D CEO October by DCEO

O C TO BE R 2 02 1

29 FINALISTS

CO R P O R ATE CO U N S E L AWA R DS Why Big Game USA is a college football MVP

CEO

THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY North Texas cosmetics and skincare brands are giving major players in NY and LA a run for their money.

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CONTENTS OCTOBER 2021

VO LU M E 1 6 | I S S U E 0 8

Mahisha Dellinger, founder and CEO of Curls, which just landed a big deal with Ulta Beauty.

The Business of Beauty One of the best-kept secrets in the industry, North Texas gives major players New York and Los Angeles a run for their money. Up next: dominating market share.  story by BIANCA R. MONTES and KELSEY J. VANDERSCHOOT portraits by SEAN BERRY

40 Where Touchdowns Are Born How Chris Calandro and Farmers Branch-based Big Game USA became synonymous with college football. story by BEN SWANGER photography by SEAN BERRY

46 P H OTO G R A P H Y BY S E A N B E R R Y

A Matter of Perspective The region’s best corporate lawyers are better at their jobs because of their unique personal experiences. story by WILL MADDOX photography by YAROSLAV DANYLCHENKO

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CONTENTS

12 EDITOR’S NOTE

DOSSIER 1 7 YO U N E E D T O K N O W

Brittany K. Barnett, Buried Alive Project

20 MEET THE 500

Cindy Tran, Slalom 2 0 L O C A L LY S O U R C E D

Brian Park,Chef Bobo Brands

2 2 H O S P I TA L I T Y

Tim Love, Hotel Otto 2 4 O N T H E TA B L E

Michelle Frymire, CWT 2 6 I N N O VAT I O N

T H O U G H T L E A D E R A N D P U R S U I T S BY J I L L B R O U S S A R D ; R O OT S C O U R T E S Y O F A N D R É S C O R R E A ; T R AV E L C O U R T E S Y O F A S P E N M E A D O W S R E S O R T ; S T Y L E BY C A R O L I N E L A C E Y

Eddy Badrina, Eden Green Technology

FIELD NOTES 5 9 S T R AT E G I C M O V E S

John Paul Merritt, Pony Oil 6 0 H E A LT H C A R E

North Texas is on the leading edge of identifying and prosecuting healthcare fraud. 62 ON TOPIC

Mattia J. Flabiano III of Page, Ginny B. Kissling of Ryan, and James Springfield of BlueC oss BlueShield of Texas share their biggest personal risks.

OFF DUTY 67 PURSUITS

64 THOUGHT LEADER

Pedro Lerma on why companies must take a multicultural approach in their corporate cultures, products, and services.

Neha Kunte, MNK Infotech 6 8 P L AY L I S T

Executives share the walk-up songs they’d choose to start the day. 70 STYLE

Carolina Alvarez-Mathies, Dallas Contemporary 70 SNAPSHOT

7 2 W E L L -T R AV E L E D : A S P E N

Stephen Jones, Dallas Cowboys

64 010

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OCTOBER 2021

29 FINALISTS

CO R P O R ATE CO U N S E L AWA R DS

Why Big Game USA is a college football MVP

CEO

Adam Rymer, Envy Gaming

THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY North Texas cosmetics and skincare brands are giving major players in NY and LA a run for their money.

74 R O O T S

Andrés Correa, Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann 76 ENDMARK

Victor Prosper Considèrant

ON THE COVER:

Jamie O’Banion, CEO and Co-Founder, BeautyBio, photographed by Sean Berry.

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Are You Operating At A Best-In-Class Level?

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

A Mission to Balance Corporate Boards

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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

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at a recent event celebrating d magazine’s (must read) September cover story on “78 Women Changing the Face of Dallas,” I ran into Mimi Crume Sterling. She recently left a high-ranking position at Neiman Marcus to replace the retiring Paige Flink as CEO of The Family Place. What surprised me wasn’t the fact that Sterling shifted from the corporate to the nonprofit world but that she stayed in Dallas. Before moving to North Texas a few years back, she lived and worked in New York for nearly two decades. When I asked about this, Sterling told me that she and her husband had grown to love Dallas. What really stands out, she said, is the way people in business support one another. “Especially women,” she said. “Women really help one another here.” The first thing that popped into my head was The Real Housewives of Dallas. But after thinking about it only briefly, I realized that Sterling was right. One terrific example of that kind of support is 50/50 Women on Boards. Led locally by Toyota’s Tracey Doi, Kimberly-Clark’s A. Shonn Brown, and EY’s Thear Suzuki and Darcy Cowell, the group’s mission is to educate, advocate, and collaborate with companies to achieve balanced gender representation on corporate boards. Just as critical, the national organization produces research and maintains a gender diversity directory and index to track the progress of women and share insights that compel good corporate governance. The Dallas group has a leadership committee composed of more than 50 top local execs who have monthly virtual meetings and learning sessions. On Nov. 4, the group will host a conversation on board diversity featuring keynotes from Michael Hsu, chair and CEO of Kimberly-Clark, and Michelle Frymire, CEO of CWT. (Read more about her on page 32.) Afterward, coaching sessions with directors will help participants map their own path to the boardroom. Visit 5050wob.com/ events/dallas-tx/ to learn more.

Christine Perez Editor

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P U B L I S H E R Gillea Allison EDITORIAL

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KEY LEADERS LUNCHEON Presented by

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ART DESIGN DIRECTOR Hamilton Hedrick STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Elizabeth Lavin DIGITAL ART DIRECTOR Emily Olson WEB PRODUCTION INTERN Taylor DeCarlo

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MAIL 750 N. Saint Paul St., Ste. 2100, Dallas, TX 75201 The magazine assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts. WEBSITE www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-ceo MAIN OFFICE 214-939-3636 ADVERTISING 214-939-3636 x 128 REPRINTS 214-939-3636 SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES For immediate assistance, call 214-939-3636 x 232. For other inquiries, e-mail customerservice@dmagazine.us. SUBSCRIPTIONS 11 issues for $54 in the United States, possessions, APO and FPO; $70 per 11 issues elsewhere. Please provide old and new addresses and enclose latest mailing label when inquiring about your subscription. For custom publishing inquiries, call 214-540-0113.

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WHEN A LAWYER HIRES A LAW FIRM THEY’D BETTER BE GOOD. WHEN SOPHISTICATED CLIENTS AND IN-HOUSE COUNSEL LOOK FOR A LAW FIRM, IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUST. NOT THE SORT OF TRUST YOU GET IN A TRUST FALL EXERCISE AT A FANCY CORPORATE RETREAT. IT’S THE KIND OF TRUST YOU EARN BY SOLVING BIG TOUGH PROBLEMS AND BEING EFFICIENT WITH YOUR HOURS. WE BELIEVE IN RELATIONSHIPS AND THE SYNERGIES THAT DEVELOP OVER TIME. SO WE DON’T NICKEL AND DIME OUR CLIENTS FOR A LATE NIGHT TEXT WHEN SOMETHING’S KEEPING THEM UP. IF WE’RE IN, WE’RE ALL IN. SOUND DIFFERENT? YES, DECIDELY SO.

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OCTOBER 2021

DOSSIER TRENDS

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NORTH TEXAS NEWSMAKERS

YOU NEED TO KNOW COURTESY OF B U R I E D A L I V E P R O J E C T

The Force that is Brittany K. Barnett The former corporate attorney goes beyond securing clemency for individuals by helping them achieve economic liberation. story by KATHY WISE

DCEOMAGAZINE.COM

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DOSSIER

Japanese global giant, and being the only woman and the only Black person in the room,” she says. After some time and some soul-searching, though, Barnett left the corporate world to found the Buried Alive Project, a nonprofit that works to obtain clemency for individuals sentenced to life in prison for nonviolent drug offenses under outdated mandatory sentencing laws. With the help of SMU law students and volunteer attorneys from local firms such as Bell Nunnally & Martin and Jackson Walker, she has freed more than 40 unjustly sentenced individuals. Yet, she realizes there is more work to be done. “I can’t keep rescuing people from prison and restoring them to poverty,” she says. “I have this vision of creating sustainable liberation. What that looks like for me includes economic liberation.” Barnett is now creating a venture capital fund to help fi ance justice-impacted entrepreneurs, as a young girl growing up in the south, investing her own resources in small businesses, Brittany K. Barnett always wanted to be such as a former client’s food truck. Last year, a lawyer like Clair Huxtable on The Cosby she founded Trustworthy Trucking with a busiShow. But in her small town in rural Texas, ness partner who was formerly incarcerated. “there were no lawyers who looked like me,” The company hires justice-impacted drivers and she says. “There were no women lawyers even. offers them a lease-to-own option, so that they Becoming a lawyer started to seem out of my can own their own businesses one day. “Truckleague as I got older, and my dream shifted.” ing transportation is a $792 billion industry, but The biggest shift came during her senior year with all the work I’ve done in the corporate field, of high school, when Barnett’s mother, a nurse transportation is the most outdated industry I’ve who struggled with addiction, was arrested for ever seen in my life, which means there’s a lot of an encounter with a police officer. Barnett says space for innovation,” she says. seeing her mother in the courtShe also took time to write room, dressed in cartoonish an inspiring memoir called A jailhouse stripes, inflicted a “AS I WORKED TO primal wound. Knock at Midnight, named by FREE MY CLIENTS, Instead of pursuing a career Amazon as its 2020 Book of the THEY WERE in law, she decided to attend Year, with editors praising it as FREEING ME, TOO.” the University of Texas at Ar“urgent, necessary, hopeful— lington and set her sights on and a knockout read.” BRITTANY K. BARNETT becoming a bank VP instead. Barnett credits her father Buried Alive Project She worked as an auditor for with encouraging her to put PwC, but Huxtable’s briefcase her financial and legal talents still beckoned. Encouraged by mentor Christa to work in ways that fulfill her passions. “I went Brown-Sanford, a partner at Baker Botts, Barto see my dad, and he just said, ‘Stop worrying nett went on to graduate from SMU’s Dedman about the challenges and imagine the possibiliSchool of Law, get a job in the finance and bankties instead.’ And that was so powerful for me,” ing division at Winstead, and then go in-house Barnett says. “Because as I worked to free my as associate general counsel at the diversified ficlients, they were freeing me, too. I just believe nancial conglomerate Orix. “I didn’t take lightly that when we do follow our passion and our inbeing in those conference rooms at Orix, a huge tuition, the universe will align.”

