D CEO September 2024

SE PTE MBE R 2 024

F E AT U R I N G

2024 Healthcare Annual

CEO

PLUS:

New Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is using bold strategies to transform college athletics.

Jeremy Fudge’s firm, BAL, focuses exclusively on matters involving immigration law.

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THE INVISIBLE WALL

North Texas immigration experts say antiquated regulations are impeding the growth of local businesses by preventing them from bringing in the talent they need.

CREATING SHARED SUCCESS. Whitley Penn values the power of collaboration and embraces a multitude of perspectives to create a more inclusive and equitable community. We believe that our potential for advancement knows no bounds and we are committed to continuous learning, innovation, and collective growth to drive us forward.

Start today by scanning the QR code or visit whitleypenn.com.

It pays to have Texas Mutual.

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Unified by our differences.

Diverse values, opinions, experiences and cultures allow us to better meet the needs of our teams, clients and communities. All of us at Bank of Texas are proud to partner with D CEO to celebrate the power of more inclusive and equitable workplaces.

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At Haynes Boone, we are dedicated to championing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging – in our firm and our communities.

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Entrepreneurs Banking Entrepreneurs 112 years has taught us that you can't do the same old thing and expect different results.

That's why Vista Bank invested almost $4 million into the first Banking and Financial Literacy Ecosystem in Fair Park of South Dallas in over three decades. By teaching entrepreneurs to fish and creating a quality pond, we seek to help those willing to put in the work find a path to 'yes' and elevate underserved communities through the power of small business.

Congratulations to each of DCEO's 2024 Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Award finalists and winners!

South Dallas Banking & Financial Literacy Center Team pictured left to right: Aaron Coleman, J.J. Jimenez, Emilee Sanchez, Felicia Marquez, Kevin Branch, and Lubbock Smith III.

DALLAS | FORT WORTH | AUSTIN | WEST TEXAS | PALM BEACH

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2024

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The Invisible Wall North Texas legal experts say antiquated immigration regulations are preventing employers from bringing in the talent they need. story by WILL MADDOX portraits by TREVOR PAULHUS

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A Break With Tradition From private equity infusions to conference naming rights, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is using bold strategies to transform college athletics— and grow revenue for his teams. story by BEN SWANGER

P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F K A T H L E E N M A R T I N E Z

illustration by JULIAN RENTZSCH

Kathleen Martinez’s firm Martinez Immigration serves clients nationwide.

She offers immigration advice to her two million Instagram and TikTok followers.

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CONTENTS

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14 EDITOR’S NOTE

2 3 YO U N E E D T O K N O W

Chris Dharod, SSCP 26 MEET THE 500

Chris Crosby, Compass Datacenters 26 FRESH IDEAS

Lily KT Smith and Kara Cecala, Dallasites101

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51 YO U N E E D TO K N OW S E A N B E R R Y ; E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P U N L E A S H E D B R A N D S ; A R T O F S T Y L E T A V I A W H I T L O W ; W E L L T R AV E L E D L A S A M A N N A , A B E L M O N D H O T E L , S T . M A R T I N ; R O OT S P E T E R B U R N S

DOSSIER

28 ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Michael Browning, Unleashed Brands 3 0 C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H

Elise Burns, Evette

FIELD NOTES 46 SPORTS BUSINESS

45 LEADING OFF

Altresha Burchett-Williams, AT&T

Dallas is betting big on professional, collegiate, and amateur women’s sports. And it’s set to pay off with millions of dollars in revenue and economic impact.

48 ON TOPIC

Terry Babilla of BSN Sports, Shelley Amason of RightStaff, and Robert Rough of Telos Capital Advisors discuss what they learned from their toughest business challenges.

OFF DUTY 51 ART OF STYLE

Mahisha Dellinger, Huzzy Smart Sips 52 PURSUITS

Christine Hale, Lockton

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F E AT U R I N G

2024 Healthcare Annual

CEO

5 4 W E L L T R AV E L E D : A N G U I L L A

PLUS:

New Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is using bold strategies to transform college athletics.

Brittany Barnett, Buried Alive Project

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56 ROOTS

THE INVISIBLE WALL

Jeremy Fudge’s firm, BAL, focuses exclusively on matters involving immigration law.

North Texas immigration experts say antiquated regulations are impeding the growth of local businesses by preventing them from bringing in the talent they need.

Peter Burns, Peter Burns Enterprise 76 END MARK

St. Paul Hospital

ON THE COVER:

Jeremy Fudge of BAL photographed by Trevor Paulhus.

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

It’s True: You Are What You Eat

TAKE OUT THE GUESS WORK, LET’S MAKE YOUR PLAN. Financial Planning Investments Insurance

Certain appropriately licensed individuals of Gardner Wallace are registered to offer securities through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC and/or investment advisory services through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Neither Kestra IS nor Kestra AS are affiliated with Gardner Wallace. Investor Disclosures: https://www.kestrafinancial.com/disclosures

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P H OTO G R A P H Y BY E L I Z A B E T H L A V I N

972.833.2565 gardnerwallace.com yourteamgardnerwallace.com

in early 2022, faced with the reality of turning 60, i decided to get serious about my health. I had been overweight nearly all my life and had reached the point of becoming classified as “morbidly obese.” (Boy, that’s a wake-up call.) Like many chronic dieters, I had yo-yo’d my way up and down the scale through the decades, but I never had any lasting success. This time, I was determined to find something that would stick.

I chose a program that focused on nutrition and convenience, with prepackaged shakes, soups, breakfasts, and the like. The difference was, starting with one meal a day, I’d prepare or buy something “lean and green.” It was the first time I truly studied ingredients and learned about food. As I put my newfound knowledge into action, the results were reflected on the scale. By the end of the year, I had dropped more than 100 pounds—and I’ve kept it off in the 18 months since. The lightness I feel has permeated every aspect of my life.

My success came down exclusively to what I ate; I didn’t begin working out until my weight loss goal had been met. So, I was happy to read Senior Editor Will Maddox’s feature for this year’s Healthcare Annual on the groundbreaking culinary medicine program at UT Southwestern. As he points out, “physicians undergo at least seven years of training after college to learn how to keep patients healthy, but many don’t receive any instruction or guidance on what can be the most critical factor in maintaining one’s health: food.”

Research shows that unhealthy diets are a more significant determinant of ill health than tobacco or high blood pressure. In fact, about half of all U.S. deaths caused by cardiometabolic diseases (heart attack, stroke, diabetes, etc.) are associated with poor diet. So, why don’t more medical schools make nutrition a part of their core curriculum? UTSW’s Dr. Jaclyn Albin and Milette Siler, whose innovative program trains both physicians and the patients they serve, are trying to turn the tide.

Find out how in Will’s feature, which begins on page 64.

Christine Perez Editor

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CONGRATULATIONS TO JODI AND TOM PARKER OWNERS OF ALL AMERICAN TIRE RECYCLERS PlainsCapital Bank congratulates Jodi and Tom Parker, winners of the 2024 Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® Southwest Award. This award recognizes ambitious leaders of high-growth companies who are creating a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world for future generations.

All American Tire Recyclers began with the singular goal of creating a disposal avenue for small tire shops, but over time it became focused on creating a great workplace and leaving a positive impact on the environment. Innovation, perseverance, and genuine care for their employees and customers have enabled All American Tire Recyclers to overcome many trials and grow exponentially within their industry.

“We wouldn't be where we are today without our long-time partner, PlainsCapital Bank. They took a chance on us when we were getting started. Doug Kuenstler is our go-to to get things done. An amazing partnership.” – Jodi Parker © 2024 PlainsCapital Bank. Member FDIC. PCB1259016350

P U B L I S H E R Noelle LeVeaux EDITORIAL

EDITOR Christine Perez MANAGING EDITOR Ben Swanger SENIOR EDITOR Will Maddox ASSOCIATE EDITOR Audrey Henvey ASSISTANT EDITOR Layten Praytor CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Richard Alm, W. Michael Cox EDITORIAL INTERNS Celie Price, Bridget Reis, MiCaih Thomas

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Taylor Shead, Cassandra Shead, Vicky Boudta

Isabel Barnes, Paulina Bustos

Karen Hughes White

Women’s Leadership Symposium

Julia Simon

Rachel Simon

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Silvia Martins, Renda Mathew, Sharla Myers

Tracy Walder

Angela Banks, Courtney Lewis

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY B R E T R E D M A N

Chrisette Dharma, Priya Pandit, Fatima Abdalrahman

a crowd of nearly 600 gathered at the Renaissance Hotel in June for D CEO’s ninth annual Women’s Leadership Symposium. The half-day event featured 11 speakers who shared their insights about career challenges and opportunities. Session themes ranged from “Embracing Ambition: Shaking Off the Stereotypes” to “Navigating Career Transitions and Shaping Your Ideal Life.” Thank you to all speakers, panelists, and attendees for making this event one to remember. Special gratitude to our title sponsors, Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Community Council of Greater Dallas, Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, Texas Women’s Foundation, Toyota, Truist Bank, The University of Texas at Arlington, and Wealth Woman.

Luisa Havens-Gerardo

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ASK THE EXPERT

Persuasion Skills: Personal Responsibility R O G G E D U N N , C EO, R O G G E D U N N G R O U P

Personal Responsibility is a Powerful Persuasive Tool When a dispute arises and you or your company are blamed, how can you persuade the dissatisfied customer, colleague, or family member that the situation was their fault in whole or in part? The concept of taking personal responsibility can help you. In the last few decades, asking someone to take personal responsibility for their actions has become a powerful persuasion technique. With the advent of large plaintiffs’ verdicts for perceived or real mistakes, this argument has also been used extensively by politicians. They claim there are too many frivolous lawsuits, and tort reform is beneficial by reducing insurance premiums and avoiding higher prices for products and services due to runaway jury verdicts. Companies have emphasized the need for individuals to take personal responsibility in their PR campaigns that criticize plaintiffs in response to unfavorable jury verdicts.

When I represent companies sued, I use this technique and tell the jury: “Too many people today are too quick to criticize everyone else without ever looking in the mirror. When a person is injured or a company is damaged in today’s society, they are too quick to point the finger at others and play the blame game. Long gone are the character and values that built America, where people would first look in the mirror and honestly assess whether they had responsibility for causing their injuries. Today, everyone wants to point the finger at anybody and everybody else and deflect blame for what happened. Very few people or companies have a stand-up character where they take personal responsibility for their own actions. In this trial you’ll see where the plaintiff is pointing fingers in all directions, even over their back, to blame anyone and everyone they can, instead of accepting personal responsibility for their actions.”

DCEOMAGAZINE.COM

Personal Responsibility Cuts Both Ways The personal responsibility concept can be used offensively or defensively in disputes and arguments when you’re trying to persuade a colleague, customer, or family member that you or your company is not at fault. Consider taking personal responsibility and ownership over some or all your (or your company’s) failures or shortcomings regarding the products, services, or actions that lead to the dispute. If you start the conversation by saying that you/your company takes personal responsibility for some or all the problem, the other person will be more inclined to do likewise and will certainly be more forgiving or understanding of mistakes you or your company made. Taking responsibility from the outset is more likely to lead to a win/win resolution than immediately denying any fault or pointing out the mistakes the other person or the other company made that contributed to the dispute.

The takeaway: When a dispute arises, and you or your company are blamed, consider starting the conversation by taking personal responsibility for ownership of the mistakes you or your company made as the first step in your rapprochement.

500 N. Akard Street, Suite 1900 Dallas, Texas 75201 214.888.5000 | info@roggedunngroup.com

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, 2023 and 2024 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 15 times.

