.
214.267.0400 streamrealty.com
amy witherite is a prominent attorney and the ceo and founder of Witherite Law Group, a personal injury law firm specializing in commercial vehicle cases based in Dallas, with offices in Fort Worth, Atlanta, and Chicago. Witherite Law Group has a track record of winning significant settlements and verdicts for their clients, including multi-million-dollar recoveries in cases involving truck accidents, wrongful death, and other catastrophic injuries.
With more than two decades of experience in the legal industry, Witherite is widely recognized for her exceptional expertise, client-focused approach, and commitment to community service. Her tremendous commitment to giving is based upon her long-held belief that businesses have the responsibility to give back to those communities in which they serve. She understands that the success of Witherite Law Group has afforded her the distinct opportunity to put people first. This commitment comes to life at hundreds of community-outreach events executed by her firm each year. Their work includes feeding kids, offering scholarships, and helping schools, to volunteering with various organizations.
“We help domestic violence organizations. We work in food pantries. Every year, we provide coats to an incredible group of kids that live in housing
projects in Fort Worth. Every week of every year, we will give back to our community. That has always been our mindset as a law firm. That’s what we all need to be doing. I hope everybody gets that message because that is what we stand for,” Witherite says.
In recognition of her contributions to the legal profession and the community, Witherite has received numerous accolades and awards throughout her career. She has been named multiple times to the National Association of Distinguished Counsel – Nation’s Top One Percent, recognized as a Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters, and awarded the Legal Excellence Award by the Texas Bar Foundation.
strong women. better world. this is the driving philosophy of Texas Women’s Foundation, and the Economic Leadership Council is one powerhouse group that puts this philosophy into practice. The ELC was founded in 2014 to harness the collective power of C-suite executive women to drive advancement of women in corporate leadership. The ELC focuses on the barriers women face: pay equity, workforce policies that support women and men at work, and recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. The ELC is led by volunteer co-chairs Debra Hunter Johnson, founder of Reciprocity Consulting Group, and Vanessa Salinas Beckstrom, partner at PwC.
In 2013, Texas Women’s Foundation established a leadership initiative investing in women beginning in the classroom and continuing through the corporate boardroom. The ELC was a direct result of that leadership initiative and has since developed and mentored the Women’s Leadership Institute, a program that has provided professional development equipping senior-level women managers to grow in their careers. More than 200 women have completed this program and are eligible for membership in the Women’s Leadership Council, which provides further opportunities to develop their professional networks and leadership learning. Another program resulting from the focus on leadership is the Young Women’s Ini-
tiative, equipping young women of color with leadership, philanthropy and advocacy training to amplify their voices in support of local communities.
The Foundation invests in the pipeline of women leaders through the ELC, WLC, and Young Women’s Initiative. In turn, these women leaders support the Foundation’s statewide work that is crucial to advancing its vision of an equitable Texas for all. “Our collective group of strong and smart professional women are committed to the work at Texas Women’s Foundation,” Johnson says. “Helping girls become strong women and preparing women to lead in their lives, workplaces, and communities, make our state a better place for all.” Adds Beckstrom, “We are advocating for childcare, maternal leave, and other inclusive policies that support families by removing hidden barriers that prevent women from advancing, often to the point where they decide to leave the workforce.”
With the investment from volunteers and supporters, Texas Women’s Foundation is transforming Texas for women and girls by advancing their economic security through research, advocacy, grants, and leadership development programs.
changing the landscape of commercial real estate is what Stream does. During the past four years, Stream has recruited a few of the city’s most recognizable office tenant rep professionals to build a best-in-class team.
Together Randy Cooper, Craig Wilson, Dan Harris, and their team have built ongoing relationships with Fortune 100 and AM Law Top 100 companies and some of the most prestigious and significant companies across all industries.
The team’s mindset is rooted in partnership.
“We partner with each other to share skills and market insight, we partner with other Stream service lines, and most importantly, we are partners with our clients,” says Harris, managing director. “They know we are a trustworthy resource, and their goals become our goals, and we work together.”
However, the efficient and collaborative process that Stream’s clients experience starts long before the team meets a client. It is the foundation of Stream. “We say relationships first, then real estate, and we mean it,” emphasizes Wilson, managing director. “Stream’s fully integrated business model allows us to leverage many different industry experts to benefit our clients, bringing our tenant representation services to the next level.”