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Milestones in Justice 2010 Barnett founds Girls Embracing Mothers (GEM), a nonprofi that seeks to forge connections between daughters and their imprisoned mothers. 2015 President Obama grants clemency to Barnett’s fir t client, Sharanda Jones. 2016 She leaves Orix to lead #ClemencyNOW, bringing more cases to the attention of leaders at Obama’s new clemency initiative. 2017 SMU’s Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center names Barnett as its fir t practitioner in residence. 2017 Barnett founds the Buried Alive Project. 2020 With the help of a formerly incarcerated business partner, she founds Trustworthy Trucking. Later that same year, A Knock at Midnight, her memoir and criminal justice manifesto, is published. 2021 The Buried Alive Project receives a $125,000 grant from the Communities Foundation of Texas to hire a fulltime lawyer to help train pro-bono attorneys for clemency cases.

DCEOMAGAZINE.COM

9/7/21 9:34 AM

SECTION NAME

ASK THE EXPERT

Persuasion Skills Part 5: Avoid Information Overload 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

c-level execs, managers, and entrepreneurs People’s desire for fewer choices has b een make sales pitches every day. Whether you’re proven in numerous circumstances by a number trying to motivate an employee, sell goods or serof studies. For example, a Fortune 500 company vices, ob tain funding from a PE firm, or win an hired Iyenar to study why its employees were not argument with family or friends, persuasion skills participating in the company’s 401(k) program. Employee participation should have b een a no are essential. This article details another proven b rainer since the company was willing to conpersuasion technique. trib ute money toward employees’ 401(k)–even As discussed in my prior persuasion skills artiif employees did not put money into the 401(k) cle (DCEO September issue) a powerful persuader plan. In other words, employees were foregoing presents people with the freedom of choice. How“free money.” ever, describ ing too many choices hinders your ability to persuade. The “jam” study by Sheena The psychologist determined that the company’s Iyenar of Columbia and Mark Lepper of Stanford, employees were overwhelmed by the fact that the found that when presented with too many choic401(k) plan had 60 funds from which employees es, individuals experience information overload, could choose for the employer’s contrib ution. which usually causes them to delay or avoid makWhen the employer reduced the choices to three ing any decision. funds, employee participation in the 401(k) plan One day they placed six jars of exotic jams on skyrocketed. Proctor & Gamble sold nine different the tasting table at Draeger’s epicurean market in dandruff shampoos. When it reduced the choices Menlo Park. The next day they placed 24 jars of to three brands, sales increased 30%. jams on the tasting table. Twenty percent more The jams study found that people want quick and customers were attracted to the table with 24 jars. easy choices and are happier with fewer options. When you give someone fewer options, they can However, the purchase rate was 10 times greater more easily understand the options and quickly on the table with fewer choices. process which option is their best choice. Multiple studies have shown that when someThe jams study on limiting choices is a lesson to one has too many choices, they spend significan time and effort evaluating their options, which all businesspeople because it explains the persuasive leads them to become anxious, overwhelmed, and aspects of this universal phenomenon that affect any marketing strategy, persuasive argument, and ultimately dissatisfied–even if they make the right b usiness presentation. The decision. Psychologists call this phenomenon “choice takeaway: while is importparalysis” or “analysis paant to give someone you’re ralysis.” This phenomenon trying to persuade the freewas also confirmed in a redom of choice; it is equally search study by Alexander important to limit how many Chernev, Choice Overload, choices you off r. Bottom 500 N. Akard Street, Suite 1900 Journal of Consumer Psycholline: when persuasively preDallas, Texas 75201 ogy, April 2015. senting choices, less is more. 214.888.5000 | info@roggedunngroup.com

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ROGGE DUNN represents companies, executives and entrepreneurs in business and employment matters. These include the CEOs/ presidents of American Airlines, Baker Hughes, Beck Group, Blucora, Crow Holdings, Dave & Busters, Gold’s Gym, Kinko’s, Texas Motor Speedway, Texas Capital Bancshares, Texas Tech University, and Whataburger. Dunn’s Corporate clients include Adecco, Beal Bank, Benihana, Cawley Partners, CBRE, Match.com, Rent-A-Center, and Outback Steakhouse. In 2021 Dunn was included in DCEO Magazine’s Dallas 500 list, which recognizes the most influential business leaders in North Texas. He has been honored as 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 Thompson Reuters service) and a D Magazine Best Lawyer 12 times.

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DOSSIER

L O C A L LY S O U R C E D

Getting Back to Basics

MEET THE 500

CINDY TRAN Managing Director SL ALOM

since joining slalom 10 years ago, cindy tran has held four positions with the company. She assumed her current managing director role just a couple of months after the global pandemic took hold. She oversees the client account management team and fosters client and community relationships. As a first-generation AsianAmerican, Tran also works with young adults in the AAPI community to provide guidance on career development, networking, entrepreneurship, and more. EDUCATION: The University of Kansas (BS-Journalism & Strategic Communications) BIRTHPLACE: Wichita, Kansas FIRST JOB: “I waited tables at a high-end restaurant, and I learned so many skills that translate to the business world. It’s glamorous but dirty; it’s tiring but fun. I learned to socialize ‘just enough but not too much’ and read my customers. I also learned that eating good food and seeing how it brings people together feeds not just your stomach but your soul.” WHO I ADMIRE: “Hands down, my grandma. She cared for my siblings and me when our parents worked opposite shifts. She taught us about a parent’s ultimate sacrifi e for others, how to cook, and be a good hu-

man being no matter how little you may have.” BEST ADVICE: “Work hard to help everyone around you achieve success, and everything will fall into place.” DESTINATION OF CHOICE: “Japan. The food and culture are such a departure from what we have in the U.S., and in a span of a few hours on a train, you can go from ultra-modern to serene and traditional.” NONPROFIT CAUSE: “North Texas Food Bank, as my family benefi ed from food banks when we were growing up.” HOBBY/PASSION: “My husband and I learned to golf seven years ago with friends. I thought I would hate it because it looked stressful, but it forces you to clear your mind and be fully present. It has been a great way to

connect with friends, family, coworkers, and clients.” FAVORITE THING: “A picture of a small fis ing boat loaded up with people, as it was the start of our family’s journey to the United States, which began a new life for us. It hangs above our dining room table and reminds me every day of our humble beginnings.” PROUD MOMENT: “Slalom has taken a bold stance in committing to being people-fir t and staying true to our core values. We put a focused effort on preserving our workforce, increased wellness programs, and took a public, bold stance for BLM and put dollars and actions for commitment to justice, humanity, and equality.” 2020 TAUGHT ME: “We all have more grit, perseverance, and grace than we all give ourselves credit for.” FUTURE FORECAST: “I’m excited about the progress we are making as a community around inclusion and diversity in the workplace, as well as racial and gender equity in our community. We have a lot of work to do still, but the committed action and meaningful dialogue have been encouraging.”

brian park emigrated from South Korea to California as a child. Inspired by his entrepreneur father, he set off on his own entrepreneuria journey in college. His vision was to create an innovative company that didn’t take itself too seriously, and, inspired by the lively nature of BoBo the Clown, Chef BoBo Brands was born. The venture makes healthy snack brands, such as its signature Friendly Grains, which offers four-ingredient puffed bro rice Crunchy Rollers in various flavors. Chef Bobo’s manufacturin facility is free from major allergens and limits opportunities for crosscontamination. As a small company, it can turn products around quicker than larger conglomerates such as Frito-Lay, Park says. “Trends move very fast,” he says, “To make sure that you’re following those trends, you have to be quick.” Chef BoBo products are available via Amazon and at H-E-B, Walmart, Costco, Kroger, and other major retailers across the U.S.” —Lauren Stone

T R A N BY J A K E M E Y E R S ; PA R K C O U R T E S Y O F C H E F B O B O B R A N D S

Oak Cliff based Chef Bobo Brands’ healthy snacks can be found in major retail stores across the country.

ON A ROLL

Chef Bobo Brands CEO Brian Park says there’s a lot to love about his snack-making job. “I get to wake up every morning and become Willy Wonka,” he says.

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

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H O S P I TA L I T Y

story by

KELSEY J. VANDERSCHOOT

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celebrity chef tim love, who competed on the “THE REALITY hit show Iron Chef and later hosted CNBC’s Restaurant OF IT IS, I CAN Startup, knew he wanted to expand when he opened his BUILD A HOTEL first concept, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, in Fort FOR MUCH Worth’s Historic Stockyards in 2000. “I felt like two CHEAPER restaurants cost money, three restaurants make monTHAN ANYBODY ey,” he says. Ever filled with ideas, Love’s empire now includes more than 14 venues in Fort Worth, Denton, ELSE.” and Knoxville, Tennessee, ranging from Mule Alley newcomer Ático, a Spanish tapas concept, to Stockyards staple Elephant Saloon. His latest addition? A riverside micro resort called Hotel Otto, with rooms made of shipping containers. Love launched Gemelle, an Italian restaurant named for his twin daughters, along the west fork of the Trinity River in 2019. Excess riverfront land provided an opportunity to test out an idea he’d been stewing on. “I’ve had this in my head to do something with shipping containers for a long time,” he says. “And the reality of it is, I can build a hotel for much cheaper than anybody else because I can start with the restaurants.” Thus, Hotel Otto, which means eight in Italian and reflects the number of shipping container resort rooms, was born. The property opened in July. It features an Aperol bar also open to restaurant guests, a pool made from a shipping container, and a 10,000-square-foot garden, from which many of Gemelle’s ingredients and cocktail garnishes are grown. Each room is decked out with Hermès linens, a full bath, and a bar. A winding outdoor staircase takes guests to the top of each unit, where Love has created space to enjoy a late-night cocktail or morning coffee with river views. When I visited, Love was toying with the idea of turning a ninth container into a small café for resort guests. The entrepreneur’s immediate plans are to open three new restaurants at Mule Alley in the Fort Worth Stockyards—a Mexican concept called Paloma Suerte, a small (50-seat) American Italian restaurant, and another large concept whose details are still under wraps—in late 2021 TINY HOTEL and early 2022. But he’s also eyeing an exLove’s shipping pansion of his resorts. container hotel units include roof“I can take this footprint, and I can get a top lounge areas where guests can piece of land, and I can build it in literally 12 relax and enjoy weeks,” Love says. river views.

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

Celebrity chef Tim Love has concocted a new recipe for a micro resort in Fort Worth.