SEPTEMBER 2024

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Bill Cawley, Scott Rohrman, Lynn Dowdle

Group shot of past Hall of Fame honorees

Diane Scovell, John Scovell

Commercial Real Estate Hall Of Fame

Andrew Levy, Bill Vanderstraaten, Greg Cannon

Cornelia Heins, Ralph Heins

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Robert Grunnah Sr., Chris Teesdale, Greg Cannon, Teri Abram Wold, Kathy Permenter, Darrell Hurmis, Lynn Dowdle, Bill Cox

Kathy Permenter, Holland Morris

Robert Shaw, Steve Brown, Frank Mihalopoulos

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY L O U I S D E L U C A

Jack Fraker, Bill Vanderstraaten, Robert Grunnah Sr., Scott Rohrman

bill vanderstraaten of chief Partners and Scott Rohrman of 42 Real Estate were inducted into the North Texas Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame in May, in partnership with NTCAR. Jack Fraker of Newmark received the Michael F. McAuley Lifetime Achievement Award for community service, as did Hall of Fame co-founder Robert Grunnah Sr., who was honored for his deep commitment to the profession. Founded in 1988, the North Texas Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame has recognized dozens of legendary real estate leaders who have shaped the region’s growth in unforgettable ways.

Many thanks to title sponsors FIELDS and KFM Engineering & Design, along with numerous other donors, including media partner D CEO.

Jack Fraker, Ran Holman, Bill Cox

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SEPTEMBER 2024

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A N D

NORTH TEXAS NEWSMAKERS

YOU NEED TO KNOW

Chris Dharod Is Only Looking Up A year into a massive revamp, the Corner Bakery CEO is aiming to make the restaurant chain one of the biggest fast-casual brands in the country. story by AUDREY HENVEY portrait by SEAN BERRY

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the restaurateur part of chris dharod’s brain never shuts down. Be it a fine dining experience or a stop at one of the Corner Bakery locations he now oversees as CEO, Dharod is always keeping an eye on the operational ingredients that go into a restaurant experience. “I’m looking at cleanliness. I’m looking at training,” he says. “Does the staff feel comfortable in the roles they’re working in? I’m looking at food quality.

I’m paying attention to how long it’s taking for a customer to place an order, for a customer to get their food—I’m not timing it, but just in the back of my mind, I’m thinking, and I’m watching.”

Dharod’s father, a Burger King franchisee, wanted to ensure his children experienced what it would be like to have a restaurant career. So, the younger Dharod cut his teeth in the industry working at the fast-food chain as a kid. By the time he went on to study finance at SMU, his father had sold the Burger Kings and pivoted to Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar. Dharod, then a sophomore at SMU, began to pick up shifts at one of his dad’s restaurants, cooking, cleaning, serving, and bartending. After graduating from college, he spent a short stint in banking but ultimately returned to the family business.

In 2011, Dharod’s father launched SSCP Management, today a franchisee of Applebee’s and Sonic Drive-ins and the franchisor for Cici’s Pizza and Corner Bakery, as well as Roy’s Restaurant.

Dharod now serves as the president for SSCP and the CEO of recently acquired Corner Bakery,

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which SSCP bought out of bankruptcy in June 2023 through the acquisition of its debt.

SSCP is no stranger to restoration projects. In 2020, it acquired Cici’s—a similar deal that involved purchasing the brand’s debt. “We’re able to go into situations and figure out the issues and what the solutions are,” Dharod says.

For Corner Bakery specifically, that first meant putting an effective team in place. It then invested in improving quality across the board. That meant focusing on speed of food delivery, which Dharod says had been cut by almost 50 percent. It also involved measuring guest satisfaction more acutely and prioritizing career advancement opportunities and recognition for employees.

So far, the transition has proved successful— the company has increased sales by 15 percent as of June and 10 percent year-to-date. Within six months, the brand posted an average unit volume increase of $200,000. Turnover and traffic have also both improved, Dharod reports.

Looking ahead, the CEO sees a world of potential for the 33-year-old Corner Bakery brand.

There are plans for food innovation and new tech platforms; a few locations are already test sites for kiosk ordering. There are also plans to remodel up to 12 stores in the next year with a fresher look that will feature lighter colors, Dharod says.

The brand opened two new locations in July, one in Chicago and another in Washington, D.C. Those openings have started the clock on future expansion, with plans calling for five to seven total openings in the next 12 months.

Dharod’s aspirations kick even higher. He forecasts that Corner Bakery could boast more than $2.5 million in average unit volume with over 500 units—the brand currently has a $2 million AUV with just north of 100 units. “I see this being a brand that’s over $1 billion in revenue,” he says. “I think it could be one of the 50 biggest brands in the U.S., from a revenue perspective.”

One year in, it’s all about maintaining momentum. “Although we’ve made a lot of progress,” Dharod says, “there’s much low-hanging fruit that will improve the business even more.”

PORTFOLIO

An Appetite for Growth In addition to serving as a franchisee for 79 Applebee’s locations and 43 Sonic Drive-ins, Dallas-based SSCP is the franchisor for three restaurant brands.

CICI’S PIZZA Locations: 296 The all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta, salad, and desserts brand was founded in Plano in 1985 and today spans 25 states.

CORNER BAKERY Locations: 118 The Dallas-based fast-casual brand was founded in Chicago in 1991. It specializes in comfort food, including pastries, homemade soups and pastas, and gourmet sandwiches.

ROY’S HAWAIIAN FUSION CUISINE Locations: 5 Roy Yamaguchi opened his first restaurant in Hawaii in 1988.

The brand has since expanded to California, Arizona, and Florida.

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DOSSIER

MEET THE 500

FRESH IDEAS

CHRIS CROSBY

The 101 to Life in Dallas

Founder and CEO C O M PA S S DATAC E N T E R S

former digital realty trust exec chris crosby launched Compass Datacenters in 2011, aiming to leverage his tech and real estate expertise. Today, the company designs and constructs data centers for some of the world’s largest hyperscalers and cloud providers. It was named one of the fastest-growing businesses for 2023 by Inc. magazine, and in recent months completed a $5.7 billion recapitalization. Crosby says Compass has grown 100 times over during the past five years. It’s currently at work on two data centers in Red Oak totaling 500,000 square feet; they’re expected to be delivered in 2025. Compass is also redeveloping Sears’ former headquarters in Chicago into a five-building, $10 billion data center mega campus.

Crosby has served as vice chair of SMU’s masters of data center systems engineering program since 2014.

EDUCATION: The University of Texas at Austin (BS) BIRTHPLACE: Norwalk, Connecticut DESTINATIONS OF CHOICE: “Las Vegas, Monterrey Peninsula, Bandon Dunes, and Portofino” PIVOTAL MOMENT: “When 9/11 happened, I found myself just a few months away from not being able to pay a mortgage. I poured into what I knew best—telecom and technology—and found my way into technology real estate. That drive to draw upon my past experiences to parlay into a new frontier led me into the world of data centers at the advent of the industry.”

I COLLECT: “I was a big baseball

card collector as a kid.

Nowadays, it seems I just aggregate places where I can play more golf.”

KEY STRATEGIES: “Humility, tenacity, curiosity, and a commitment to improvement” BEST ADVICE: “Understand that humility is the biggest key to success. The humility that I refer to stems not from thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. The ability and discipline to look at things from others’ perspectives before applying my lens has had the greatest impact.”

MUST-READ: “I think everyone should read Good to Great by Jim Collins.”

KARAOKE SONG: “‘Regulate’ by Warren G and Nate Dogg”

CHILDHOOD DREAM: “I always wanted to play professional sports. I’d always sign my name with the number 10 by it.”

INDUSTRY CHANGE: “We need better coordination as an industry to tell our story. We are the infrastructure for the modern world—the last utility. People don’t understand the significance and importance of the places that house the internet and touch their lives every day, every moment.”

SPIRIT ANIMAL: “A bull elephant; it has a presence even when it doesn’t mean to have one.”

FOOD I HATE: “Bouillabaisse” LOCAL FARE: “I love Drake’s on Lovers and usually order the A5 Strip. It’s the best in town.”

FUTURE FORECAST: “Compass is on a rocket ship. It is so much fun to work with my team to manage a company within this velocity. The challenges we face are all associated with growth. That’s a positive place to be. My favorite phrase is, ‘I can’t wait for six months from now.’ The incremental improvements we make lead to huge marginal gains.”

MAPPING IT OUT

Having already expanded to Austin and Fort Worth, Dallasites101 will soon add even more markets to its list.

This Q&A is extended content from Dallas 500, a special edition produced by D CEO that profiles the region’s most influential business leaders. Visit www.dallas500.com for details.

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about a decade ago, when Lily KT Smith and Kara Cecala moved to Dallas from the east coast, neither knew the best way to explore the city. So, in 2015, the two, who met through a mutual friend, launched Instagram account Dallasites101 to share info on local events and businesses. Today, the website, social media platforms, and newsletter attract over 4 million monthly impressions. By 2019, the two left their jobs to run the company full-time and now lead a staff of 25 people across DFW and Austin. Working out of an historic Victorian house in Uptown, Dallasites101 has jumped into the events business, hosting more than 100 functions a year. “We have an amazing team, and that’s allowed us to keep this train moving,” Shannon says. “Lily and I are true entrepreneurs. There are days when it’s overwhelming, but every time it’s overwhelming, that means we’re a little better and we’re a little bit stronger.”—Celie Price

M E R R I S BY J A K E M E Y E R S ; F R E S H I D E A S : S H U T T E R S T O C K

What began as an Instagram account has grown into a 25-person operation.

DOSSIER

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

story by

LAYTEN PRAYTOR

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he was a political science major at tcu, but michael browning could not shake the entrepreneurial bug. Fascinated by data trends, he launched healthcare consulting firm Phoebos in 2005. Two years later, he sold it to former Microsoft exec Rowland Hanson.

He switched his focus in 2010, founding Urban Air Adventure Park which now has 230 locations open or under development. After 11 years at the helm, Browning created holding company Unleashed Brands to expand his focus on more youth-targeted enterprises.

Emerging from the pandemic, he was motivated to help families regain a sense of normalcy.

“Parents want to give their kids a chance to escape the real world for just a little bit,” Browning says. “We started to develop our investment thesis around that.”

Today, Unleashed Brands has seven companies, including Urban Air, youth gymnastics center The Little Gym, and tutoring service Sylvan Learning. Among all brands, it has 1,200 locations across the country, serves 25 million children a year, and generates $1.1 billion in annual revenue.

A key strategy in driving growth has been keeping the focus on the end users, Browning says. “Understanding who the consumer is and knowing that when the consumer wins, our businesses win, has made it easier to make these acquisitions and have a positive impact on them,” he says.

He is on a quest to add more assets to the portfolio, including enterprises that specialize in swimming, music, fine arts, and sports. But building the billion-dollar franchising business has not come without some legal battles. After acquiring several brands, including The Little Gym and Premier Martial Arts, Browning’s company was sued by dozens of franchise owners who claimed the holding company violated existing franchise agreements. In a statement to D CEO, in regards to The Little Gym cases, the company said, “All but two voluntarily dismissed their cases within two weeks of filing. The remaining two did not win their cases.”

Despite the legal claims, Browning is not tempering his ambitions. “We see a world five years from now where every parent in AmerTHE CLIMB ica is waking up, opening our app, and Along with trampolines, Urban seeing their kids’ schedule for the week Air offers activities like rock climbing, at facilities we own,” he says. “We’re laser tag, go karts, impacting every kid in America.” and more.

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P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F U N L E A S H E D B R A N D S

How Michael Browning, the brains behind Urban Air, built his billion-dollar enterprise around youth-focused brands.

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DOSSIER

C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H

How Elise Burns Overcame Her Fear of Dogs to Transform Veterinary Staffing The Evette founder revitalized a stagnant industry through her multimillion-dollar services firm.

story by LAYTEN PRAYTOR illustration by JAKE MEYERS

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growing up in connecticut, elise burns didn’t spend much time around animals. For most of her life, she had an intense fear of dogs, despite never being bitten or attacked by one.

Her persistent anxiety around canines became so overwhelming, she saw psychologists and behavioral therapists to try to address the problem—to no avail. Left with no other options, her mother got a Lhasa Apso in hopes that Burns would become desensitized. Instead, she says she simply coexisted with the “gremlin dog,” Malcom.

The CEO and founder of Evette tends to get some befuddled looks when she explains her path from a debilitating phobia of dogs to the chief executive of a veterinarian staffing agency—an company she launched in 2016 that generated $35 million in revenue last year. “It was such a running joke when I started a vet staffing company because people who knew me were like, ‘Really?