As a service-minded company, it’s no surprise that Stream employs a forward-thinking approach to its client services. As a result, clients benefit from additional offers, such as joint venture solutions, development opportunities, ownership, principal opportunities, and typical lease structures. “As a privately held, mid-size company, we have the flexibility to offer our clients traditional and alternative solutions to help them best meet their needs,” says Cooper, vice chairman.
The team has grown significantly throughout the past year and is excited about everything they will accomplish soon. The team is confident their foundation of partnership will help them change the landscape of commercial real estate together.
as the largest community foundation in texas and one of the largest in the nation, Communities Foundation of Texas has a vision of thriving communities for all, seeking to grow community giving, expand community impact, and advance community equity. CFT works with individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits through charitable funds and strategic grantmaking steeped in equity and connectedness across the areas of health, wealth, living, and learning.
CFT has awarded over $2.5 billion in grants to nonprofits since its founding in 1953 and professionally manages more than 1,200 charitable funds. CFT is committed to serving and understanding donor needs, expertly handling complex gifts, providing giving guidance, and leveraging community knowledge to increase charitable impact.
CFT works with companies of all sizes to spark or grow a culture of generosity, manage employee giving, and increase employee engagement. Through CFT’s programs, such as CFT for Business, Educate Texas, Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy, GiveWisely, the Live Oak Society, North Star Services, and North Texas Giving Day, CFT helps individuals, families, and businesses maximize generosity and impact.
Partnering with the next generation of givers and change-makers is one
of the ways CFT works to build a thriving community. Since 2018, more than 375 local young professionals have been part of CFT’s annual Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy cohorts. Learn more and see the alumni members at CFTexas.org/ELP.
Working with CFT is like having your own charitable giving concierge. You can establish a fund and recommend grants to nonprofits while CFT invests and grows the fund, shares expertise, and performs due diligence on nonprofits. Donor-advised funds are an easy and effective way to give to nonprofits while receiving an immediate tax benefit. Learn more at CFTexas.org/GiveMore.
How will you give back to your community beyond your lifetime? Consider leaving a legacy of generosity by joining CFT’s Live Oak Society. CFT is here to help you continue to support your passions through your estate plan, will, or trust. Learn more at CFTexas.org/LiveOak. CFT staff experts are always available to help you think through what matters most to you and how that can align with your giving strategy.
anyone shopping for a new home in the past few years has experienced the roller coaster of emotions that have accompanied this unprecedented real estate market. Chase Bray, broker/owner of Bray Real Estate Group, has been a lifeline for buyers and sellers as they navigate its highs and lows. With extensive knowledge about the ever-changing real estate market, Bray and his team remain well-prepared to handle whatever comes next. “Our team represents the best and brightest in the industry, and we are always striving to lead the field in research, innovation, and consumer education,” Bray says.
Bray Real Estate Group is the name to know when it comes to residential real estate in Texas and beyond. Working in real estate for more than a decade, Bray began his real estate career early on as an MBA student at Texas Tech University. After graduating with a B.A. from the Rawls College of Business, he worked in real estate while completing his master’s degree in business administration. In 2018, Bray opened his own brokerage, and today, Bray Real Estate Group employs more than 120 agents who assist buyers and sellers with any real estate need. Bray has grown the brokerage to include several offices in major cities throughout Texas and Oklahoma to Tampa Bay, Florida, and Los Angeles, California. He and his family live in the Park Cities, where he enjoys a special niche in select listings as well as in Lakewood/East Dallas,
Preston Hollow, North Dallas, and Devonshire. “I know this area well and feel it’s important for everyone on our team to support the communities where we live and work,” he says.
Bray’s tenacity to grow his successful agency has paid off. In 2022, his personal sales were $62 million, and he is on track to sell more than $100 million in 2023. The brokerage collectively reached $500-plus million in 2022 and expects to sell more than $700 million in 2023. Bray says the excitement he felt purchasing his first rental home more than a decade ago is the same excitement he feels with each real estate transaction he completes today, as he guides his clients in buying, selling, or leasing. “I love being a part of this incredibly innovative team,” he says. “It’s a young, hungry team who share a strong drive to help our clients.”