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O N T H E TA B L E

Michelle Frymire isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. The CEO of global travel management company CWT has led the way through multiple business crises over the years.

story by CHRISTINE PEREZ illustration by JAKE MEYERS

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the vibe was festive at mattito’s on forest Lane as I slipped into a booth with Michelle Frymire, CEO of travel management company CWT. She picked the restaurant because it’s close to her home office and because of its “secret” dip. Locals who have been around for a while will know it as Bob Armstrong dip. Whatever you call it, it’s a delicious concoction of queso, seasoned ground beef, guacamole, and sour cream. One bite, and I was hooked. Frymire joined CWT in 2019 as executive VP and CFO. Within 18 months, she added president to her title and was responsible for the company’s global transformation, finance, HR, strategy, and technology—all while navigating a pandemic that wreaked havoc on the industry. She took the helm of the company this past May. It has 12,000 employees in 45 countries. Joining CWT was a return to her travel roots. Frymire began her career as a financial analyst at American Airlines then moved to Continental and Delta. Working in the industry was always fraught with some adversity, she says. “At American, there was a flight attendant strike. Delta was trying to reimagine its entire company. And when I was at Continental, it had just emerged from its second bankruptcy and was a turnaround business. It was challenging but

also exciting and fulfilling, and all of it prepared me for what we’ve faced with the pandemic.” After Delta, Frymire held CFO posts that put her at the center of several transformative business situations, including reorganizations and an IPO. This made her a strong director candidate, and she was tapped to join the board of Dallas’ Spirit Realty Corp. earlier this year. When I mention that she seems to not be fazed by drama, Frymire laughs and says all of her career experiences have taught her to “control what you can control, make the difficult decisions, and stay true to your values.” Besides Dallas, CWT’s executive team is based in Minneapolis, North Carolina, London, Paris, and Stockholm. So, leaders were well versed in virtual meetings before they became commonplace. Recently, though, the team gathered in Paris, and another meeting is scheduled for October. “We can’t help clients optimize their travel if we can’t do it ourselves,” Frymire says. Helping clients—the U.S. government and military and some of the largest companies on the planet—navigate the new world of travel has created a business opportunity for CWT. The company’s robust app and team of counselors help travelers know which COVID rules are in effect where and provide safety guidance. Business travel is rebounding, but it varies by country and industry. Some U.S. clients are back to their 2019 travel levels, while others are only doing about 20 percent of what they once did, Frymire says. Still, she is confident about the industry’s future. “People said travel would never come back after 9/11, but it did,” she says. “There’s nothing that replaces the power of the human connection.”

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DOSSIER

I N N OVAT I O N

story by

KELSEY J. VANDERSCHOOT

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eddy badrina knew he wanted to run a redemptive “THE VISION IS organization after selling his digital marketing software comTO HAVE A MESH pany BuzzShift in 2016—an organization where “leaders eat NETWORK OF last,” employees are treated with care, and societal culture is GREENHOUSES renewed. So, when investors at Eden Green Technology called ALL ACROSS THE about joining the company as CEO in 2019, Badrina answered. Eden Green’s technology reduces the space needed to grow UNITED STATES.” mass amounts of leafy greens, allowing for farming in urban areas and addressing many problems with other growing methods. Traditional greenhouses harness sunlight well but require at least 10 acres to produce 550 tons of leafy greens, making growing in urban areas next to impossible. Because the operations are typically in outlying areas, it also means longer delivery times. Conversely, traditional vertical farms need an abundance of artificial light to nurture crops on the farm’s lower layers, creating high power demands that drive up costs. “We’ve solved that by combining the best of both worlds—a greenhouse with vertical farming,” Badrina says. The company opened an R&D facility in Cleburne in 2018 and launched a pilot program selling greens at Walmart. But then trouble with a former chairman, who had questionable connections with Donald Trump Jr. and was accused of mismanaging $19.4 million, stalled Eden Green’s momentum. “They had been through a few CEOs,” Badrina says. “The vision was lost. The mission was not clear.” Badrina had served as executive director for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders before winding his way through business development at Wells Fargo, other marketing leadership roles, and launching two companies. At Eden Green, he was tasked with resetting the course and rallying the troops. His first move? Dissolving the Walmart program. “The company was not set up for it,” Badrina says. Instead of building out a local produce label for Eden Green, he marketed its technology to other growers. “The vision is to have a mesh network of greenhouses all across the United States,” he says. The company also is adding an 83,000-squarefoot vertical greenhouse in Cleburne. When finished in April 2022, it will produce 550 tons of arugula, kale, and spinach per year, with 11 to 13 harvests. Nearly all of the greens are already spoken for. “It’s akin to pre-selling a building and its rent rolls before even breaking ground,” Badrina says. ON THE GROW Next, he aims to bring similar greenhousEddy Badrina es to the nation’s top 10 metropolitan areas. says his company’s new facility “We’re eyeing the Northeast,” Badrina says, will allow it to produce more adding that he’s about to launch a new capital than 550 tons of raise to help fund the expansion. greens each year.

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

Eden Green Technology CEO Eddy Badrina Gives the Vertical Greenhouse Company a Fresh Start

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Planning Your Office Post Pandemic C H R I S J OY N E R , E X EC U T I V E V I C E P R E S I D E N T - F I S C H E R

What have you found to be true about the current work environment? We have endured this current pandemic for nearly a year and a half, and it has lasted longer than we ever expected. We have learned to transform our workplace from office to the home. Most companies have surprisingly found that productivity was not as severely impacted as they originally thought. But now, as we morph into this strange, new territory of continued life, everyone is searching for the magic answer. Will working from home become the new standard? There are many articles that reference studies supporting work from home. However, beware of studies performed pre-pandemic. While they are decent reference points, they don’t take into consideration the layers of impact related to pandemic issues, such as continued social distancing and continuous homerelated stress factors brought about from situational events, like sharing your workplace with children all day. For young single adults, there is stress from trying to work in a confined area with roommates doing the same. Additionally, there needs to be more analysis of the impacts working from home will have over long durations of time, including possible influ nces due to isolation from the general workforce. Yes, our virtual calls have dramatically improved our social interaction, but it doesn’t replace the impact of physical presence, especially within a competitive environment where corporate advancement may be viewed as more attainable within the corporate office s ting. In addition, it is important to continue to monitor corporate attrition caused by employees being more available for the next employer willing to pay a little bit more money without taking into consideration any other intrinsic values their current employer may provide. Isolation may very well erode loyalty.

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How do we plan and prepare for the future? Our clients are taking the approach of applying what seems appropriate now, to a test case. Deliver that test case and monitor the results. Poll often and re-engineer other locations prior to build-out. Each time a certain planning ratio is calculated and utilized, test how this ratio affects the entire real estate portfolio. Then, be ready to adjust. In addition, know that every location may be diff rent. For instance, you may have diff rent planning ratios for certain specific mployee types. However, the planning ratios for that same employee type may diff r between Dallas and New York. This type of application and adjustment presents a need for business analytics that can help companies adjust on the fl . So, your technology is helping them redefine their osts going forward? Yes. We have developed a business analytics platform specifically designed for real estate that allows our clients to quickly aggregate all their real estate data and help establish these long-term plans going forward. We have been working with our clients to develop portfolio strategies that support their expected occupancy ratios in the future along with achieving savings goals that have been established. How does Fischer achieve this? Fischer’s business analytics platform and consultative practice has allowed these types of adjustments while reporting the overall impact they may have on the portfolio. This way, companies are not planning in the dark. It provides vision on how their real estate portfolios will perform even beyond the current unique pandemic model. So, be proactive and set out on a test, poll your people, and adjust on the fl . Of course, be ready with analytics tools that can support you’re need for flexibility in planning.

FISCHER is a leading global real estate firm that provides portfolio management, strategy, technology solutions, and transaction management solely focused on corporate occupiers. Founded in 1985, Fischer has built a successful track record focused on total tenant advocacy. Since 1986, Fischer has developed real estate technology solutions and remains the technology innovation leader. A unique blend of expertise in corporate real estate services and technology has earned Fischer the trust and respect of some of the largest and most successful corporations in the world.

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Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards more than 550 guests gathered in july to celebrate D CEO’s fourth annual Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards, presented in partnership with Communities Foundation of Texas. The festive evening, held at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, brought together the outstanding leaders, organizations, and corporate citizens who work tirelessly to make Dallas even better. A huge thank you to title sponsors Amazon, Capital One, and Texas Mutual for their help in making this event possible.

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THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY 2021

One of the best-kept secrets in the industry, North Texas cosmetics and skincare brands are giving major players in New York and Los Angeles a run for their money. Up next: dominating market share.

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With a celebrity following, prestige skincare brand Natura Bissé can be found in luxury spas all over the world.

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WH I L E COASTAL CIT IE S soak up the spotlight in the cosmetics and skincare markets, Dallas-Fort Worth is quietly becoming a powerful force in the $62 billion U.S. beauty industry—from product development and packaging to logistics and retail sales. Home to legacy and indie brands alike, North Texas fir t emerged as an industry player in the 1960s when Mary Kay Ash launched her company with four skincare products and a foundation. Twenty years later, Sally Beauty moved its headquarters to North Texas. Today, the industry giants report roughly $8 billion in annual sales. More than 15 notable brands call DFW home, including packaging giant FusionPKG, Swiss lab Galderma and its subsidiary Cetaphil, Goodier Cosmetics, and a growing list of luxury skincare labels such as BeautyBio, Revision, Jack Black, and Natura Bissé. With its lucrative beauty counters, Dallas is a top consumer market for many of them. Barcelona’s Natura Bissé established a North American offi in Irving because Neiman Marcus, the company’s top retailer from a revenue standpoint, is based in North Texas. Curran Dandurand, co-founder and

CEO of Jack Black, says Dallas is a top-volume producer for the men’s skincare brand. “Nordstrom NorthPark is our No. 1 volume door in the country, and that one door makes up 4 percent of our total Nordstrom volume,” Dandurand says. In the wake of COVID, a mass migration of beauty companies relocating to DFW is underway and under the radar. Jamie O’Banion, whose BeautyBio is one of the fastest-growing skincare lines in North America, calls DFW the new beauty capital. “I think people forget the DNA of Texas and the beauty roots that are already here,” she says. “There’s an incredible gold mine of amazing chemists and amazing formulators for your brand—whether it’s color [makeup] or skincare, there’s nothing you’re missing here. There has been this interesting migration under the beauty umbrella for skincare and color in Texas, and I think that’s only going to continue.” As evidence, O’Banion points to a handful of acquisitions involving North Texas brands in the past few years. Addison-based EltaMD sold to Colgate in a $730 million deal that included Physicians Care Alliance. Coppell’s Edgewell acquired Fort-Worth men’s skincare brand Jack Black in 2018. That same year, BeautyBio accepted a minority investment from Dallas private equity firm Kainos—the same company that purchased Nutrisystem for $575 million in 2020. “It’s hard to find, outside of fintech, these types of revenue multipliers,” O’Banion says, adding that acquisitions are also evidence of the industry’s resilience during economic downturns. “You never want to use the word recession-proof, but I will say that beauty and pet are two sectors within the consumer-packaged goods world that tend to be very stable in volatile economic environments,” she says. Referred to by economists as the “lipstick effe t,” it’s when consumers eschew big-ticket, luxury item purchases during downturns and instead seek solace in small indulgences, such as premium lipstick and skincare. Last year was no exception; several North Texas companies reported massive gains during the pandemic, particularly in online sales. Jack Black saw its e-commerce sales double. Farmhouse Fresh tripled its B2C (business-to-consumer) sales. Natura Bissé saw a dramatic channel shift from brick and mortar to e-commerce. And luxury skincare line Revision saw a 96 percent rise in online sales. “You see yourself in a mirror every day, recession or not,” says Maria Carrell, the company’s CEO.