That doesn’t seem like a good mix,’” Burns says.

She eventually pushed herself past her phobia, as she didn’t want to pass on her fear of dogs to her children once she had a family. She’s now the proud mother of a Goldendoodle named Charlie.

Burns describes her path as serendipitous.

Her mother, Janet, was a single mom and CEO in the healthcare staffing industry and someone Burns leaned on heavily when starting Evette.

After toiling around in different sectors, Burns left her position at staffing firm Supplemental Healthcare, saddled with a non-compete for a year. She began to look around and see what

other industries needed to revamp their recruiting strategies and found that the veterinary field was about a decade behind in its practices.

Compared to physicians, veterinarians require the same amount of schooling with significantly fewer options in the workforce and a lower financial ceiling. The industry also holds one of the highest suicide rates of any profession in the U.S. due to a decline in those entering the field, Burns says, leading to a burned-out workforce.

Research from the Centers for Disease Control found that veterinarians are between two to four times more likely than the general population to die by suicide.

Intrigued by the market opportunity and wanting to help, Burns set about filling the void of veterinary staffing agencies by mimicking the healthcare industry model. She created a salary program and hired vets as employees, streamlining taxes and providing the W-2 workers with medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) plans. Evette covers liability insurance fees and allows the vets to pick their own schedules, and full-time employment is three shifts a week. “It offers that in-between of stability of a clinic role and benefits but the flexibility of not having to be held to production or 60 hours per week,” Burns says.

Today, private equity owns 40 percent of Evette. The rest of the company is held by private investors. It boasts 70 internal employees and more than 300 veterinarians across the country who have stock opportunities.

“They need more support,” Burns says of veterinarians. “They need more options. The suicide rate tells you that, and the mental health issues tell you that. I’m an entrepreneur and want us to be the best and the biggest, but by other companies copying what we’re doing, it means vets across the board getting more of what they need.”

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Andrew Widmer | 469-501-9037

The

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D I V E R S I T Y, E Q U I T Y, A N D I N C L U S I O N

Invisible Wall North Texas legal experts say antiquated immigration regulations are preventing employers from bringing in the talent they need.

story by

WILL MADDOX portraits by

T R E VO R PAU L H U S

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individuals, but is a threat to employers and the overall economy. A divided nation stands in the way of reform that could turn things around.

If the U.S. decided its economy would limit itself to functioning on the technology, mindset, and communication innovations of the early 1950s, it would not be the economic powerhouse it is today. But for employers who want to fill positions with highly skilled foreign professionals, the system that guides the process uses limitations that have roots in a law passed in 1952. The H-1B Visa program allows employers to bring in workers to fill specialty occupations in fields like mathematics, engineering, technology, and medical sciences, but the demand for these visas so vastly outnumbers available spots that securing one is more kin to winning the lottery than landing a job.

Although the total number has fluctuated over the years, today 65,000 H-1B visas are granted annually, with 20,000 more added for those with a master’s degree or higher. Although that may seem like a significant number, there were 780,884 total H-1B visa registrations in 2024. That means only about one in 10 workers who have a job offer at a U.S. company were able to obtain a visa allowing them to take the position and legally work.

The gap between the number of people allowed to work in highly skilled positions and those applying is only widening. (See graph). In 2022, there were 308,613 total registrations, up dramatically from 172,581 in 2014. These are not individuals applying for refugee status or asylum or merely hoping to get to the United States, but rather educated foreign workers who have job offers at companies in America and want to come work, pay taxes, and build their lives here.

“Our immigration system is broken,” says Jeremy Fudge, CEO of Richardson-based law firm BAL. “The border is chaotic and broken, but highly skilled immigration is equally broken.”

Nearly 100 percent of BAL’s work involves helping corporate clients navigate the immigration sys-

K A R E N - L E E P O L L A K founded her eponymous law firm after experiencing the challenges of the American immigration process herself when she arrived from South Africa. She represents clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 500 companies.

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P R E V I O U S S P R E A D I L LU S T R AT I O N BY S E A N L O C K E

W

“What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over—like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?”

Langston Hughes’ 1951 poem “Harlem” refers to the treatment of Black Americans at the time, when Jim Crow laws and other discriminatory practices limited opportunities and rights for people of color. Among those who spend their time navigating the complex world of immigration, the poem still resonates.

The consequences of these deferred dreams, experts say, is not only devastating and disruptive for

J E R E M Y F U D G E was introduced to immigration law through a client at his previous firm, Jackson Walker. He jumped full-time into helping employers find talent from abroad through his law firm, BAL. The CEO now leads 13 offices nationwide and serves clients all over the world.

tem to try and fill their open positions with skilled labor from abroad. The region’s strong economic success is founded on companies being able to fill its positions with the best talent possible.

“North Texas has a diversified economy, which makes us both vulnerable and resilient to immigration changes and challenges,” Fudge says. “Our job market spans healthcare, airlines, financial services, school districts, manufacturing, telecommunications, and more—all of which rely on skilled foreign workers to fill critical and open positions that would otherwise remain vacant.”

315% The increase in the number of STEM degrees earned by foreign students between 1988 and 2017.

Graduate degrees account for the largest share of these degrees.

108k

$ ‘ W E C A N ’ T R E LY O N A L O T T E RY ’

Many agree with Fudge that the country’s immigration system is broken. However, experts say there are a few common myths connected to the system.

From a talent perspective, those vying for H-1B visas are not taking jobs away from Americans. Employers must prove they can’t fill the position domestically when applying to fill it with a foreign worker.

It is much faster, easier, and cheaper to hire an American for the same position. Filing for a visa is

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The median annual salary of H-1B recipients in 2021 was more than double that of the overall U.S. median, combatting the myth that immigration drops wages for American workers.

increasingly expensive. A couple decades ago, the fee was $300 per employee; today it is 10 times that at $3,380. Expedited processing nearly doubles the cost, and many employers pay immigration lawyers to navigate the process and bring in the foreign workers.

“The claim that skilled immigration is taking away jobs from Americans is a myth,” Fudge says. “Any company we work for would prefer to hire an American with the same skillsets because this isn’t cheap.”

If a company has an international presence, the proliferation of remote work may mean that it sends the worker to an office in a different country where the immigration system is more efficient or open. Sometimes, the business may take the operation overseas or offshore to get the talent it needs. In the end, the American immigration system robs the economy and the tax base. “The companies will persist. The Googles and the Amazons are going to find a solution,” Fudge says. “We are only hurting our country at the end of the day because business goes on.”

Along with being unreliable, the U.S. system frustrates employees and employers by not considering the demand for certain types of positions. Rather than prioritizing jobs in healthcare, for example—the

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U.S. is experiencing increasing nursing and physician shortages—the H-1B lottery is random, meaning that a rural hospital that needs a cardiologist may lose out to a software enterprise adding another engineer. In addition, there’s a limit on the number of workers per country, regardless of job. “This is no way to manage your workforce,” says Karen-Lee Pollak, managing partner of Pollak PLLC. “We can’t rely on a lottery.”

WO R K I N G W I T H I N T H E S YS T E M

Pollak was born and raised in South Africa and came to the U.S. after attending law school there. She has personal experience navigating the H-1B visa system and was fortunate to secure one to be able to open her practice in the United States. The experience helps her empathize with her clients and the employees they are bringing in. “I have been through the gamut and can understand what they are going through from a mental and psychological perspective,” Pollak says.

She remembers questions about whether she would have to return to her home country while she was in graduate school in the U.S. Even though she had a job lined up in America, she lived in fear that she would have to uproot her family and return to a

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52% Wage growth for H-1B holders between 2003 and 2021, compared to the U.S. average of 39 percent.

H-1B employees are significant contributors to the tax base in America.

150k The number of H-1B recipients in Dallas between 2010 and 2016. It ranked as the No. 4 market in the nation for that period, trailing only New York City, San Jose, and San Francisco.

country her children had never visited. However, she was able to get an H-1B visa on her first try and has since gone on to become a U.S. citizen. She is one of the lucky ones. “My whole life was at stake,” Pollak says. “It caused a lot of sleepless nights.”

Others aren’t so fortunate. Many people will continue to stay in school and obtain more degrees to stay in the U.S. on a student visa, which is easier to obtain than an H-1B. Many foreigners spend years being educated in American schools only to have to return to their home country because they can’t get a H-1B visa, despite having American job offers. The increasingly important science, technology, engineering, and math professions are suffering the most. Between 1988 and 2017, STEM degrees obtained by foreign students grew by 315 percent. There are more foreign students who graduate with master’s and doctoral degrees from American schools each year than there are available visas. Immigrants earned nearly half of all doctoral degrees issued in the U.S. in 2022, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

Those who cannot continue to study and don’t get a visa must return to a country they may not have been back to for years. Other workers try other approaches to stay in the country and keep their jobs.

A green card can get a worker out of limbo, but those are also tough to get and are limited by country quotas. Sometimes, the wait for a green card can be as long as eight or nine years.

“There are very few ways to get a green card,” says Kathleen Martinez, managing partner at Martinez Immigration, which focuses on family-based cases.

“Marriage and having a family member in the country are two of the only options.”

R E F O R M A N E CO N O M I C ‘ S L A M D U N K ’

The term “immigration reform” may include common sense changes to the system to allow foreign workers to accept the jobs offered to them, but it’s also associated with the turmoil at the border and undocumented immigrants, making any changes to the existing rules nearly impossible, experts say. The lack of movement in this realm has caused employers to get creative by leveraging the different visas available to foreign workers (see sidebar), but smaller companies don’t have the

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K AT H L E E N M A R T I N E Z , managing attorney for Martinez Immigration Law, offers advice to her more than two million followers on Instagram and TikTok. Her husband Alejandro, the firm’s chief operations officer, is a first-generation immigrant.

S U P P LY A N D D E M A N D

A Widening Talent Gap

Although the H-1B is the most common visa used by employers, there are dozens of other types.

Although the need for foreign talent has gone up, the number of visas issued has remained flat at 85,000.

900,000 800,000

780,884

H -1B VISA

700,000

For people in a specified professional or academic field or with special experience who have a college degree or higher or the equivalent work experience. They have a residency cap of three years and require a job offer from a U.S. employer.

600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000

306,613

236,444

200,000

199,000

172,581

201,011

100,000

H -2 A / H -2 B VISA

85,000

0 2014

2016

2018

resources to get by without filling positions and lack international offices to keep talent in the fold.

Still, there are ways employers and individuals can get involved. For example, lobbying efforts and coalitions can amplify a company’s voice. In May, Google reached out to the Department of Labor urging it to modernize its immigration rules to secure needed talent in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, both of which are essential to the economy and national security.

“The U.S. is one of the harder places to bring talent from abroad, and we risk losing out on some of the most highly sought-after people in the world,” wrote Google’s Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Karan Bhatia.

Pushing for an increase in the number of annual H-1B visas to reflect modern realities can be augmented by advocating for a system that prioritizes types of workers rather than a pure lottery, experts say. Canada, for example, assigns points to immigration applicants and has a list of occupations that qualify potential workers for express entry.

In America, illegal immigrants contribute to the tax base. In 2017, 575,00 undocumented immigrants paid nearly $500 million in state and local taxes in North Texas alone. “Reforming highly skilled immi-

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2020

2022

2024

gration is such a slam dunk,” says Pia Orrenius, vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve of Dallas. “It is a win-win for the worker and the country. On net, the country benefits.”

In recent years, conservative administrations, traditionally the party of free markets, have been more restrictive toward foreign immigration, and the political fluctuations create an added layer of uncertainty.

This past summer, President Joe Biden announced that individuals who were illegally brought to this country as children, so-called Dreamers, would not be separated from their families if one of the family members was married to a U.S. citizen and they had been in the country for at least 10 years. “Whoever is president needs to give Dreamers a pathway to citizenship without having to get married,” Martinez says.

As Fudge noted, North Texas’ diverse economy makes it both vulnerable to and resilient against the fluctuations of the immigration policy. An internal survey of BAL clients showed that 59 percent found it easier to meet foreign talent needs in the last four years, but more than half said they were readying for possible changes based on the presidential election.