Although these days Bray spends more time operating his growing company than being out in the field, he still gets the same excitement about new listings and possibilities for his clients. “I still show homes to clients myself simply because I love the feeling of helping people find their dream home,” he says.
4144 North Central Expressway, #530 | Dallas, Texas 75204 972.374.9994 brayreg.com
logistics is the backbone of the economy.
It’s an always-on ecosystem that inevitably touches nearly every aspect of our lives, from shelves being stocked to online orders arriving days after purchase. This network of moving trucks, trailers, and trains may seem like magic to most of us, but there’s a complex orchestra working 24/7 to keep goods moving, and it’s one that Frank McGuigan, former CEO of Dallas-based Transplace and current member of Uber Freight’s board of directors, has built a career around advancing.
A graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and retired Lieutenant from the United States Naval Reserve, McGuigan joined a rapidly evolving logistics industry in 1992, where he quickly emerged as a visionary leader that would usher in a new era of transportation management. For more than a decade, McGuigan helped lead and scale Transplace into one of North America’s largest providers of logistics technology and services, drastically improving how goods move for shippers (the companies that make the goods) and carriers (that move the shipments).
In 2021, McGuigan led the sale of Transplace to Uber Freight for $2.25 billion, creating one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive logistics networks and platforms. And as a firm believer in the power of
technology to transform how goods move, McGuigan prioritized bringing innovative solutions to shippers and carriers of all sizes.
“A changing world has revealed vulnerability across our industry. The systems we relied on for years to move goods are showing their age, and the logistics industry many of us know was built for a world that we no longer live in,” McGuigan says. “But at Uber Freight, we believe there’s never been a better opportunity to reimagine how goods move. New technologies, such as what we helped create at Transplace and continue to lead the market in at Uber Freight, mean that all corners of the supply chain operate with more efficiency, transparency, and visibility, not to mention with sustainability top of mind. That’s how we unlock the reliability and resiliency that today’s supply chains demand.” uberfreight.com
story by YVETTE ROMERO
dr. william worthington samuell was born in Georgetown, Kentucky, but his family settled in Dallas County when Samuell was an infant. He went on to attend The University of Texas and earned a medical degree from Tulane University. After living abroad, he opened a surgery practice in Dallas, The W. W. Samuell-Surgeons, and became a nationally recognized practitioner. His success led to a legacy of philanthropy. In 1911, he donated the first ambulance to Dallas and thousands of dollars to Parkland Hospital. After surviving pneumonia, he died from a heart attack at age 59, leaving much of his land and assets to the City of Dallas for green spaces. All told, the gift was valued at $1.2 million, or $20.9 million in today’s conversion. More than twice the annual park budget at the time, it made Dallas one of the wealthiest park systems in the country. Today, the city owns more than 1,700 acres because of Samuell’s gift, including Samuell-Grand Recreation Center with its tennis and golf facilities and massive soccer complex at Northwest Highway and Garland Road. He also gifted the 609-acre Samuell Farm near Mesquite, now a regional park with trails, fishing ponds, and a playground. Oil and gas attorney and Samuell Farm guardian Hugh Brooks says the bequest was meant to create “a place where people could enjoy the trees and water and grass.”
Is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the ACS 36th Annual Luncheon in support of the Nexus Recovery Center whose mission is to serve as a community of hope and sobriety for all women and their families who strive to live healthy, resilient lives by empowering women, and their accompanying children, in overcoming substance use disorders by providing a wide range of specialized services, from residential and outpatient treatment to continuing care and recovery support.
Was part of the bellweather trial team that helped the State of Texas recover over $1.8 Billion from the manufacturers and distributors of opioids to help combat the opioid crisis in Texas by providing treatment and recovery resources. In addition, Larry has been selected by his national peers as a member of the Plaintiffs Executive Committee for Hair Relaxer litigation on behalf of women who have developed cancer and other serious health issues from the use of these products. He is also a Board Member of several Dallas non-profit organizations, including the Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic. Bryan is a national leader in the American Association of Justice and a former President of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association. Bryan is also one of the leading national legal experts for helping those with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).
Is a leading national law firm in the areas of Catastrophic Personal Injuries, Trucking and Automobile Accidents, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mass Torts, Civil Rights, Employment Discrimination and Police Brutality.
cochrantexas.com | 214.651.4260
bryan d. pope
larry f. taylor, jr.