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THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY 2021

Momentum in the market for multicultural beauty products.

Founder and CEO CU R LS

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A year into founding Curls, CEO Mahisha Dellinger could not get a buyer at Ulta Beauty, an older White man, to understand the promise of the multicultural market. Target picked up her products in 2008; they’re also now carried by CVS, Walmart, Kroger, Amazon, and others. Last spring, Ulta reached out to Dellinger about a new initiative to designate 15 percent of its product assortment to Black-owned, Blackfounded, and Black-led brands. “It was a full-circle moment,” she says. Although progress has been made, it’s still a challenge to find items that specifically address the concerns of women of color, says Yangu Beauty Founder Sipho Gumbo (below), whose products are sold by Neiman Marcus and Amazon. “We still need more on the market.” To help fill gaps in the industry, Dellinger has started a program to provide services and resources to an estimated 25,000 women entrepreneurs of color.

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THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY 2021

Indie brands tap into the demand for clean products. Serial entrepreneur Shannon McLinden founded clean beauty brand Farmhouse Fresh after success with her fir t endeavor, Summer Soles—liners that keep sandals from slipping. She started with foot scrubs, which took off af er Oprah featured them on her “O List.” From there, McLinden followed consumer demand and began making lotions and other skincare products that used clean ingredients— often growing her own herbs or plants to produce extracts. “It mattered to me, and I found that it also resonated with the spa industry,” she says. In the past few years, what was once a concern for spas has become top of mind for consumers, as many luxury, clean beauty brands, including Tata Harper, Ilia, and Colleen Rothschild, flooded the market. McLinden’s direct-to-consumer base grew roughly 10 times during the pandemic.

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Founder and CEO BEAU TYB I O

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The pandemic sparked profound changes in consumer behaviors. It caused them to bring the spa into their homes and created surges in health-focused personal care purchases. Other fast-moving trends illuminate the importance of ethics, inclusivity, sustainability, and young consumers. One of the biggest sweethearts to emerge from the pandemic is skincare, with clinical skincare being one of the fastest-growing subsegments within the niche. “I think there is a paradigm shift in the consumer; now is our time,” Carrell says. Consumer searches for products with antioxidants, vitamins, and anti-aging compounds skyrocketed, prompted by the pandemic’s push for health and wellbeing. “Ingredients like Vitamin C, niacinamide, hyaluronic acids are really big,” says Shannon McLinden, founder of McKinney natural skincare brand Farmhouse Fresh. Med spas, projected to have a market value of $47.1 billion by 2030, also are rapidly gaining popularity. A big part of the growth comes from younger millennials and Gen Z consumers, who are more educated than their parents and making an earlier entry into prestige skincare—even when it comes to preventative treatments and fillers Another driving force is what industry experts refer to as the “Zoom effe t,” an increase in face and neck procedures as consumers get up close

Men’s skincare in the United States is now a $403 billion market. Twenty-one years ago, Curran Dandurand and a Mary Kay colleague, Emily Dalton, saw an opportunity to fill a hole within Dallas’ luxury skincare market—products for men. “Nobody-

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was catering to the affluent male wh wanted quality, luxury, and effectiveness in his personal care,” Dandurand says. She and Dalton launched 10 skin, beard, and haircare products under the brand Jack Black in 2000. Today, it’s the leading player in a $403 billion global market segment. Dandurand says the

and personal with their own features more regularly through virtual platforms during the pandemic. Louise Proulx, who founded Renew Beauty at NorthPark Center the day the stock market crashed in 2008, says the category is seeing double-digit growth year over year and that injectables are driving the market for the 25-plus consumer. “The difference today is that people need some self-care; we are in a very high-stress world,” she says. “I see no end [to growth] in the business of beauty.” The “Zoom effe t” is driving the use of neurotoxins and fillers, says Stephanie Ortiz, CEO of Dallas’ It’s a Secret Med Spa. The aesthetic injectables market is predicted to grow by 11.8 percent per year and hit $21.6 billion by 2027, according to Grand View Research. Ortiz says one of her vendors saw a nationwide increase of 7.8 percent in injectable sales in the fourth quarter of 2020. Botox holds more than 70 percent of the market and stands as It’s a Secret’s No. 1 product. Ortiz says since reopening this past May, sales have outpaced pre-pandemic numbers by 60 percent. In addition to vertical sales growth, the med spa has grown its EBITDA by more than 20 percent. Internal statistics parallel social media’s infl ence on the brand’s clientele; Ortiz says marketing campaigns contributed to 47 percent of sales during the fir t half of 2021.

men’s market began to accelerate in 2010, with new competitors in the wake of the 2008 downturn. “Men viewed taking care of their skin, shaving, cleansing, and showering as something you don’t skip when there is a recession,” she says. The pandemic’s onslaught in 2020 has led to similar growth; Jack Black’s online

sales were up nearly 100 percent over 2019, and overall sales grew 8 percent. Dandurand hopes that new acne products aimed at Gen Z consumers and strong holiday sales will boost what is turning out to be a good year. “We’re up over last year, about 30 percent, and we’re even up over 2019,” she says.

Y F B E AUT

Some of the notable beauty brands that call DFW home. BeautyBio Bed Head by TIGI Cherry CURLS Farmhouse Fresh FusionPKG Galderma and Cetaphil Goodier Cosmetics Jack Black Joanna Czech Mary Kay Natura Bissé Reina Rebelde Renée Rouleau Revision Skincare Sally Beauty

Jack Black helped pioneer the industry when the company launched in 2000.

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Revision Skincare launched its popular Nectifirm in 2005 to treat aging skin of the neck and décolletage.

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FA S T- M OV I N G I N D U S T RY T R E N D S

The rise of social media has also helped push consumers and retailers to prioritize ethics and inclusivity. Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, for example, are actively sourcing products with clean ingredients and those explicitly marketed to women of color. Historically, beauty retailers’ shelf space has not equitably represented the consumer group’s more than $1 trillion buying power. “Women of color are the No. 1 spender when it comes to beauty products,” says Sipho Gumbo, founder of Yangu Beauty. Neiman Marcus picked up her skincare brand for women of color at the end of 2020. Yangu’s sales have jumped 30 to 40 percent since partnering with the retail beauty giant. Brands also are embracing the natural characteristics and beauty of women of color. “Eighty percent of businesses creating haircare products for women of color are Black-owned,” says Mahisha Dellinger, founder and CEO of Curls. The brand just landed a deal with Ulta Beauty as part of a pledge to allocate 15 percent of Ulta’s product assortment to Blackowned, Black-founded, and Black-led brands. Although progress has been made, there is still plenty of room for improvement. “There isn’t anything that’s talking directly to us, saying ‘This was made with you in mind,’” Gumbo says. Regina Merson, founder of Dallas-based Latina cosmetics brand Reina Rebelde, agrees, noting that poorly executed attempts at bilingual ads are too often the norm. “I hope this is what’s coming: more inclusivity. It’s more authentic inclusivity, not just a token photo. And I hope that there’s more of an integration into the mainstream,” Merson says. Experts say ethical sourcing and clean ingredients have also taken center stage as younger shoppers lean toward vegan and sustainable brands. Revision’s Carrell notes more consumers also are latching on to products manufactured by companies with good environmental, social, and governance scores. “Consumers are becoming more concerned about where products are manufactured, who is behind them, how do they run the company, do they treat their employees fairly, do they buy the standards I expect,” she says. “I think that has become even more important, and COVID just fueled that.” Natura Bissé, for example, launched its vegan Diamond Well Living line in 2021. “As younger consumers come into this category, they are all about natural, organic, vegan because they are much bet-

ter read than we were when we were growing up,” says Jaime Vasquez, who heads up Natura Bissé’s operations in the Americas. Globally, the clean beauty market is estimated to reach $22 billion by 2024, according to Statista Research. In Dallas, large legacy brands and smaller indie players are opting in, spurred by a societal health and wellness push and matching demands from spas. McLinden of Farmhouse Fresh says spas, which made up 80 percent of her clientele before COVID, would turn her skincare products around, inquiring about various ingredients, their sourcing, and their effect. Today, her products have stickers that display each product’s percentage of natural ingredients; most are in the 90s. Many of the botanical extracts McLinden uses are sourced from microgreens grown on her farm. Packaging players are also following suit, opting for recyclable resins and plastics wherever possible. “Half of our product line today is sustainable,” says Derek Harvey, co-CEO of FusionPKG, a Dallas company that supplies packaging to nearly every large luxury cosmetics retailer. “Within the next few years, probably 80 percent of the products will be sustainable.” PROBLEM AREAS NO MORE

As trends and consumers have evolved over the past year, so has North Texas. Growth obstacles of the past, such as talent challenges and a lack of private equity, are becoming less of a hurdle, drawing in new players and expanding market share. “Remote work opens up an entirely new pool of talent because now we all have the infrastructure to work in a remote environment,” says O’Banion, who has recently hired several off-site employees. And as challenges of the past clear up, the region’s central location (which means better shipping and business travel costs), lower property taxes, and inexpensive warehouse space are becoming even more appealing to coastal companies. Those same lures are attracting more financial companies and investors to North Texas, expanding capital opportunities for new and growing beauty brands. “One thing that will continue to bolster all new brands is deepening our venture and private equity partners that are here,” O’Banion says. Funding will also propel innovation, which will boost growth in the sector, adds Vazquez of Natura Bissé. “The depth of innovation, creativity, and research is going to flourish here in North Texas.”

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THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY 2021

Packaging giant FusionPKG cuts launch time with turnkey services.