For Pollak, it is simple: “Let market forces play. If you have jobs for people, hire them.”

For seasonal or peak load temporary workers in agricultural (A) or non-agricultural (B) settings; they usually do not extend beyond a year.

I VISA For members of the foreign press, including reporters, film crews, and editors representing foreign media outlets. Residency is indefinite if the holder keeps the same employer.

P –1A VISA For those coming temporarily to the U.S. for the purpose of competing in a specific athletic competition.

E -3 VISA Grown out of a trade deal between the U.S. and Australia, this visa is for Australian nationals coming to America to perform a specialty occupation.

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A BREAK WITH TRADITION story by

B E N S WA N G E R

illustration by

JULIAN RENTZSCH

From private equity infusions to conference naming rights, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is using bold strategies to transform college athletics— and grow revenue for his teams.

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Yormark is making large investments in Big 12 basketball, and plans to take it international with games in Mexico this year.

fewer than 90 days into his tenure, Yormark got aggressive. He nabbed a $2.28 billion contract with ESPN and FOX that will run through 2031.

Had he not done so, he says, he might not have a job today. “I didn’t know that there was only one big deal left, but it kept us afloat,” Yormark says. “We could have easily ended up like the Pac-12 had we not knocked it out early.”

And so, the new commissioner was off to the races. He secured a deal that would be the Big 12’s life raft, and without networks willing to dish out another massive media contract, the Pac-12 dissolved shortly thereafter. Yormark capitalized on the demise by adding four former Pac-12 institutions (the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of Colorado, and the University of Utah). He also brought marketing in-house and hired the Big 12’s first ever CMO. It effectively saved the conference millions of dollars. Yormark then brought sponsorship sales in-house; as a result, sponsorship revenue grew by 80 percent in fiscal year 2023. Ticket revenue also grew by 23 percent in 2023. Today, the Big 12 has 48 employees—when Bowlsby left, it had just 23.

“Brett isn’t unwilling to challenge the status quo—and he was right to be aggressive in media negotiations,” says Bill Hancock, who served as executive director of the College Football Playoff from 2013-2024. “The Big 12 had one of the best commissioners ever in Bob Bowlsby, but Brett is the right guy at the right time for the Big 12.”

BREAKING THE MOLD

Yormark doesn’t fit the mold of a traditional conference leader. After all, he has never worked for a university or an institution’s athletic department.

But when the Big 12 was looking for someone to fill Bowlsby’s shoes, board members were not interested in a status-quo hire. “Brett was hired to be bold,” says TCU Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati, who will become the Big 12’s AD executive committee board chair in 2025. “He’s a big, bold thinker and a dealmaker. He’s challenging athletic directors, presidents, and chancellors to think differently about our business model.”

Yormark’s business acumen has attracted many opinions over the years. Forward-facing

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P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F T C U A T H L E T I C S A N D J A M E S D E V A N E Y / G C I M A G E S ; C H A R T S O U R C E : T A X F I L I N G S

TWO

Y E A R S AG O, B R E T T YO R M A R K stood before a fleet of reporters at AT&T Stadium in Arlington during his first public media days as commissioner of the Big 12 Conference and declared, “The Big 12 is open for business.” The statement wasn’t hyperbole but rather a vow—a vow to everyone in college athletics and any business looking to get involved in college sports that he was taking, and making, phone calls. After all, the Big 12’s two most prominent brands, The University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma, had bolted to the SEC. Yormark needed to find a way to keep the Irving-based conference from becoming irrelevant or, worse, extinct.

According to Yormark’s predecessor, Bob Bowlsby, who served as Big 12 commissioner from 2012 to 2022, member institutions began putting together “fallback plans” should the conference crumble after the departure of the Red River rivals.

The schools would be negligent to not do so; after all, Bowlsby told Texas lawmakers in August 2021 that the league could suffer a 50 percent media revenue hit in the wake of the schools’ departures. But Bowlsby was able to score four institutions (the University of Houston, Brigham Young University, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Cincinnati) from non-power conferences to steady the ship and avoid what inevitably came for the Pac-12. Shortly after, Bowlsby retired, sharing with D CEO that “lawsuits and financial initiatives” played a major part in his decision to step away. Within three months, Yorkmark arrived.

Up first on the newcomer’s docket was scoring a new media rights deal for the conference. Its revenue was far behind the SEC’s and Big Ten’s (see chart), and the easiest way to solidify trust from member institutions was to close the gap by inking a new media deal. The existing contract wasn’t set to expire until 2025, but

Brett Yormark spent nearly three years as a C-suiter at Jay-Z’s full-service entertainment management company RocNation.

Amidst conference realignment madness, the shifting name, image, and likeness regulations and rulings, the changing media landscape, and the emergence of private equity, Yormark aims to be at the leading edge of the reconstruction.

After all, he wasn’t hired to have a steady hand; he was hired to disrupt.

Rumors surfaced in July that Clemson University and Florida State University have had discussions with the Big 12 about joining the conference. “In a world where realignment is a living, breathing thing that will never be put to bed, I expect Brett to be very aggressive,” says Donati at TCU. The report is unconfirmed, but the institutions currently have five active lawsuits against the ACC. And Yormark always knows when to strike. “When opportunity presents itself,” he says, “I take advantage of those moments.”

roles at NASCAR and RocNation (Jay-Z’s entertainment company), along with being CEO of the Brooklyn (formerly New Jersey) Nets and New York Islanders (he relocated both franchises to Brooklyn), have all set him up for such criticism—some fair analysis, others not so much.

The Nets’ relocation was a huge success; the Islanders was the opposite. Yormark has been noted by various news outlets as a “serial exaggerator,” a “less-than-credible salesman,” and, in just a short stint as the Big 12’s commissioner, likened to P.T. Barnum, an elaborate charlatan who pioneered the circus industry. The comparison to Barnum isn’t so offensive. After all, when Yormark and his twin brother Michael (now president and chief of branding for RocNation) were just 7 years old, his mother, who was a successful interior designer in New York, took the boys from their home in northern New Jersey to Madison Square Garden to see the circus. It was there the twins first fell in awe of live events.

Like Barnum, Yormark is an idea man; Hancock describes him as a hustler and a disruptor.

“The Big 12 needed to take the plunge into the world of business, marketing, and sales in a significant way after losing UT and OU,” Hancock says. “And Brett has a thousand ideas every day.

There were days where I would have a dozen phone calls with him, none lasting more than 90 seconds, but he would just bounce ideas off me.”

Yormark is two years into his tenure as commissioner. To say the last two years in college athletics has been chaotic is an understatement.

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THE NAMING RIGHTS KING When Yormark was a child, his mother, Arlene Sloan, catered to high-profile clientele at her interior design firm, working with sports franchise ownership groups like the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets. So, she opened the door for her sons in the sports industry. In college, Yormark thought he was on the path toward a career on Wall Street, but after an internship in the financial center, he realized a job on the trading floor wasn’t for him. After he graduated from the University of Indiana in 1988, his mother helped him get a meeting with Nets ownership.

Yormark earned his first job as a ticket salesman for the NBA franchise.

After cutting his teeth in the business, the Detroit Pistons recruited him to sell sponsorships. In 1994, the Nets brought him back as vice president of marketing and eventually promoted him to senior vice president of marketing. Four years later he left for NASCAR. As the VP of corporate marketing there, Yormark orchestrated the largest naming rights deal in American sports history at

FOLLOW THE MONEY The Big 12 lags competitors in terms of revenue. It’s Brett Yormark’s goal to close that gap. Here’s who’s making what, based on 2022-23 tax filings.

$880 MILLION ($60.5 million per school)

BIG TEN

$852 .6 MILLION ($51.3 million per school)

SEC

$707 M I LLIO N ($44.8 million per school)

AC C

$603.9 MILLION ($33.6 million per school)

PAC - 1 2

BIG 12

$510.7 MILLION ($44.2 million per school)

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Despite OU and Texas leaving for the SEC, Yormark believes the Big 12’s talent in football has never been deeper.

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herit it.’ He answered me, ‘Yes, you’re absolutely right.’ Within a week’s time, he called me up and said, ‘Let’s go build a legacy in Brooklyn.’”

And just like that, another huge deal had closed. This time, Yormark scored $400 million in a 20-year agreement.

T H E N E X T WAV E Of the five power conferences that were around in fiscal year 2022-23 (now down to four after the Pac-12 dissolved), the Big 12 came last in revenue at $510.7 million, according to tax filing disclosers. The SEC ranked No. 2 at $852.6 million—the Big Ten edged out the SEC by $27 million. Of those earnings, the Big 12 distributed roughly $44.2 million to each institution. SEC schools pocketed $51.3 million apiece.

Yormark’s top priority is closing that divide—a chasm caused by media demand, which dictates how grand each conference’s media rights deal is. Yormark signed a shorter-term media contract than expected: Inked only through 2031, he wants to get back on the open market, and fast. When the current deal ends—or two years before that if history has taught us anything— Yormark will attempt to negotiate a much larger deal—one that rivals the Big Ten’s and SEC’s.

“Wherever I’ve been, I’ve been a revenue generator,” he says. “I’ve built brands and businesses, so I’m in the perfect place for that right now.”

But can the Big 12 ever command its rivals’ numbers? “I don’t have a crystal ball,” Hancock says, “but I think that’ll be a challenge. Getting to the Big Ten and SEC’s level is tough. But can they be successful coming up little bit short? Absolutely, my goodness. You know, revenue is also about facilities, and it’s going to, pretty soon, be about NIL—but they’ll do fine. One thing I know about Brett is he is going to hustle.”

Donati seconds Hancock’s confidence. “As we grow our revenue, those leagues will continue to grow theirs,” he says. “But I think we will make some serious headway closing the gap.”

Today, Yormark once more finds himself amid a controversial naming rights process to drive revenue growth. He’s eyeing a possible deal that could rename the Big 12 to something like the Dr Pepper 12, the Gatorade 12, or the Allstate 12. Yahoo Sports reported the latter in June as a real possibility—according to the outlet, the deal would be worth hundreds of millions of

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P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F B A Y L O R A T H L E T I C S

the time, convincing the now-defunct Nextel Communications to invest $750 million into a 10-year sponsorship that would rename stock car racing’s premier circuit from the Winston Cup to the NASCAR Nextel Cup. “When you’re doing naming rights deals, you look for someone who needs it— someone who needs a shot in the arm,” Yormark says. “To this day I use that same recipe. At the time, Nextel’s CEO [Tim Donahue] was a huge NASCAR fan, and because Nextel was a challenger brand in its space, I targeted the company that I felt needed it most, and that led us to Nextel.”

In 2002, Nextel generated $8.7 billion in revenue. Two years later, after making the investment Yormark sold them on, the company raked in $13.4 billion.

In 2005, Yormark was on the move again. He boomeranged to the Nets, rocketing up to become the team’s CEO. By then, the Nets had become one of the worst-run teams in the NBA. Yormark returned to rebuild the Nets’ brand.

Alongside new owner Bruce Ratner, who acquired the team for $300 million in 2004, a decision was made to relocate the team from New Jersey to Brooklyn and build a new stadium in the neighborhood the Brooklyn Dodgers vacated when the MLB team bolted for Los Angeles in 1957. “Most people told us this relocation was never going to happen,” Yormark says. However, 36 eminent domain lawsuits and $1 billion in construction costs later, the new arena was built.

And once again, Yormark found himself leading a naming rights deal, this time for a new 18,000-seat stadium. Who did he target? Another brand looking to break through: the British bank Barclays.

At the time, the bank was searching for a platform to Americanize the brand, and controversial Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond eyed American sports to do so. So, Yormark swooped in for the close. “They had other options they could pursue—he could have done a big deal with Madison Square Garden or Yankee Stadium,” Yormark says. “Barclays was a challenger brand to the big financial institutions in the U.S. So, as my presentation was coming to an end, my close was, ‘Bob, you come across as a guy who likes to create legacy, not in-

dollars. Yormark was unwilling to confirm the specific sponsors he’s negotiating with. Still, all signs indicate that he’s determined to be at the leading edge of these type of deals.

“We’re entering the period of commercialization of collegiate athletics,” he says. “A big part of our value creation is, can we further monetize what we do and how we do it—both at the conference and member institution level? I am going to explore any and all possibilities to drive incremental resources to the conference. So, do I think naming rights create value for the conference? 100 percent. Only time will tell whether it’s the right thing to do. But these types of deals work and drive strategic and financial value.”

Not all are convinced of the gameplan. “There are some dinosaurs in our business who are in a panic about the naming rights deal,” Hancock says, “But I say, ‘Why not?’ If it will help their schools stay more relevant, why not?” Bowlsby praises Yormark for his willingness to push the envelope. “I think any commissioner worth their salt today has to be open-minded to new ways of structuring revenue and creating distributable revenue for the members,” he says.

Pushing the boundaries even more, Yormark aims to be the first commissioner to score a private equity investment in his conference. When news broke of his naming rights goals, The Athletic was the first to report that Yormark had initial discussions on a potential private equity investment into the conference. According to The Athletic, CVC Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based investment firm, pitched the conference on a possible investment of $800 million to $1 billion in exchange for a 15 to 20 percent ownership stake in the conference. Yormark did not confirm the validity of that meeting, but one thing is for sure: He won’t be beaten by the Big Ten, SEC, or ACC in securing PE dollars.

“I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and read that [some other conference] partnered with a private equity firm, and someone else was the first mover in that space. I like being a first mover,” he says. “I’m looking for a PE firm that brings capital resources and strategic acumen. When you engage with private equity, you want both.

I would not advocate for just taking the capital.”

Private equity in college athletics is here to stay. The world’s most active PE firm focused on sports, RedBird Capital, partnered with Weatherford Capital to launch Collegiate Ath-

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I DON’T WANT TO WAKE UP TOMORROW AND READ THAT [SOME OTHER CONFERENCE] PARTNERED WITH A PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM AND SOMEONE ELSE WAS THE FIRST MOVER IN THAT SPACE. I LIKE BEING A FIRST MOVER. B R E T T YO R M A R K

letic Solutions this past May. (Both RedBird and Weatherford have large DFW operations.) The investment fund aims to partner with up to 10 universities to infuse between $50 million and $200 million into athletic departments. “As I’ve become more well-versed in private equity across college athletics, my thought is: be careful,” Hancock says. “What would a conference, a school, or anybody involved have to give up in order for the private equity firm to make their money?

Would a private equity owner care about women’s soccer? Or cross country? Or wrestling? I think we all know the answer, but I don’t want to go there.”

So, it could be a game of giving up this for that. The concerns are similar for Bowlsby, but he thinks the recent ruling allowing college athletes to share revenue generated by their teams is a bigger worry. In May, the NCAA and the power conferences voted to approve a settlement for three antitrust lawsuits, most notably House v. NCAA . In March 2025 the final ruling will come. If passed, universities and conferences would be able to directly pay players through revenue sharing. As a result, the era of amateur athletics would soon be over.

“With revenue sharing, I think what you’ll see first is men’s sports begin to decline in numbers,” Bowlsby says. “Once Title IX and gender equity aren’t as big of a challenge, you’ll start to see women’s sports go away. Overall, the institutional breadth of programs will be narrower. There will be fewer sports, but more money to go around to the sports that are left. I think that’s an inevitability. There’s only so much money to go around. But, at this point, the plaintiff’s lawyers have learned that they can make a lot of money off lawsuits against the universities, the conferences, and the NCAA, and they’re going to just keep their jaws locked on our ankles until we stop bleeding.”

Like Donati at TCU, Yormark is in favor of rewarding the athletes: “If you’re part of the value equation, you should be rewarded for that,” he says.

The commissioner isn’t seeking any reward for his work thus far in remaking the Big 12. He knows he has a long way to go to get the brand where he wants it— and he won’t leave any stone unturned. “There was a lot of uncertainty for the Big 12 when I took this job due to OU and Texas leaving,” he says. “But I saw a chance to transform and reinvent the conference. And today, we are more relevant than ever as a conference. There’s probably no deeper conference in America.”

Yormark is certainly not threatened by the next wave of realignment—which will inevitably come. Instead, his confidence will only spark aggression. “Whether what’s to come is consolidation or not, our conference and institutions will be part of the conversation,” he says. “I’m convinced of it. College athletics is in a period of change. We are going through a period of transformation. And where I come from and where I’ve been before, in those moments, you double down. You don’t take your foot off the pedal.”

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Raising the bar and expectations Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren't just talking points.

At Comerica Bank, these words don't describe what we try today.

They define what we do and who we are.

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SEPTEMBER 2024

FIELD NOTES

N O R T H T E X A S B U S I N E S S A D V I C E , A N A LY S I S ,

a n d

C O M M E N TA R Y

BEST ADVICE

The Golden Thread Altresha Burchett-Williams, Vice President, Compliance Oversight

PHOTOG R APHY BY MARTí SANS

AT &T

“ceo s and other senior executives must remain aware and enthusiastic about the importance of fostering an ethical culture for the company. Without ethics and a known, positive culture, a corporation’s successes will be overshadowed with legal violations, regulatory penalties, other financial losses, customer distrust, and a decrease in shareholder value. Corporate governance must double down on creating an environment where ethical decision-making is the golden thread that extends from employee to employee. Corporate culture should even extend to vendors, suppliers, and other third parties that perform work on the company’s behalf. Third-party risk is one of the highest risks for a company; culture will help to lower this risk. An ethical culture enhances a company’s reputation, builds trust, and drives long-term success. CEOs and others must also understand that ethical culture starts with them; they must lead by example and confirm all levels in the company are aligned, truly understanding integrity and accountability.” —As told to Layten Praytor

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FIELD NOTES

SPORTS BUSINESS

Welcome to Women’s Sports City, USA Dallas is betting big on professional, collegiate, and amateur women’s sports. And it’s set to pay off with millions of dollars in revenue and economic impact. story by BEN SWANGER

this year, revenue generated by women’s elite sports is projected to top $1 billion for the first time in history, according to a study by Deloitte. Those projections point to why, two years ago, Dallas began conversing with the local WNBA franchise, Dallas Wings, to relocate from Arlington to its namesake city.

Three years ago, real estate investor Jim Neil and his family began looking into bringing a pro women’s soccer team to town, eventually turning toward the budding United Soccer League to do so. The city liked the idea so much, it offered the team the iconic Cotton Bowl Stadium for home matches beginning this year. And, because all good things come in threes, Dallas is welcoming a new pro women’s indoor volleyball team in the Professional Volleyball Federation, which will start play next year.

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P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y TATJ A N A Z L AT K O V I C

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FIELD NOTES

“Holistically, you’re seeing a movement,” says Monica Paul, the Dallas Sports Commission executive director. “These new teams coming to town are big, big wins for the city of Dallas.”

The largest bet is on the Wings. A $19 million incentive package was granted to the franchise to offset the team’s relocation costs. The city estimates it will spend an additional $150 million to $200 million on renovations to Memorial Auditorium—a lifeless venue that has about a dozen events a year—to host the Wings as anchor tenants. However, with just 20 home games a year for the WNBA team, Dallas will need to ramp up the usage of the 10,000-seat stadium yearround. That’s exactly what it plans to do.

“Twelve events a year doesn’t even pay the current light bill for the auditorium,” Rosa Fleming, the city’s convention and event services director, says with a laugh. “We’re going to use that building as much as we can throughout 365 days.”

The city and the Wings will split food and beverage revenue, 65 percent of which will kick back to Dallas. Seventy percent of the parking revenue will go to the city, which negotiated that 40 percent of the Wings’ part-time gameday staff be Dallas residents. The city will also make $2 on each ticket sold. “All of those sellouts will make this a profitable venue again,” Fleming says.

At the start of its 2024 season, year-to-date, the Wings were up 173 percent on season ticket sales, 347 percent on flex-plan ticket sales, 683 percent on group ticket sales, and 1,221 percent on individual ticket sales. Total ticket revenue was up 222 percent. “We will set individual game revenue records this year, we’ll set total ticket revenue records this year, and we’ll set records for every product we sell this year,” says Greg Bibb, the team’s president and CEO. At the Wings’ new home in Dallas, the team will have about 2,000 more seats than it currently has at its current stadium in Arlington. “At a conservative price of about $40 a ticket, spread out over 40,000 additional seats a year for home games, we’re talking about at least $1.5 million more in ticket revenue a year,” Bibb says.

For Dallas Trinity FC, the soccer team that was unveiled in May, the city is subsidizing the cost of using the Cotton Bowl to the tune of $296,000 a year for two seasons. Should the team be financially successful, a third-year

DCEOMAGAZINE.COM

option is built into the contract. “It’s a tiny bet from the city, but the speed at which they gave us their support was unfathomable,” says Neil, the team’s CEO. “I think Dallas is going to get a return on its investment many times over.”

Fleming tends to concur but says it will take time.

“We’re probably looking at break-even after three years and reaching a profit after five,” she says.

Details surrounding the professional volleyball team are still in the works. But Paul at the DSC is optimistic. “We know, based on the many volleyball events we already host, that Dallas is a hotbed for the sport,” she says.

Dallas is not only betting on new teams, it’s also doubling down on events. One of the most successful sporting events for the region each year is the National Cheer Association’s All-Star National Championship, hosted at the convention center. Not exclusively a women’s sporting event but mainly made up of girls, the event attracted 66,000 attendees earlier this year and contributed $64.4 million in economic impact to the city. According to Fleming, it sells out nearly every hotel from downtown to the Galleria. “The impact it has on our arts and culture is under the radar,” she says, “for the kids who aren’t performing, the other parent typically takes them to the Perot or Klyde Warren Park or the Arts District.”

Always aiming for more, Paul is not letting off the gas in getting collegiate and professional women’s sporting events for Dallas. With the 2023 NCAA Women’s Final Four at American Airlines Center generating an economic impact of $40.3 million, the Dallas Sports Commission exec is bringing the 2031 edition back to the AAC. Last year, more people watched the NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship than Game 1 of the World Series.

Paul also wants to score a WNBA All-Star win for Dallas. “We’d be looking at 2027 or beyond for the WNBA All-Star Weekend,” she says. Indianapolis, which is hosting the event this year, is projected to see 125,000 fans stream into town and be the beneficiary of an impact of $320 million. “We want to be front and center, continuing to elevate women’s sports,” Paul says.

Fleming doubles down. “It just makes sense to invest in women’s sports,” she says. “If you’ve watched the trends, you’d know women’s sports are only rising.”

INSIGHTS

Backed by Numbers Elite women’s sports are becoming profitable globally. Dallas is primed to take advantage.

According to Deloitte, professional women’s sports will generate $1.28 billion in global revenue this year. Based on three main categories—matchday revenue, broadcast revenue, and commercial earnings—North American teams account for $670 million of that pie.

Soccer and basketball are the two most popular global women’s sports, accounting for $555 million and $354 million, respectively. And valuations of female sports teams are only climbing. In America, the National Women’s Soccer League’s San Diego Wave sold this year for $120 million. “I think that franchise got off the ground for around $3 million,” says Jim Neil, CEO of Dallas Trinity FC. He hopes to see similar success in North Texas. “I’m convinced that the probability that we will be profitable is quite high—higher than I initially thought. Women’s sports are seeing enormous momentum.

People are hungry for the stories of female athletes. If women’s sports are going to be profitable in America, they’re going to be extremely profitable in Dallas.”

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ON TOPIC

What has been your toughest business challenge, and how did you overcome it? edited by LAYTEN PRAYTOR

048

illustrations by JAKE MEYERS

TERRY BABILLA

SHELLEY AMASON

ROBERT ROUGH

COO and President BSN SPORTS

CEO R I G H T S TA F F

Managing Director T E L O S C A P I TA L A DV I S O R S

“I was the general counsel at BSN SPORTS in 1995. We fell on hard times in the early 2000s, and our bank called our loan. On the verge of bankruptcy, my boss asked me to run the company. I was intimidated because I had never run a company before and had very limited resources. We organized the employees’ ideas, put together a business plan, went into execution mode, and were debt-free in 36 months.”