CEO I T’S A SECR ET MED SPA

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Cosmetics manufacturing is a big undertaking that typically requires brands to sign separate contracts with formulators and packaging professionals. Dallas-based FusionPKG combines both under one roof through a turnkey beauty lab. Founded in 2004, FusionPKG made a name for itself by creating packaging for massive cosmetic clients. With an estimated $80 million in sales, it was acquired last year by personal care giant Aptar to focus more on the burgeoning turnkey market. Derek Harvey, co-founder and co-CEO of FusionPKG, expects the group to go from 10 to 50 percent of the company’s business in the next three to fi e years. A team of scientists and designers can pull together product, marketing, and packaging concepts and come back in six months or so with an entire product line. “This is huge for brands,” Harvey says.

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BERRY

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CHRIS CALANDRO NEVER MADE HIS HIGH

Footballs are stitched from the inside out. The most strenuous part of the process is flipping the balls so they’re leather side out.

The company manufactures footballs for big-name college programs that have partnerships with Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, and more.

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school’s varsity football team, but his dream of infl encing the sport never left him. After tearing his ACL in an adult flag football game, Calandro idly recovered in bed, but his mind churned with ideas. He had grown up in Baton Rouge with his stay-at-home-mom, Bettie, and his father, Joe, a World War II veteran whose homebuilding business made just enough to support a family of 11. With seven daughters and two sons, the Calandros could field a gridiron team by themselves For Chris and his older brother, Joey, football was the dream. He was never the biggest, fastest, or strongest kid, but he still envisioned himself someday playing under the open roof on a beautiful Sunday, sporting the star for America’s Team. “Here comes No. 12, Roger Staubach,” Joey would shout, imitating a game announcer’s voice. Then, as imaginary smoke cleared from the garage door opening, Chris would come running onto the driveway wearing a well-worn white t-shirt adorned with “Staubach” and the No. 12, written in Sharpie. Today, Staubach’s Navy Midshipmen and 108 other NCAA Division I programs use footballs made by the company Calandro founded, Big Game USA. The Farmers Branch-based business dominates the college market, making an impressive 85 percent of gameready footballs for FBS teams. Using high-quality American cowhide and composite materials, Big Game USA produces 600 footballs a day for the sport’s biggest programs and players. The company’s roots are in commemorative balls that celebrate player performances or significant events, with some

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With his football manufacturing company, Calandro has impacted the game off the gridi on more than he ever would have on it.

even finding their way to shelves within the Oval Offic Big Game has gifted trophy pigskins to every U.S. Commander in Chief since President George H. W. Bush. The company now ships up to 500 footballs per program, per season. The University of Texas, The University of Alabama, LSU, the University of Michigan, and countless other powerhouse programs are clients. Big Game’s high school market is also booming, with more than 2,000 schools throughout the Southwest and Midwest ordering custom game balls. Calandro gives his team full credit for the company’s success. Just like a quarterback cannot play every position on the field, the CEO cannot perform every function within the business. “Everybody has a significan contribution on how we do this,” he says. “Everyone on the team touches every single ball we make.”

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO COU RTESY OF BIG GAME USADROP CAP SH UT TE RSTOCK

A LWAYS T H E U N D E R D O G

Calandro, who describes himself as a late bloomer, was not great at sports growing up, nor was he great at school. He skated by in high school and was limited to spectator status on the playing field. “I was not someone you would have picked out and said, ‘Watch this kid become something special,’” he says. Today, Calandro’s teammates see him as an MVP. Mike Boniol, who attended college with the CEO and is now Big Game’s FBS Division I account manager, praises his boss’ leadership skills. “Chris is relentless,” he says. “He is in constant pursuit of excellence. He strives to improve 1 percent each day, and that mentality has carried Big Game.” After graduating from Broadmoor Senior High in 1984, Calandro had no clue where his life was headed. A stroke of luck, he says, led to him being accepted into LSU. Four years passed, but he still was unsure about his future. Despite the college degree that would open plenty of doors, all he could focus on was the door he never opened. “Not joining the military is my biggest regret in life.” Calandro gained his admiration for the Armed Forces from his father. Raised during the Great Depression, he served the United States overseas in World War II, then pursued his American dream through homebuilding. When walking through Big Game’s factory, that respect is on display, with several mannequins sporting Navy, Army, and Air Force football uniforms. Entering the job market in 1989 with a degree in general studies, Calandro was intent on traveling just one path: Interstates 49 to 20. This led him to Dallas in pursuit of a girl, Christiann, who would eventually become

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his wife. Calandro’s fir t job in Dallas was with Beckett Media, which has since evolved into the world’s most trusted source for grading and pricing sports cards and memorabilia. “Just give me a job. I’ll work for free. All I need is a chance,” Calandro pleaded with the higher-ups at Beckett. He scored a job in the warehouse, put his head down, and got to work. Before long, he climbed the ladder to become manager of sports products. In 1992, he took his fir t steps toward helming his own team. His alma mater, Broadmoor Senior High, earned its way into the Louisiana High School Football State Championship at the Superdome in New Orleans. Calandro, his love still burning bright for the school and the team he never made, wanted to celebrate the accomplishment for three coaches he knew on staff by gifting them with commemorative footballs. Although the team lost the championship 37–22, Calandro still felt the tribute was necessary. “I called all the big sporting goods companies and said, ‘I want to buy three footballs.’ The big brands that answered told me they didn’t take orders for just three balls. ‘If you want to get an order for 100 together, we’ll do something,’ they said. The big brands that didn’t answer or told me to get gone fueled me. They insulted me.”

A NEW BEGINNING

Calandro ended up purchasing three footballs from the local sporting goods store and painted them. “The fir t prototypes were dreadful,” he says. Not long after, recovering from the ACL tear, his entrepreneurial gears turned. He worked up the nerve to call every major col-

PENNSYLVANIA Avenue piGSKINS Commemorative footballs by Big Game head to the White House. Football is as American as it gets. So, it only made sense for Big Game USA to capitalize on its expertise to send pigskins to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Every year, college football national champion teams are invited to the White House. As a gift from the team to the President, a personalized, or in some cases bronzed, game ball made by Big Game USA is presented as a trophy. In 2003, the LSU Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners to claim the national championship. Mike “Bones” Boniol, now an account manager for Big Game, was an equipment manager for LSU at the time continued on page 45

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threading the needle Big Game’s process combines high-tech innovation with the artistry of hand craftsmanship.

STEP one Leveraging specialty software, a computer projects the ball’s shape onto premium leather.

STEP two A high-tech die-cut press cuts the outlines into panels.

STEP three A press plate embosses the leather with a team’s logo.

STEP four Workers fuse a three-layer, cross-laid reinforcement with natural outer materials and stitch a fabric reinforcement under the location of the laces.

STEP five Sewers stitch the football’s panels together.

STEP six A rubber bladder is placed within the leather shell and aired up.

STEP seven The ball is laced with the customer’s color preference.

STEP eight The ball’s shape is perfected to 10.5-11.5 inches in length, a length circumference of 28 inches, and a width circumference of 21 inches.

STEP nine An electric brush buffs th ball, providing the perfect game-ready adhesion.

STEP ten The ball is ready to be tossed for touchdowns.

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lege football program and NFL team to tell them he was painting commemorative footballs. “I told them who I was and what I wanted to do. I got hung up on a lot, got cussed out a couple of times. But I got ahold of some nice guys at Purdue, The University of Texas, and Dallas Cowboys, and they asked me to send them a sample.” Calandro started with those teams, built strong relationships, and grew his client base from there. While maintaining his post at Beckett, he honed his painting skills, and other teams took note. His model was simple. After a game, NFL and college football teams would ship him their game-used footballs. He’d paint a white panel then cover it with the score, key stats, date, and more, commemorating what the team or player desired to spotlight. Then, he shipped each ball back just five days later for $25 per ball. Through the years, Calandro adorned touchdown balls scored by local greats: Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, and many others. Feeling optimistic about Big Game’s prospects, he quit his job at Beckett and hired his fir t employee. They were quickly neck-deep in footballs. “I was painting game balls, and I had a bunch of accounts—the Atlanta Falcons, the Dallas Cowboys, and more,” Calandro says. “But I’m starting to get more than I can handle. I’m painting all these in my garage and working 70plus hours a week. I start to hate it because it’s monotonous. I’m tired of sniffin paint fumes. It was work I couldn’t do anymore. So, I thought the only way to scale this thing is for me to learn how to stitch a ball.” The decision turned out to be a game-changer. In 2008, Calandro saved enough money from his 70-hour work weeks to put down the paint, hire a star sewist, and bring eight additional employees on board. He watched college football game tapes for hours a day, keying in on how and why players fumbled, threw interceptions, or struggled to handle the ball in any way. By improving the football, he realized, he could enhance player performance. When sourcing materials, he didn’t shy away from paying up. Premium leather is not cheap, but making the best product requires the best materials. Still, he took no outside funding to get the new iteration of Big Game off the ground. Every dollar he invested he had earned from painting balls in his garage. As the products evolved, Calandro and his team spent hours working with quarterbacks, coaches, and other personnel to perfect the feel, shape, laces, durability, and every minute detail of a ball. “Speaking directly to coaches and players is crucial,” Boniol says. “Whereas other companies’ overseas factories are only given a spec sheet and a picture, they don’t understand what makes a football better. We study everything all the time.”

After a lot of constructive criticism, many failed attempts, and fl t-out rejections, Big Game hit the big time. Nike received word of Calandro’s innovations and hand-produced footballs, and that ultimately led to the stamping of a Swoosh on some pigskins. Sporting one of the most iconic logos in all of sports, TCU, Ole Miss, the University of Colorado, Georgia Tech, and the University of Florida were chosen to receive the fir t batch of Nike-branded Big Game balls.

HITTING THE BIG TIME

At the start of the 2008 college football season, Big Game footballs made their debut when the Florida Gators faced off against the University of Hawaii. Calandro watched from his couch at home, praying the ball did not pop on the opening kickoff. “I was an absolute nervous wreck,” he recalls. “The balls were not fully tested, and every time there was a fumble, I freaked out.” None of the balls defl ted, but there were several fumbles by the quarterback on the snap. Thankfully for Calandro, the team trainer reported a particularly sweaty center as the culprit. From the moment the footballs hit the field, they garnered attention from scores of programs. The proof was in the performance, and Big Game quickly became an ally for major programs. “The most important aspect to product development and improvement is letting your consumers have a say about it,” Calandro says. He knew if he could keep the quarterbacks happy, he’d keep coaches happy. And when you keep coaches happy, word spreads like wildfire

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Big Game ensures that its footballs are never one-sizefits-all. eams are able to customize every detail, down to the color of the ball’s laces.

The process to make one football takes the team about 18 minutes. With 50 hands touching every ball, about 600 are produced every day.

Big Game had fi e customers when it started. It grew its base to 80 accounts after just one season of having its balls used at the Division 1 level.

Each year, about 120,000 footballs are produced at Big Game’s 20,000-squarefoot facility in Farmers Branch.