“I learned a tough lesson in the early days on collecting receivables.

I was owed $250,000 by a client.

They would not take my calls or answer emails, so I flew to New York, and sat in his office until he arrived. I explained the situation and he wired the money that day.

You can be profitable as a company, but if you do not have cash flow and cannot meet payroll, the company will not survive. Also, be persistent and never give up.”

“I became CFO of Wine.com during the internet bubble burst.

The company raised $180 million prior to my joining, wasting much of it. Interstate alcohol shipping laws limited the states we could ship to and made it expensive to serve the rest. We cut costs, raised more capital, but eventually filed Chapter 7. I was charged with the bankruptcy management and asset liquidation, but letting employees go was the hardest part for me.”

SEPTEMBER 2024

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SEPTEMBER 2024

OFF DUTY THE PERSONAL SIDE

O F

DFW BUSINESS LEADERS

ART OF STYLE

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY K A U W A U N E B U R T O N

ENTREPRENEUR MAHISHA DELLINGER’S LOOK IS EVER-CHANGING

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WHAT I DO: “I’m the founder of beauty brand CURLS. My most recent venture is Huzzy Smart Sips, which makes functional, non-alcoholic cocktails formulated with natural nootropics and adaptogens that protect your liver and gut and give you a ‘buzz without the fuzz’ of alcohol.”

STYLE ICON: “I look to Victoria Beckham, followed by Jennifer Lopez. I love the sophistication of Victoria and the sass of Jennifer.”

ON THE JOB: “My work doesn’t influence what I wear, but it does give me the freedom to be me.”

FASHION INSPIRATION: “My style choices are determined by how I feel, where I am going, and what season it is.”

STYLE DEFINED: “I’d describe it as fluid and diverse. I dress according to my mood, my spirit, and my environment.

I can go from regal and formal to sexy and fun in an instant.”

FASHION ESSENTIALS: “I never leave home without my big Louis Vuitton sunglasses, my Hermès Birkin, and Don’t Stop Red lip stain by NARS.” GO-TO LOOK: “I don’t have one staple look; my look is ever-evolving.”

HOW I ACCESSORIZE: “I accessorize my look with diamonds and sunglasses.”

WEEKEND LOOK: “You wouldn’t recognize me on the weekends.

I tend to go for the no makeup, messy bun, sweats, and reading glasses look.”

FAVORITE STORES: “I shop at a variety of online stores like Net-aPorter, Italist, and FWRD. When I visit a store in person, I go to Neiman Marcus and work with personal stylist Josh Trevino.”

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PURSUITS

Christine Hale Takes On Her Illness by Defying Gravity The Lockton chief medical officer says her passion for aerial yoga has been crucial to fighting two inherited diseases.

dr. christine hale always enjoyed the diagnostic side of medicine. She loves diving into an issue and figuring out what is wrong. During her training at Johns Hopkins and Duke universities, she spent much of her time in the emergency departments, triaging patients and quickly getting to the bottom of issues. After earning an MBA, she landed a job as a chief medical officer at insurer Lockton.

However, when the lifelong dancer began experiencing several overlapping symptoms, physicians struggled to diagnose her illness. In the end, she learned she had Postural Orthostatic

Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), where the immune system attacks healthy tissue for unknown reasons, and a collagen disorder.

Meanwhile, a coworker introduced her to aerial yoga, which was neither tedious nor painful on her joints. “The first time I hung upside down, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the most fun I’ve had,’” Hale says.

She started attending classes in Dallas with an instructor and found that her dance and Pilates experiences prepared her well for artistically hanging from the fabric. She has since performed at private events like weddings and once donned sparkles to swing from a trapeze at Smithy’s on Henderson for a New Year’s Eve celebration. Hale has also choreographed performances to accompany chefs who prepare tasting sessions for small parties.

What she didn’t know at the time was that her passion for aerial yoga would be part of the treatment for her health issues. She needed to build muscle, but her blood pressure dropped every time she stood up, making regular exercise difficult. As it turns out, exercising while upside down uses gravity to her advantage and keeps her heart from overworking by pumping blood up to her brain.

“I wish I could say I was smart and intentional about it all,” Hale says. “But it was just the one kind of exercise where I didn’t feel completely wiped out at the end, so I kept doing it.”

OUT FOR A SPIN

Hale has taken aerial yoga classes all over the country and performed at various events in Dallas.

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OFF DUTY

READY FOR R&R

Beachfront accommodations at Cap Juluca come with large terraces offering panoramic views.

TAKE A BREAK

The luxurious La Samanna Spa offers guests an open-air courtyard for lounging between treatments.

W E L L T R AV E L E D

Anguilla and St. Martin The eastern Caribbean islands are an ideal tropical getaway for Dallas nonprofit executive and bestselling book author Brittany Barnett. story by HAMILTON HEDRICK HIDDEN TREASURE

TIKI TIME

Listen to the water’s waves while enjoying a casual bite at Cap Juluca’s Cap Shack.

La Cave at St. Martin’s La Samanna houses fine wines and specialty rums.

COASTAL FARE

The seaside Cip’s

by Chipriani at Cap Juluca in Anguilla offers freshly prepared Italian cusine.

GETTING ABOUT

Excursion options for La Samanna guests include boating, snorkeling, fishing, horseback riding, and more.

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BEACH SCENES

Private terraces at La Samanna in Anguilla offer unobstructed views of the island’s azure Caribbean waters and sugarysand beaches.

P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F C A P J U L U C A , A B E L M O N D H O T E L , A N G U I L L A A N D L A S A M A N N A , A B E L M O N D H O T E L , S T. M A R T I N

O

our exotic escape began at cap juluca, a Belmond Hotel, Anguilla, on the the islands’ crescent-shaped Maundays Bay. The luxury eastern Caribbean resort offers 64 rooms, 44 suites, four restaurants, a cocktail lounge, a-state-ofthe-art spa, and so much more.

After settling into our room and taking in the stunning ocean views from the property’s rooftop terrace, we moved down to the beach for a little before-dinner relaxation in the sun. Late sleepers rejoice, as there is no need to get up early to claim a spot on the sand because each guest room comes with reserved beach loungers and many complimentary amenities.

After spending the afternoon lounging in the sun and sipping on refreshments by the sea, we headed to the main house to partake in a sabering ritual, a daily experience where guests are taught how to saber a bottle—followed by a champagne toast. That first night, we dined al fresco at Uchu, a Peruvian restaurant where the menu is inspired by and divided into three landscapes—coast, jungle, and the Andes. Selections range from Peruvian spaghetti to marinated flank steak, with each dish taking on flavors of the region. Cap Juluca’s other onsite dining options are Cip’s by Chipriani (a seaside, al fresco Italian eatery), Pimms (elevated Anguillan cuisine and Caribbean-inspired dishes), and the Cap Shack (beachside bites).

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Resort guests have access to a number of offsite activities, including snorkeling adventures, horseback riding, and fishing excursions. But if you’re like me and prefer to relax and unwind while on holiday, stay on site and experience the Cap Juluca Spa by Guerlain. I opted for the Ocean Vibes massage and facial, a multisensory treatment that recreates the sounds and feelings of the ocean.

Rounding out our last day in Anguilla, we headed to Blowing Point Ferry Terminal for a quick (about 30 minutes) transfer, where we checked into La Samanna, a Belmond Hotel, St. Martin.

Slightly larger than Cap Juluca, the resort offers 83 rooms and suites, eight villas, two restaurants, a beach bar and La Cave, an onsite wine cellar. (If you don’t fancy wine, the cellar also houses spectacular rums from around the world).

Our second-story room evoked the feeling of being in a treehouse, with lush foliage surrounding the windows and picturesque views from our private terrace. Following an afternoon of exploring the grounds and swimming in the crystal-clear water, we headed to the Italian beachfront restaurant, La Spiaggia, by Laplaj. Be sure to try one of their house-made spritzes and homemade gnocchi con pesto di pistachio al limone.

Once again, a priority was to experience the La Samanna Spa. From manicures to massages, there is something for everyone. While there, take advantage of the open-air courtyard for lounging between experiences. If you’re seeking a bit more privacy, each of the treatment rooms opens onto a secluded garden.

Rounding out our trip, we dined at L’Oursin. Led by two-star Michelin chef Marcel Ravin, L’Oursin’s menu presents elevated Caribbean cuisine with a French twist. Standouts include the farmer’s salad, Pâté en Pot-style vegetables, locally caught tagliolini, and the farm-raised chicken supreme.

DREAMY ESCAPE The Moroccan-style We left the Caribbean over-indulged, architecture of Cap sun-soaked, and not exactly sure what Juluca is perfectly offset by Anguilla’s day it was; but that’s to be expected blue skies. when you’re on island time.

T R AV E L T I P S

Discovering the Perfect Island Paradise Dallas nonprofit exec Brittany Barnett first visited Anguilla a decade ago and fell in love with its culture and beaches.

One of her favorites is Shoal Bay, frequently named one of the world’s most beautiful.

Four Seasons Resort Anguilla is her preferred resort.

She also enjoys venturing by boat to neighboring islands like St. Martin and St. Barts. Barnett made a special birthday memory last year at Caribbean seafood hotspot Sharky’s, her favorite local eatery. “The staff remembered how much I loved their Amaretto cake, and they brought me out a slice with a candle,” she says.

“Then the band played Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You,’ a special song my grandmother sang to me as a little girl.”—Bridget Reis

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PARTY OF FOUR

Burns, at right, spent his youth in Kingston, Jamaica. He’s shown here with his brothers Paul and Dean and sister Sandra.

BROTHERLY LOVE

A beaming Burns celebrates the high school graduation of his brother Paul in Brooklyn, New York, in 1980.

PLAYING TOURIST

Peter Burns’ U.S. Army career took him around the world, including to Germany, where he liked to go exploring on days off.

ROOTS

PETER BURNS

President and CEO PETER BURNS ENTERPRISE

ARMY TIMES

story by MICAIH THOMAS illustration by JAKE MEYERS

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P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F P E T E R B U R N S

In the late 1970s,

Burns participated in growing up in a humble home basic combat training in Kingston, Jamaica, Peter Burns at Fort Gordon, now Fort Eisenhower, in recalls washing car windshields at a Augusta, Georgia. gas station to make money to buy a bicycle, sans a seat or brakes. Before emigrating with his family from Jamaica to America at the age of 12 due to political that bike together told me I can build anything. unrest in his home country, he had never seen a You must be willing to work, learn, and fail. I fully assembled bike. The family moved to New don’t allow fear to stop me from failing. We York, where Burns got a job working in the dishad an old term in the Army that says, ‘If you trict attorney’s office in high school. A 20-year think you’re going to fail, hurry up and get it career in the U.S. Army carried him across the over with.’ My military career and foundational globe and into various roles, including reprethings that we learned growing up allowed me senting the U.S. State Department on NATO to take advantage of the environment that I’m affairs. From there, Burns spent two decades in and look for ways to either succeed or grow as an exec with Nokia. Today he’s the CEO and from it. That’s the reason why I’m trying to menpresident of Peter Burns Enterprise, a leadertor people as much as I can: to touch that next ship coaching firm. Here, Burns shares how his generation from an educational perspective and experiences molded his desire to shape future to get them to look beyond their circumstances generations of leaders. “The lesson of putting and look for opportunities where they are.”

Flying Forward: Innovation Through Diversity and Inclusion.

At Dallas Love Field, we know that today’s innovation is driven by the power of diverse perspectives. Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion is not just a policy—it’s the heart of our mission to deliver a world-class travel experience for everyone.

Become part of the journey.

This past year marked the second annual Dallas Mavericks ERG Symposium centered around the theme of "enERGize our community" and featured special guests across multiple industries leading the Employee Resource Group movement in North Texas.

To view the highlight reel and sign up for ERG Symposium updates, visit:

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Forging New Paths and Opportunities

C OV E R : C H I L D R E N ’ S H E A L T H A N D U T S W ; M A D D OX BY N A T A L I E G O F F ; I L LU S T R AT I O N BY J O N S T I C H

Despite its many challenges, healthcare is one of the region’s most vital industries.

in the last year, i have spent more time than i would have liked reporting on failures in hospital finance.