The next year, Big Game USA went from having five startup accounts to 80, including The University of Texas. “Big Game produces a ball that makes everyone happy, from our quarterbacks to coaches to the kickers,” says Matt Rutherford, director of equipment operations at UT. “They are always ready and willing to work with us to customize everything from leather, shape, laces, and tackiness, to the color of the ball.” Other fans include Garrett Riley, Southern Methodist University’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, who says, “We can count on their dedication to detail to provide us with the best possible football to compete at the highest level.” That dedication landed the company business it hadn’t even been chasing, and the taste of success led the Big Game team to push on. The company quickly took control of the college foot-

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ball market, leaving competitors to wonder what had happened. “What makes us competitive is I do not give a rip about how much it costs to improve a football,” Calandro says. “If it makes the game better, I am going to do it. I don’t answer to shareholders or anyone about profits. his business is about winning.” Each year, 120,000 footballs are manufactured at Big Game USA’s factory, pushing the limits on the company’s 20,000-square-foot facility in Farmers Branch. A larger operation could be on the horizon. With consistent double-digit growth, Big Game is forcing the ball downfield. Its footballs have been used by the winners of nine of the last 10 NCAA National Championships, and it has broken into the professional ranks through the XFL. Calandro has held onto humility through the company’s ascension, but he is always looking for the next opportunity. One prize is of particular interest: Big Game’s top competitor currently has the contract to manufacture footballs for the National Football League. Calandro is not fazed. “Every contract comes to an end,” he says. “And the hunger we had as an up-and-coming company is still very much there.”

PENNSYLVANIA Avenue piGSKINS The bronzed footballs initially sparked a security incident. continued from page 43

and put in an order for a bronze football for George W. Bush. The strenuous sculpting and letter pressing process took weeks to perfect and was completed just in time. “We got the ball the day before the plane trip to D.C.,” Boniol says. He waltzed into the White House with the bronzed football, but it was quickly confisc ted. After security verified th t it was indeed just a football and not a weapon, Big Game’s ball made its way into the hands of President Bush.

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The region’s best corporate lawyers are better at their jobs because of their unique personal experiences. O N E O F T H E M O S T C O M P L E X R O L E S I N T H E C- S U I T E is held by the corporate counsel. Their multifaceted work requires them at different times to be a teacher, decision-maker, defender, risk-taker, negotiator, protector, and more. Above all, they are the chief executive’s most trusted adviser. For the past 12 years, D CEO has honored the best in the business through its annual Corporate Counsel Awards. (See full list of finalists and winners on page 49.) Experience and education are essential to rising to the top of the corporate legal ranks. Still, one cannot discount how experiences outside boardrooms and courtrooms impact how they approach their jobs.

2 0 2 1 C O R P O R AT E C O U N S E L AWA R D S

story by WILL

MADDOX

p h o t o g ra p h y by YA R O S L AV

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DANYLCHENKO

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For some, those lessons begin very early in life. That was the case for McKesson Corp.’s Alexandria Hien McCombs. Asking, “When can I get this done?” not “Can I get this done?” is a mindset that helped her and her family escape a collapsing South Vietnam in the spring of 1975. And it’s a philosophy that she applies today in her role as managing chief counsel at the pharmaceutical distribution giant. Her father served in the South Vietnamese navy. As the North Vietnamese closed in on Saigon, a 19-month-old McCombs and her family were on one of the last boats out as part of Operation Frequent Wind, which evacuated American civilians and at-risk citizens at the end of the Vietnam war. The mission was led by 30-year-old Richard Armitage, a former naval officer who had mastered the Vietnamese language and joined a Department of Defense command. He went on to become Deputy Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. McCombs was able to connect with him later in life and thank him for his leadership. “I asked him, ‘How did you have the resolve, fortitude, and bravery to pull off something like this?’” McCombs says. “He told me that when he approaches any challenge or any obstacle, he always thinks of when can I get this done? He never thinks about whether he could accomplish something. That resonated with me. Sometimes you can limit yourself by thinking, ‘I’m not sure I can even tackle this.’ I think back to Armitage’s words of planning it out.” After their ship nearly sank and taking shelter on an island that doubled as a prison, McCombs’ family lived in refugee camps in the Philippines and Guam before being sponsored by churches in Pennsylvania. She grew up in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, as one of the small town’s few Asian residents. Other Asians in the community were her extended family, she says. McCombs remembers sitting at the lunch table at school, opening her rice dish and eggrolls, wishing she could munch on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich like her young peers. But the experience would pay dividends down the line. “It definitely elevated my consciousness of being very open and sensitive to others,” she says. When McCombs’ parents were denied a home loan that would have allowed them to move into a better school district, she wrote an essay in her 7th-grade class that was noticed by her teacher. The teacher reassured her that she was getting a good education in her district but offered to help her earn a scholarship to an elite private school in the area. The time and energy her teacher gave her is reflected in how McCombs views her work as a corporate counsel. “I take on a teacher role in helping my clients, whom I see as my students,” she says. “I want to give them options and help them find solutions that work best. I see the role that we have as in-house counsels as teachers who help our clients think more independently.”

G A I N I N G BY G I V I N G B AC K

A basketball team walk-on at Southern Methodist University, Peter A. Lodwick ended his collegiate career as a three-year

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starter and captain with a full athletic scholarship. He knows a thing or two about discipline and teamwork, both of which have been essential to his rise to become managing director and general counsel at RGT Advisors, a Dallas-based wealth management Alexandria Hien company. Lodwick also has learned McCOMBS the value of giving back. A current member of the executive board of SMU’s Cox School of Business, he has also served on the university’s Board of Trustees, the board of its Dedman School of Law. But it is his work with the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, including serving as president of the club Peter A. from 2018 to 2020, that have had the LODWICK most impact, he says. He joined the Salesmanship Club in 2004, holding various leadership roles over the years, including being elected to the board twice and working on the organization’s strategic plan. As the host organization of the PGA’s AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament, it foTasha Stringer cused year-round on perfecting every GRINNELL aspect of the event. Since its inception, the tournament has raised $167 million for the Momentous Institute, which works with families and communities to improve social and emotional health of children. The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 Byron Nelson, and later that year, the organization announced that the event would move to TPC Craig Ranch. The changes made the usually ceremonial presidency one of the most eventful to date, but it also gave Lodwick valuable experience that serves him well in his current role. As president of a 620-member club, it was his job to be the decision-maker, take advice from past presidents and other officers, and help negotiate deals with big-time players such as AT&T, PGATour, and ClubCorp, which owns TPC Craig Ranch. As the head of the Salesmanship Club, he needed information to be boiled down to the essential matters and communicated clearly and effectively. He saw stellar examples of those communication skills and others that were less than perfect, but both helped him understand how to do the same as a corporate lawyer. “I learned a lot in leadership positions that helped me be a better counselor to people who are similarly situated,” Lodwick says. “The club is primarily composed of people who run their own businesses and have strong opinions, so you have to work collaboratively with them. Communication on issues is as important as the solution itself.” Lodwick’s many roles in board leadership at SMU deepened his connection to the university and led to mentoring opportu-

H E A D S H OT S C O U R T E S Y O F C O M P A N I E S

C O R P O R AT E C O U N S E L AWA R D S 2 0 2 1

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nities with current students. Lodwick finds these relationships invigorating, and says they help him remember why he entered the legal world in the first place. For the same reasons, he also he seeks out mentoring opportunities at his firm. “It’s important to mentor in the workplace, and I see a parallel between those two things—mentoring students and mentoring the next generation in your workplace.”

E M B R AC I N G D I V E R S E S T R E N G T H S

Tasha Grinnell Stringer was a military brat who grew up all over the country. She leans into her Black Hawaiian roots as she navigates her vice president and assistant general counsel role at Neiman Marcus Group. Her diverse background is matched by the various sectors in which she has worked, including but not limited to the dairy, cybersecurity, and logistics industries. She embraces who she is, and it serves her well. “It’s impossible to deny who I am,” Stringer says. “When I walk into a room, everybody knows that I’m a woman of color, so I lead with that. Sometimes it’s beneficial, but sometimes it is not. That’s the reality of the world. It’s not like I can pretend not to be a Black woman, so I try my best to use that to my advantage, use it to help others, and to serve as a mentor who other individuals can truly look up to.” The mother of two has held volunteer leadership roles on the boards of Booker T. Washington School of Visual and Performing Arts, the Dallas Black Dance Theater, and Corporate Counsel Women of Color, among others. The involvement helps her stay connected and understand new perspectives. This, in turn, aids when representing the company in employment issues with its 13,500 employees or being the point person to help Neiman Marcus navigate the pandemic. “The beauty of immersing yourself in your community is that you can see the bigger picture,” Grinnell says. “When you spread your wings throughout the community, you get to hear what other companies are doing.” Knowing that those around her look up to her and see themselves in her shoes gives her confidence as a corporate counsel. During the pandemic, her daughters were able to see her work and better understand the impactful role she plays in her company. “It hit home for me that it wasn’t just the less fortunate children in the community who I mentor, but my own daughters were seeing me in this role, and it was impacting who they are and who they ultimately will be,” she says. “For me, that has been the greatest gift.” That realization helps her bring her best to work every day. “The more that I ascend in my career, the more that I realize my duty to my people,” she says. “I see that people truly are looking up to me.” All 2021 Corporate Counsel Awards finalists were honored at an exclusive event on Sept. 29 at On the Levee. For a photo recap, visit www.dceomagazine.com.