Individual entities and small networks are struggling with the squeeze put upon them by rising expenses, while even large systems are being forced to cut back on services and expansion.

Data breaches are almost expected, as healthcare data is some of the most valuable on the black market. Class action suits stemming from employee grievances have also plagued local hospitals. “If it bleeds, it leads” is a common refrain in the media business, and it can be easy to spend every word writing about all the worst news in healthcare. Although I believe it’s my role as a reporter to hold individuals and organizations accountable for their actions when warranted, it’s also important to celebrate what has been successful and helpful in the healthcare industry. Whether it is reporting on how growing systems can better serve the community, an innovation that improves outcomes, or recognizing leaders and organizations making an impact, good news in healthcare is more constructive and fun. Other sources can bring you the who, what, when, where; we aim to go deeper and tell you the how and the why—and what it means for the industry and region.

That’s the approach we took with this year’s Healthcare Annual. We’re highlighting what is growing, successful, and unique in North Texas healthcare, which continues to be a bright spot in the local economy and a growing center for innovation and development nationwide. According to U.S. News and World Report, the region is home to two of the state’s top three hospitals.

As we look ahead to a presidential election that may lead to uncertainty in many sectors of the economy, healthcare continues to shine bright in Dallas-Fort Worth, and D CEO Healthcare is ready to cover that news.

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CONTENTS

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FOOD AS MEDICINE Groundbreaking nutrition and cooking classes at UT Southwestern are curricular options for medical students and prescribed to patients.

GROWING FROM THE INSIDE OUT A flurry of medical real estate developments is underway in North Texas, from the region’s core in Dallas to its outer reaches.

THE IMPACT OF PRIVATE EQUITY Investors are having a growing influence on the industry, helping smaller entities scale and sustain their impact on health outcomes.

Will Maddox Healthcare Editor

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ASK THE EXPERT

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A teenager’s developing muscles, joints, and bones are very different from an adult. Our surgeons and care teams are specially trained in pediatric orthopedics to treat growing patients with scoliosis. We know there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Your surgeon will work closely with you to determine the best treatment so your teenager can get back to doing all the things they love.

ABOUT THE EXPERT: Pediatric orthopedic surgeon Amy L. McIntosh, M.D., is the medical director of clinical safety at Scottish Rite for Children and professor of orthopedics at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She is a mother of two, and her clinical and research interests are focused on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and early onset scoliosis.

What makes scoliosis care different at Scottish Rite for Children?

For each of the treatment methods mentioned, Scottish Rite has incredible expertise. We provide a multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach to

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Food as Medicine

Groundbreaking nutrition and cooking classes at UT Southwestern are curricular options for medical students and prescribed to patients. story by WILL

MADDOX

illustration by JON

STICH

P H YSI CI A N S U N DER GO A T LEA ST SEVEN YEA R S of training after college to

learn how to keep patients healthy, but many don’t receive any instruction or guidance on what can be the most critical factor in maintaining one’s health: food. UT Southwestern’s groundbreaking culinary medicine program, led by Dr. Jaclyn Albin and Program Director Milette Siler, aims to change the narrative, one cooking class at a time. ¶ Research from the Mayo Clinic found that a poor diet is now the No. 1 cause of early death and early disease in the country. If physicians want to impact their patients’ long-term health, being able to influence their nutritional choices can go a long way. Albin’s journey to be a leading voice in the country in the food as medicine movement began when her husband fell ill during her first year of combined internal medicine pediatric residency. He was losing weight despite eating well, and had chronic respiratory issues. The couple couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but eventually, a lightbulb went off.

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A GOOD DIET

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Siler had been working with cancer patients The culprit was celiac disease. Although a diagnosis was good news, at UTSW’s Moncrief Cancer Institute in Fort this was before the gluten-free revolution, and the couple struggled to Worth. Over the last couple of years, she and find solutions. “We were completely lost, and I was embarrassed that I Albin have expanded their program through didn’t know how to help us,” Albin says.

UTSW’s presence at Red Bird in southern DalThe experience highlighted her lack of understanding about how food las, where there is now a first-of-its-kind clinic. can impact health outcomes, and she wanted to do something about it.

Patients can schedule appointments directly, Albin connected with Siler, a dietician who, at the time, was leading a but most are referred to Albin and Siler by their cooking experience for cancer patients. The two concocted the idea to primary care physicians or specialists to receive launch a full-blown culinary medicine experience, where students and tailored guidance for patients who struggle with residents would receive instruction about how food impacts disease. conditions like type II diabetes and obesity.

Working with physicians, dieticians, and chefs, the program aims Just as they had done with medical students, to help doctors and patients improve health outcomes and address they wanted to give patients hands-on experispecific illnesses through food. “Food is a shared experience, and we ence with preparing meals that were healthy, can use the culinary medicine program to truly empower people to accessible, affordable, and culturally sensitive. improve their relationship with food,” Siler says. “Not everybody’s on The UTSW Medical District campus has the same playing field, and we are doing everything that we can within an industrial kitchen. Red Bird lacked such a the scope of our program to promote access. We believe that delicious, nutritious, accessible food should be for everybody.” space, so Albin and Siler conAlbin and Siler got approval for their initiative from the tacted churches in Southern medical center’s top brass and launched their class for medical Dallas to find one that would students at UT Southwestern and other nearby institutions in allow them to use their fa2017. The system was the first in the country to implement the cilities. They connected with Health Meets Food curriculum, which is now being used at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship THE VALUE OF 60 medical centers and training programs across the country. and Concord Church, which Using an industrial kitchen at UTSW as a classroom, the curagreed to provide kitchens for riculum gives students and trainees real-world experience prethe classes, all of which would paring food that will improve outcomes for specific conditions be covered by insurance. The CAUSE and reduce chronic disease and obesity. The program allows team secured a National InAround half of future doctors to develop a comprehensive understanding of stitutes of Health grant that all the deaths in the United nutrition and the cooking techniques to prepare delicious, nuStates caused by tritious, and, importantly, realistic food. It quickly became one cardiometabolic of the most popular electives for medical students. diseases (heart When internal medicine resident Dr. Joseph Campain was in attack, stroke, Culinary education diabetes, etc.) are helps UTSW students medical school at UTSW, nearly half of the 250-person class apadvise future patients associated with on how their dietary plied to take one of only a few dozen spots in the culinary medpoor diet. choices can help them icine elective. “The class gave me the confidence to explore on manage their health.

EDUCATION my own and share recipes with others,” Campain says. “I defiMost medical nitely feel more able to pass along my learning to patients rather students receive than give vague lifestyle recommendations based on principles just 11 hours of that are hard to swallow and have no cultural sensitivity.” nutrition training, less than half Today, the curriculum is open to 20 graduate students each of the 25 hours semester, including students from UTSW’s School of Medicine recommended and School of Health Professions. It is a required course for by the National family medicine residents, and available to many physicians Academy of Sciences. pursuing sub-specialty fellowships, including gastroenterology and endocrinology. Since its founding, the program has reached IMPACT 390 students and trainees, who will be able to pass along what Those who they learned to their patients, emphasizing the power of food as recieve some form of culinary medicine medicine. Meantime, a different kind of expansion is underway. training are 82 Although educating physicians and students is essential to percent more likely scale the impact of the culinary medicine movement, Albin to stick to the and Siler wanted to be able to impact patients directly, too.

Mediterranean diet.

LEVERAGING TECH

NUTRITION NETWORK UT Southwestern’s eConsult program saves physicians and patients time while improving health outcomes.

In addition to inperson appointments and cooking classes, the culinary medicine clinic at Red Bird offers expert nutrition advice delivered to patients electronically.

The demand for improving outcomes

of specific conditions through food is on the rise, as is the need to eat healthy foods on a budget, but most physicians don’t have the expertise to provide that info. Although an appointment with

a dietician is ideal, limited availability and unreliable reimbursement make it unrealistic for many. Albin and Siler launched the program to allow doctors to request an electronic consult for their patients to help point them in the right direction. Partnering with 11 primary care physicians for a pilot program saved patients time and

provided culinary advice connected to conditions as diverse as fatty liver disease and eczema. Most of the consults were covered by insurance.

“The consultation includes recipes, education about what foods to celebrate, and resources in their ZIP codes to obtain healthy foods to steer them wherever it may be applicable,” Albin says.

refurbished the kitchen at both churches, which will also benefit each church’s programming.

The first cohort launched earlier this year, while a second group launched in August, and a third will in September. Bringing classes to patients’ neighborhoods has been a game-changer. “We are taking culinary medicine to where people live and work and interact,” Albin says.

“It feels different and is a microcosm of grassroots change that might not happen in a more traditional medical encounter.”

The cooking classes hope to address other needs, too. “Social isolation is a risk factor for early death and cardio health,” Siler says. “The nature of the class is a loneliness buster and promotes the community while overlaying expertise and resources.”

Taught and staffed by Albin, Siler, and an army of volunteers, the classes are available to patients who have received a consult at the culinary medicine clinic. A big challenge is overcoming the stereotype that healthy food isn’t delicious and that delicious food is difficult to make.

The team pushes patients to try dishes they wouldn’t have made on their own, giving them the experience and confidence that they can repeat it for their families. Each year, UTSW’s culinary medicine program has 400 touch-points with patients via cooking classes and reaches thousands more through virtual and large group demonstrations.

The biggest roadblock to widespread understanding of culinary medicine is scaling the learning and making it more sustainable. Most clinics don’t have an industrial kitchen to host cooking classes, and many hospitals or medical schools can’t afford the needed food or other supplies. By working with community organizations and funding the program through health insurance reimbursement, the pro-

Research shows that helping people change their relationship with food is best done through handson learning.

gram has staying power. Albin and her team also work with food banks to secure program donations and is looking to expand throughout North Texas.

“The limitation isn’t if people will come, but will we be able to support the demand,” Albin says. “Plenty of faculty members and dieticians want to be trained, and we think about what it would look like to give people the national certification with a local boot camp.

We need to copy ourselves.”

Albin and Siler have recruited a group of volunteers to help bridge cultural and diversity gaps and see themselves as facilitators rather than experts handing cooking advice down from on high. They work with patients to identify cultural dietary patterns and find healthy ways to cook those meals.

The impact of culinary medicine can take months and years to be realized. Although Albin’s colleagues might complete a one-day surgery or prescribe a week-long drug regimen to treat a medical issue, the nature of dietary changes means they are playing the long game.

There is no substitution for time when changing patients’ relationship with what they eat.

As leaders in the culinary medicine movement, Albin and Siler know they are fighting an uphill battle against an ingrained food culture in America. But by embracing diversity and a multidisciplinary approach, they have hope.

“Food is our great commonality,” Siler says.

“When we create an environment where everyone feels safe, it brings us all together.”

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WHAT WATCH TO

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story by

P H OTO S A N D R E N D E R I N G S C O U R T E S Y O F C H I L D R E N ’ S H E A L T H A N D U T S W , M E T H O D I S T H E A LT H S Y S T E M , A N D B AY L O R S C O T T & W H I T E

WILL MADDOX

T H E NO RTH TEXAS H E ALTH C ARE I N DU STRY is one of the region’s top drivers of growth, with expanding systems responding to and encouraging the region’s population boom. The pandemic reoriented the way people live and work, giving many families the opportunity to avoid long commutes via remote work, making the outer suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth even more attractive. The population booms beyond Frisco to the north and into Ellis County have prompted massive hospital expansions in Celina and Waxahachie. Meanwhile, the beating heart of North Texas’ healthcare system is also experiencing a construction boom. A new psychiatric hospital, Dallas ISD school, and Dallas County Lab are about to be joined by a new joint campus between Children’s Health and UT Southwestern. This will create a new flagship hospital for the country’s eighth-largest pediatric system and offer increased access to the state’s top facility. Here’s a look at some of the most significant projects in the works.

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1. Children’s Health + UTSW’s New Pediatric Campus A new $5 billion pediatric campus from Children’s Health and UT Southwestern in Dallas’

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Medical District will span 33 acres across Harry Hines Boulevard. It will connect to Clements University Hospital and sit a couple of miles from the existing Children’s Dallas campus, which the new hospital will replace.