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2021 Corporate Counsel Award Finalists O U T S TA N D I N G G E N E R A L C O U N S E L , L A R G E L E G A L D E PA R T M E N T Tasha Stringer Grinnell, Neiman Marcus Group (W) Lisa Staler Gallerano, Guaranty Bank & Trust (F) O U T S TA N D I N G G E N E R A L C O U N S E L , S M A L L L E G A L D E PA R T M E N T Clayton Sporich, Tap Rock Resources (W) Grant Adams, Goodnight Midstream (F) Michael Cavalier, Cinemark Holdings (F) Bonnie M. DePasse, HomeVestors of America (F) Bill Dunne, Civitas Capital Group (F) Tara D. Mackey, AZZ (F) O U T S TA N D I N G G E N E R A L C O U N S E L , S O L O Peter A. Lodwick, RGT Wealth Advisors (W) Travis O. Foster, Work Shield (F) Jeff Hansen, Alamo Pressure Pumping (F) Erik Holt, Teal Natural Resources (F) David Mace Roberts, Electronic Transaction Consultants (F) Nick Schanbaum, ParkHub (F) O U T S TA N D I N G D E P U T Y/ A S S O C I AT E G E N E R A L C O U N S E L , L A R G E L E G A L D E PA R T M E N T A. Shonn Brown, Kimberly-Clark Corp. (W) Aliya Horne, Cognizant Technologies Solutions U.S. (F) Jane Ann R. Neiswender, Sabre Corp. (F) O U T S TA N D I N G D E P U T Y/ A S S O C I AT E G E N E R A L C O U N S E L , S M A L L L E G A L D E PA R T M E N T James W. Bristow, EnLink Midstream (W) Ryan S. Parley, Neiman Marcus Group (F) O U T S TA N D I N G I N - H O U S E C O U N S E L Christopher J. Pappaioanou, Envoy Air (W) Jenny McCarley, Brinks Home Security (F) Denton Muse, City Electric Supply (F) John A. Poakeart, PepsiCo (F) Laura Tarantino, Oceans Healthcare (F) C H A M P I O N O F D I V E R S I T Y: Alexandria Hien McCombs, McKesson Corp. (W) Olesja L. Cormney, Toyota Motor North America (F) O U T S TA N D I N G U P - A N D - C O M E R Wande Elam, Toyota Motor North America (W) Dominic “DJ” Merino, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (F) Jim Phillips, PMG Worldwide (F)

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BA N K I N G R O U N DTA B L E

State of Banking: A Roundtable Discussion for Businesses Dallas’ most respected banking leaders share their assessments regarding how local businesses are currently handling their banking and finan es as well as the various trends they have observed and, in many cases, established. In Discussion With

BRIAN ENZLER Managing Director and Market Executive-Texas, Commercial Banking, BMO Harris Bank

O P EN I N G I M AG E : S H U T TE R S TO C K ; H E A DS H OTS CO U RT E S Y O F CO M PA N I E S

ERIC POINTER CEO, Credit Union of Texas

DENNIS J. WRIGHT President, Dallas, UMB

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Other than favorable lending rates, what are businesses looking for in a banking relationship? ERIC POINTER: In today’s world, relationships are

often still the most important part of doing b usiness, and companies want to feel that they have a meaningful relationship with their lender. They’re looking for a trusted lender that can educate them about opportunities, be a partner in their growth, and evaluate them holistically. The ability to bring flexibility and creativity to the meet the unique needs of our members are also diff rentiating factors for us. DENNIS WRIGHT: An important question for businesses to ask is, “Do you know your b anker?” Now, more than ever, companies need a banking partner that understands their business and how to support them through their life cycle. After the events and impact of 2020, it’s clear that b usinesses need a partner with a grasp on the nuances of their company and one that can off r customized solutions to navigate them through good, or challenging, times. BRIAN ENZLER: Businesses are seeking responsiveness, flexibilit , creativity, sound advice, stable relationships, and a financial partner that will stand with the company when challenges arise. They’re also looking for proactive solutions to drive effic ncy and consistent support for growth initiatives.

How does a bank in 2021 differentiate itself from the competition? Has the economic climate as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic shifted that? At Credit Union of Texas, we believe community engagement, listening to the needs of our members, and a willingness adapt to their evolving needs are what diff rentiates us. Where banks pay shareholders, we invest in our members and our communities. CUTX connects people to local resources in the areas of suburban homelessness, domestic violence, food insecurity, intellectual and developmental needs, and children’s advocacy. We started as a teacher’s credit union more than 90 years ago. Our continued partnerships with ISDs have helped us make an impact in the important area of financial literacy. Our members are best served by our continued focus on education, use of a broader lens when making credit decisions, and by using data analytics to anticipate their needs. BRIAN ENZLER: Our clients value proactive and consistent communication more than ever. With the uncertainty and volatility of the pandemic

environment—supply chains, labor, government programs, health concerns, equity markets, etc.— our perspectives on what we see working for others and how we can support the business’ capital needs has never been more welcome. DENNIS WRIGHT: This is clearly a time where relationships matter. Without relationships, there is no way to diff rentiate because you will lack the strong partnership required to off r the right solutions for your clients. Relationships are essential to the way we do business, and we leaned into that even more during the pandemic to ensure clients and customers felt that partnership as they navigated unchartered territory. Our model is built for all economic environments and that has proven out again this past year. We continue to lend and support the economy while remaining nimb le, flexible, and esponsive to our customers.

What are the pros and cons of charitable giving for businesses today? BRIAN ENZLER: Charitable giving and community

involvement are, in my view, always important for b usiness. They provide a way to give b ack, help others, and engage with the community directly in a tangible way. These activities can also help build culture as team members contribute

designated communities and addressing each community’s specifi needs through both fi ancial support and team member volunteer hours. We promote a volunteer program to all our employees. With each hour that our employees volunteer, they receive an hour of PTO. Our volunteer program allowed our employees to serve over 500 volunteer hours last year alone.

How is the current tax landscape affecting your business clients in terms of their banking strategies? BRIAN ENZLER: Many business owners are expect-

ing increases in capital gains tax rates and are therefore implementing strategies to potentially accelerate execution of their estate planning or to otherwise mitigate the impact of higher taxes. We collab orate closely with our private wealth and corporate advisory teams to provide custom solutions in support of those effort .

In today’s economic environment, which industries and markets show opportunity? ERIC POINTER: Credit Union of Texas is currently

expanding our focus to include rural and underbanked areas in East Texas. With consolidation

“If you’re doing business in Dallas-Fort Worth, you’ve got opportunities galore.” B R I AN EN Z L ER , B M O H AR R I S BAN K

ERIC POINTER:

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and participate together. That said, management teams must consider how to prioritize resources to maximize impact and ensure the continued success of the business. When done right, a virtuous cycle is created. ERIC POINTER: At Credit Union of Texas, we firml believe that giving back to the communities you serve is one of the most important things a business can do. Charitable giving not only off rs obvious financial benefit to a community but it often also provides a community with much-needed, hands-on volunteer support. In addition, we fin that financial and volunteer service to our communities is one of the best ways to connect with our communities and members. In fact, we have a dedicated team of community engagement specialists who focus solely on partnering with their

in the industry, we believe we can provide enormous value to personal and commercial members there. Our community engagement model will also provide a powerful impact to the public and organizations we’re able to partner with. BRIAN ENZLER: It’s good to be in Texas, especially North Texas! If you’re doing business in Dallas-Fort Worth, you’ve got opportunities galore.

Are there tools or technologies that your bank has implemented that are changing the way you serve clients or the information and insights you’re able to provide? What excites you about the role of technology in banking? ERIC POINTER: In looking to create an easier mem-

ber experience, we have identified several digital

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9/2/21 12:35 PM

Global expertise. Local attitude. We work here.

As your business continues to grow and evolve, it deserves the capabilities of a global bank — while staying nimble, like a local one. As the 8th largest bank in North America, we’re proud to say we can. No matter what your vision is, your Dallas-based team brings deep industry expertise and strategic guidance to help uncover opportunities and take your business to new heights. That’s why we work here. Brian Enzler 214-738-3153 brian.enzler@bmo.com bmoharris.com/commercial Banking products are subject to approval and are provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC.

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solutions that push pre-screened off rs and other data to members, rather than relying on them to pull it themselves or submit a standard application. This better serves our members by removing the anxiety associated with the typical approval process and provides them with the real-time data and potential cost-savings details needed to make sound financial decisions. We implemented a business-to-member texting platform that sends reminders and other communications and allows for the ability to make payments via text. We have also implemented appointment-setting software that allows us to provide a safe environment for our members during the peak times of the pandemic. DENNIS WRIGHT: What has always set us apart is that we will tailor our technologies and solutions to clients’ particular needs. We integrate our technology to build effic ncies for a broad range of clients—not just a select few.

Based on what you’ve seen with your clients, how does the current state of our economy affect business banking strategies? BRIAN ENZLER: Communication, communication,

tially large shift in tax policy with the new administration, business owners are reviewing their options. Those who were already considering selling their business in coming years could take action this year to avoid unfavorable tax policy changes.

What financial ervices products and programs have emerged as popular among your business clients in the last few years? Technology-based solutions continue to see high demand for optimizing liquidity, increasing effic ncy, and reducing risk. We’re helping clients continue to move away from paper and manual processes toward electronic payments and workfl ws. We’re fully automating payments, providing custom accounts to maximize yield on cash, and bringing heightened awareness to fraud risk and prevention measures. DENNIS WRIGHT: We continue to experience growing demand in integrated payables. The need to streamline payments and reduce costs b ecame even greater last year, and seamless, secure, and effic nt payments are being increasingly accepted as a critical part of successful business operations. BRIAN ENZLER:

“Local businesses tend to be expanding and investing more this year due to favorable interest rates, M&A interest, and continued business and residential relocation to the area.” DENNIS J. WR I G H T, U M B

DENNIS WRIGHT: During the peak of the pandemic,

as a relationship-centric bank, we really missed the ability to sit face-to-face with many of our clients and customers and have in-person interactions. While those encounters are important to our business and we’re glad to be able to safely conduct them again, the growth of our digital off rings and digital communications over the past year have made us more flexible than before, and we will continue to take full advantage of our enhanced technology to benefit our cli nts.

Population growth in Dallas and surrounding areas has been robust. Are your business clients experiencing positive effects? DENNIS WRIGHT: Dallas has become a prime relocation destination for people and businesses across the country. We’re seeing the benefits, especially for local suppliers who are experiencing a positive impact from increased demand. Over the longterm, the favorable tax environment and business climate in the state could lead to more migration and strengthen numerous industries in the region.

How have the events of the past year changed investment behavior and investor decision making? BRIAN ENZLER: Companies are investing in technology that automates processes and allows teams to be more effic nt, whether in-person or at the site of business. Investment in automation is not just for businesses that manage physical products anymore. We’re seeing investment in technology that streamlines processes in all sectors.

What are some of your clients’ biggest financial oncerns currently, and how are you addressing them? communication. More than at any time I can remember, management teams want to hear more from their bankers more often. The perspectives we can b ring—whether on new technology, industry expertise, general observations about how businesses are solving challenges, or solutions to maximize shareholder returns—have always been valuable, but perhaps never more so than in today’s incredibly dynamic marketplace. DENNIS WRIGHT: There are a few ways the current economy is impacting the industry. First, being able to find labor and talent at a desirable cost is a very real concern. Companies are hiring again, but a challenge in our economic recovery and the success of small businesses will be access to talent. Additionally, amid questions surrounding a poten-

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Overall, UMB has been continually investing in our technology. We have built out our innovative digital banking off rings, like our business online banking platform. We have always been nimble and responsive to client needs, and now that businesses have become more flexible in their operations, we are making sure our solutions continue to enhance their banking experience.