The 2-million-squarefoot facility will include two 12-story towers and one eight-story tower.

A 28 percent expansion will be made to 552 beds with space for further growth. A larger emergency department and more operating rooms will be complemented by a sky bridge connecting Clements to the new

campus. An outpatient building will accompany the joint pediatric campus and add 96 exam rooms to the 344 that already exist at the Children’s Health Specialty Center. The new campus will increase integration between Children’s Health and UTSW, which formed a joint pediatric venture in 2019. Design is being handled by HKS and Perkins&Wil.

2. Methodist Celina Hospital Celina is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. A $4.5 billion residential development that’s underway there is expected to double the town’s population.

The northern end of the Dallas North Tollway has a new hospital on the way, too. Slated to open in 2025, Methodist Celina Medical Center named Cody Hunter as its inaugural president in January. The $237 million project will be four stories and boast 200,000 square feet on 46 acres.

Celina will be Methodist Health System’s 13th hospital and will include a range of services, from cardiac and cancer care to women’s services and robotic surgery. It will consist of 30 medical-surgical beds, 10 post-partum beds, eight intensive care unit beds, 12 emergency depart-

ment beds, three operating rooms, a cardiac catheterization lab, two procedure rooms, and a da Vinci surgical robot.

Perkins&Will is overseeing design.

3. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center–Waxahachie Baylor Scott & White Medical Center–Waxahachie is addressing a patient increase of 40 percent over the past couple of years with a $240 million addition that is part of a 135,000-square-foot multi-phase campus expansion. The new six-story patient tower will include an expanded emergency department, surgery wing, intensive care unit, imaging, and a multilevel parking garage. Waxahachie has grown by 25 percent since the pandemic, and a rapid increase in demand for healthcare services prompted the project. In the last five years, the hospital has increased its outpatient capacity by 53 percent, while inpatient visits have increased by 41 percent, and births have bumped up by 25 percent. Last year, Baylor added a heart and vascular hospital to the Waxahachie campus, as well as urgent care centers in the area. The new tower is being designed

by HKS.

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T H E I M PA C T O F

PRIVATE EQUITY

Investors are having a growing influence on the industry, helping smaller entities scale and sustain their impact on health outcomes. story by WILL

MADDOX

P RIVAT E EQU I T Y’S I N F LU EN C E in healthcare has been in the news

G E M M A C A N F LY

all year, fueled by the collapse of Dallas-based Steward Healthcare, which declared bankruptcy this year after a PE firm exited the health system.

However, the reality is that private equity-sponsored providers represent less than 4 percent of the U.S. healthcare provider ecosystem by revenue.

And, rather than a growing trend, private equity investment in healthcare has dropped dramatically since 2018. We asked three experts to weigh in on the topic and bring us up to speed.

JONATHAN HENDERSON, Health Care Mergers & Acquisitions Co-Chair, Polsinelli SCOTT HURST, President and CEO | Patient Physician Network ANTHONY PLACENCIO, Partner | RSM US

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HOW DO YOU INTERACT WITH PRIVATE EQUITY IN THE HEALTHCARE SPACE? S COTT H U R S T : “Most independent physicians have a dose of skepticism around the intentions of PE. It seems clear there is a tremendous amount of money available, and associated parties believe they can impact how healthcare is delivered.”

“This misalignment of supply and demand for healthcare services creates a need that can be filled by private equity-backed healthcare providers.”

JONA T H A N H E ND E R S ON:

“We’re focused on the growth equity category of financial sponsors doing business in the private markets. My practice is focused on advising founders, financial sponsors, and publicly-traded and privately-owned strategics involved in M&A, recapitalizations, joint ventures, and other types of complex transactions.”

A N TH O N Y P L A C E NC I O:

“We’ve experienced substantial growth in our client base and key strategic relationships with for-profit healthcare providers over the past five years. Many of our clients and relationships seek assistance for M&A activities, technology-enabled service solutions, compliance, and operational and financial excellence initiatives.”

HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF PRIVATE EQUITY IN HEALTHCARE? P L A CE NC I O: “Data from PitchBook shows PE-backed healthcare providers in the U.S. are estimated to generate $117.7 billion in revenue this year. While significant, this remains a modest portion of the overall healthcare spend, which CMS data indicates will exceed $4.5 trillion. Private equity investment often targets areas with operational inefficiencies, geographic gaps, or consumer

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ANTHONY PLACENCIO, RSM US

misalignment, aiming to improve care delivery models.”

HE ND E R S ON: “I am an advocate for private equity investment in healthcare that is designed, structured, implemented, and operationalized in a way that holistically considers the wants, needs, and perspectives of the relevant stakeholders in the business of healthcare. Private equity is a significant source of both the capital and the managerial and operational expertise that drives innovation and successful stakeholder outcomes in healthcare businesses. I have come to believe that PE investment in healthcare is a requirement to sustainable medicine.”

HUR S T: “In the device space and remote patient monitoring, the impact has been more immediate and measurable.

Although there have been several, what I would call, ‘physician roll-ups,’ the impact is still TBD, as the payors significantly influence this market.”

TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE INTEREST OF PRIVATE EQUITY IN HEALTHCARE? HE ND E R S ON: “Private equity investment in healthcare is not

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occurring in a vacuum. In the American economy, smart and efficient uses of capital will find use cases. Medicare reimbursement is being reduced, operating costs are rising, interest rates are rising, etc. It is also attributable to private equity’s access and ability to infuse significant capital into these healthcare companies and harness the expertise of their sponsors, who often include physician advisors, to target their investments in areas where it is most useful, whether it involves expanding the footprint of a physician practice, including into rural communities, financing investment into healthcare technology or innovative medical devices, or increasing medical staff or investment into medical supplies.”

PLACENCIO: “The rising demand for care coupled with a shrinking labor pool as the baby boomer generation ages.

The number of Americans 65 and older is projected to surge 25 percent by 2050, outpacing the overall population’s 7 percent growth, based on CMS data. Compounding this challenge, RN-to-BSN enrollment has slumped 16.9 percent, per the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. This

misalignment of supply and demand for healthcare services creates a need that can be filled by private equity-backed healthcare providers and all other participants who seek to responsibly advance the care delivery model.”

HU RS T : “Any investor, private equity or otherwise, wants to do their level best to drive returns. Businesses that can present a picture of consistent revenue growth (increasing older population, increasing overall population of DFW, etc.) become very attractive to investors. The more difficult part of the equation is that this revenue growth is driven by working harder and, sometimes, not smarter. Eventually, you hit a point where the doctors and providers can’t give any more effort to drive that growth.”

WHAT ARE SOME ADVANTAGES OF PRIVATE EQUITY IN HEALTHCARE? HU RS T : “The biggest is the easy accessibility to relatively large sums of capital. There is also expertise within certain organizations that can and will benefit groups who choose to consider partnerships.”

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H E N D E R SON: “​Private equity

investments improve access to healthcare in rural communities. The increase in rural hospital closures, coupled with a shortage of primary care physicians over the last decade, has created a healthcare deficit in rural America. PE investors have invested more than $15 billion as of 2020 in urgent care clinics, allowing patients to travel shorter distances to receive routine and emergency care while reducing the strain on the limited number of hospitals in these rural areas.”

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT HOW PE INFLUENCES NORTH TEXAS HEALTHCARE? H E N D E R SON: “Throughout the U.S., DFW is known as the home of noteworthy execs and leadership teams, and the healthcare companies they lead, that have implemented strategic and operational decisions to increase the access, affordability, and quality of healthcare.”

H U R ST: “DFW is a rapidly growing and consolidating market. In addition to an aging populace that has created an expansion in Medicare and Medicare Advantage, there are also increased commercial insurance offerings tied to the move of companies to the area. If PE can create and drive reasonable operational changes that increase efficiency, that influence will grow.”

P L A CE NC I O: “The influence of private equity in healthcare in North Texas is part of the broader trend of PE investment in the U.S. healthcare system. Overall, although the fundamental influence of PE in healthcare is consistent with

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“Private equity’s management expertise enables the virtuous cycle of any successful business; it drives operational efficiencies.”

JONATHAN HENDERSON, Polsinelli

national trends, regional factors such as market dynamics, regulations, and population needs can create unique opportunities and challenges for it in DFW.” IS PRIVATE EQUITY AN OVERALL POSITIVE FORCE IN HEALTHCARE? WHY OR WHY NOT? PL AC E NC I O: “We believe it will be a positive force as tech investments will aid a labor force that has been beleaguered for many years and can augment and advance how care can be provided.”

HUR S T: “I could consider private equity a positive force; it will just depend on how the deals get structured.”

HE ND E R S ON: “Private equity is an overall positive force shaping the future of healthcare in America. As noted previously, private equity investments in healthcare companies drive innovation that improves positive outcomes for all stakeholders. PE’s management expertise enables the virtuous cycle of any successful business; it drives operational efficiencies that increase profit margins, which provides capital to invest in the business, which frees up clinicians who have more technology and other

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resources available to them to focus on patient care instead of daily operations.”

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT PE IN HEALTHCARE, WHAT WOULD THAT BE AND WHY? HU RST: “The primary thing I would change would be the belief that outsized returns are warranted and that control over the process is just to be granted.

If large companies like Walgreens, Walmart, and CVS have difficulty in the practice space, then small private equity firms will likely face the same challenges unless they listen to their partners and agree to take a long-term view of what success looks like.”

HENDERSON: “We need more private equity investors focused on intentionally choosing to apply the investment theses and approaches to recapitalizing, owning, and operating these businesses that many of the most successful financial sponsors have done for years. The expression ‘do good and do well’ applies to all types of businesses, whether healthcare or other, and whether nonprofit or for-profit.”

WHAT DO YOU PREDICT ABOUT THE FUTURE IMPACT OF PRIVATE EQUITY IN HEALTHCARE? HEN D ERS O N : “We can anticipate increased regulatory scrutiny of private investment in the healthcare sector. Because of that, moving forward, private equity funds that invest in healthcare businesses should consider adapting their investment theses, strategies, and operating models to alleviate the heightened regulatory scrutiny. The future impact of private equity in healthcare must be clear to observers, as they balance financial performance with high-quality, patient-centered care.”

PLA C EN C I O : “There is optimism that transaction volumes and new investments such as generative A.I. tech-enabled investments will increase as interest rates stabilize and the fed looks to cut rates. There will be more advancements and investments made into healthcare to augment and assist the future labor force in healthcare.”

HU RS T : “If you find the right partner and identify the correct strategy to deliver care in a meaningful way, I believe the sky is the limit.”

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S T. PA U L H O S P I TA L June 15, 1898–Nov. 20, 2015

HEALING TOUCH Founded by the Catholic Church, St. Paul Hospital’s original nursing staffers were nuns.

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story by MICAIH THOMAS

t. paul’s sanitarium opened its doors with 110 beds in 1898. run by roman Catholic nurses, the private facility was conceived by Dallas physicians and civic leaders who appealed to Catholic Bishop Edward Joseph Dunne to convince the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul to open a hospital in the growing city in 1896. The land was purchased for $1, and the sisters traveled 1,200 miles by covered wagon from Maryland to begin providing care in a three-story Victorian building at Bryan and Hall streets. Called the “finest hospital in the world, having all that is modern in equipment and appliances,” it was here where the St. Paul School of Nursing was established in 1900. Within 16 years, the hospital had added 200 more beds and was renamed St. Paul Hospital.

In 1950, construction began on a larger 475-bed facility in Dallas. Despite a five-alarm fire in 1951, during which Sister Mary Helen Savage saved the lives of all 250 patients and employees, the new building opened in 1952. The hospital was the first private facility in the city to open its doors to Black physicians to practice medicine. In 1963, St. Paul opened a 484-bed, $15 million, 10-story hospital near UT Southwestern. It is where the city’s first heart transplant occurred in 1985. Ascension Health Care turned the center over to Methodist Health Care System in 1996. In 2000, UT Southwestern purchased the property; it was demolished in 2015 and replaced by Clements University Hospital.

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