During the peak of the pandemic, methods of providing service to clients were modified y most, if not all, industries. Are you finding tha some of the new methods you deployed will remain in place as pandemic conditions ease?

Many of our clients have done well this past year and feel optimistic as the economy fully reopens. There remains some general caution on investments and supply chain issues for certain industries, but one of the current concerns for clients with cash on their balance sheet is what course of action they should take—and when—with a potential shift in tax policy. We’re working with clients to find the b est financin solutions for their unique situations. DENNIS WRIGHT:

Despite a stronger economy and higher inflation at time of publication), the Fed has indicated that interest rate hikes are unlikely through 2023. They have taken the view that the current DCEOMAGAZINE.COM

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increase is the CPI is transitory as it is largely due in part to the supply chain backlog. Do you agree with their assessment? BRIAN ENZLER: Many of our customers are expe-

riencing not only supply chain cost increases and delays, but wage pressures from an exceptionally tight labor market (that tend not to be temporary). Supply chain challenges appear to have moderated in some areas but not others, and I expect challenges to continue for some time. With the combination of these two factors, I expect the Fed to raise rates sooner than forecast.

Any trends you are seeing in what Dallas-Fort Worth-based business borrowers are doing with the financin you provide? DENNIS WRIGHT: Local

businesses tend to be expanding and investing more this year due to favorable interest rates, M&A interest, and continued b usiness and residential relocation to the area. Last year, businesses were far more cautious due to economic uncertainty. Now we’re seeing more capital expenditures—with companies taking on

“In today’s world, relationships are often still the most important part of doing business, and companies want to feel that they have a meaningful relationship with their lender.” E R I C P O I N T E R , C R ED I T U N I O N O F T E X AS

debt to do that. This is an ideal time to make that move if you’re committing to a long-term asset; business migration to the region and the overall economic climate are driving a lot of capital expenditure investments based on expected growth. BRIAN ENZLER: After coming through the pandemic environment with strong balance sheets and lean operations, many borrowers are utilizing debt capital to grow their business through acquisitions or capital expenditures. We’re also seeing an uptick in financed dividends/distributions as estate and tax planning mechanisms.

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WE B S ITE S

What is the top question every CFO should ask their current banker? DENNIS WRIGHT: We’ve heard from local business-

es that, in the wake of the pandemic, they learned their b ank might not share the same optimism and outlook for their industry. CFOs need to ask their banker, “What is your view on my company’s industry?” and make sure they have the right banking partner in their corner. BRIAN ENZLER: “What are three ways you can help me grow my business?”

WE TELL YOUR BRAND’S STORY LIKE IT BELONGS IN THESE PAGES. VID EOS & P O D C A S TS

SO CIAL M E D IA

HI@DCUSTOM .COM | (214) 523- 0300 | DCUSTOM .COM/DCEO

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Thank you! TREC Community Investors would like to thank all of our in-kind donors, professional services partners and the members of The Real Estate Council (TREC) who have united in working to bring transformative projects to the Forest District in South Dallas. Together, we are realizing our city’s full potential by revitalizing underserved neighborhoods into thriving communities. Action Gypsum Supply

DLR Group

Shahan and Sons

ARCO/Murray Design Build

Express Drywall

TD Industries Ferguson

Associate Leadership Council Class of 2020

Ferguson

Telios

Bargreen

Fisk Electric

Texas Air Systems

George D. Alan

Thackeray Partners

GUIDE Architecture, LLC

The Demo Company

Johnson and Sons

The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C.

Win Supply

Pennington Commercial

Young Guns Community Investment Project Committee

BOSMA Design Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC Butler Masonry Corgan Richards DFW Door DGB Glass

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Richards Group/Latitude Ron Davis Consulting

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WE’RE IGNITING THE INDUSTRY

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OCTOBER 2021

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

S T R AT E G I C M OV E S

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y YA R O S L AV D A N Y L C H E N K O

Turning Competition Into an Advantage John Paul Merritt, Founder and CEO PONY OIL

“after spending time working as a contract landman for turner oil & gas, i decided to venture out on my own and start Pony Oil. It allowed me to begin with some small wins in the space while building the experience I needed to grow the company into what it is today. Eventually, the small wins started to add up, and before you know it, the wins were getting bigger and bigger. I have always told my team that ‘the harder it is in the market, the better for us.’ Pony thrives in these conditions, as our culture is very quick to pivot and find opportunities. We have no investors and no board to answer to, which gives us the ability to move at light speed compared to competitors. And because our family office invests in a diverse sphere of verticals, COVID gave us the opportunity to do that in a way few challenges have before, and we thrived.” —As told to Ben Swanger

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H E A LT H C A R E

Cracking Down on Fraudsters North Texas is on the leading edge of identifying and prosecuting healthcare fraud. story by WILL MADDOX

the red flags at forest park medical Center came early and often. Doctors at the Dallas hospital observed questionable practices, and partners noted vast sums of money being allocated for “marketing.” A 2016 lawsuit became a harbinger of trouble for the now-infamous Dallas operation. Dr. Lisa Umholtz, an early investor in the company, alleged that she was expelled for not sending enough patients to the hospital. Ultimately, Forest Park was revealed as being the core of a $200 million kickback scheme that, by the spring of 2021, sent 14 defendants to jail. North Texas has emerged as a hotbed for

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I M AG E BY C A C T U S C R E A T I V E S T U D I O

FIELD NOTES

healthcare fraud. The region ranked in 2019 as fraud. The law prohibits any facility from using interstate or foreign commerce to distribute the the third most active in the country for such ofproceeds of unlawful activity. Forest Park used serfences. Although the total number of offender nationwide has been trending down for the last vices in other states, including an out-of-state lab, so that qualified it in the eyes of prosecutors several years, the median loss is rising, standing The innovation marked a shift in how healthat $1.2 million in 2020. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that fraud costs care fraud investigations are pursued, opening the door to prosecuting fraud even if there are no fedthe nation about $68 billion a year—or about 3 eral dollars. But it wasn’t easy. The case included percent of all healthcare costs nationwide. The U.S. government launched a healthcare multiple victims and government agencies, nearfraud strike force in 2007, with Dallas taking on ly two dozen defendants, and a seven-week trial with multiple convictions and sentences involving a significant role shortly after. The local office works with federal attorneys and uses data ana- decades of prison time and millions in restitution. “These investigations are tremendously comlytics to identify anomalies in healthcare claims plex in terms of keeping everybody moving in the data. By stopping bad actors, it is a solid fina right direction and working together as a team,” cial investment for the government. “Healthcare fraud enforcement pays for itself,” says Jay De- says Andrew Wirmani, who led the federal fraud prosecution in the Forest Park case and is now a wald, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright who led the rollout of the region’s fraud strike force. “The partner at trial law firm Reese Marketos. “Fortunately for us, we had some really return on investment for the prosgood agents working together to ecutor is off the charts. bring this all to a head.” “THERE IS A At Forest Park, investigators The method of prosecution was found an organization rife with CERTAIN a wake-up call for providers and questionable practices. The hosELEMENT OF their legal counsel. “Lawyers in pital was paying physicians to GREED our neck of the woods were oprefer patients to the facility while EVERYWHERE.” erating under the belief that you its high out-of-network prices didn’t need to pay close attention racked up massive profits for ANDREW WIRMANI to anti-kickback statutes if no fedthe owners. In the end, the $200 Reese Marketos eral or state money was involved,” million fraud involved $40 milsays Bill Mateja, a partner in the lion in kickbacks—mostly bilked white-collar defense group in Sheppard Mullin’s from private insurers who were footing the bills Dallas offic who, for a time, represented one of for procedures at the hospital. the Forest Park defendants. After looking into numerous complaints, the The defendants may still appeal the case, but U.S. Attorney’s Offic wanted to prosecute. But the ruling and prosecution open up opportunibecause most of the fraud was against private ties to prosecute cases even when government insurance companies rather than a federal payer like Medicare, they could not use federal an- payers aren’t involved. Private payers are applauding the decision, as they now have conti-kickback laws, which focus on protecting govfidence that federal prosecutors can go after ernment dollars. Texas has its own anti-kickback statute that fraudulent activity against them. The judgment, Mateja says, “was essentially a could have been used to prosecute providers who commit fraud against private insurance compa- Mack truck for the federal government, allowing the way for them to be able to do this.” nies and patients. But the crime is a Class A misThe unscrupulous flock to money, and with the demeanor—small potatoes for physicians making millions on bribery and kickback schemes. So, North Texas economy and population still booming, Wirmani says the region will continue to be a prosecutors had to get creative to go after fraud target for those prosecuting fraud. “It has been a that wasn’t directly against the government. The hotbed for fraud in recent years. There is a certain Forest Park case was one of the first in the country to use the federal Travel Act to go after healthcare element of greed everywhere.”

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PA N D E M I C P LOYS

Tacking on Unnecessary Fees The onset of COVID-19 has led to increasing incidences of lab testing fraud. Here is how the scheme works: Labs convince patients to run a COVID-19 test and several other blood panels to rule out up to 25 additional viruses. Out of precaution, many patients say yes to the testing, meaning the blood test goes from around $100 for a COVID-19 test to $1,500 for a full panel of lab work. As part of COVID-19 regulations, employers cover the costs of all COVID-19 related costs, meaning the patients don’t see the larger bill. “You need the full array of tests every once in a while, but when you see it for 80 percent or more of the patients, it starts to get suspicious that they’re just adding those on,” says Asha George, CEO and co-founder of SmartLight Analytics, a Dallas company that identifies aste, fraud, and abuse in employers’ healthcare claims data.

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ON TOPIC

“What’s the biggest professional risk you’ve ever taken?” edited by BEN SWANGER

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illustrations by JAKE MEYERS

MATTIA FLABIANO III

GINNY KISSLING

JAMES SPRINGFIELD

President and Senior Principal PAG E

Global President and COO R YA N

President BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF TEXAS

“I guess it would be the fact that I have spent my entire career with just one firm. any people have said this was a risk, as I’ve not explored other options and opportunities. But after 41 years at Page, it has become my greatest success. We have grown the fir exponentially, expanded globally, added services and market sectors, and watched young designers blossom into superstars. Even more important, I count many of my colleagues as lifelong friends.”

“When I was getting close to graduating from college, my professors told me I needed to go work at one of the Big Four accounting firms to be successful At the time, I was finishing up a internship at Ryan. I had enjoyed it more than I ever dreamed possible and had been offere a full-time position with the company. I also received offer from the Big Four. I took a risk and accepted the role at Ryan— and look how that turned out.”

“Over the years, I have taken my share of risks professionally in business. Some have thankfully worked out, and others provided me with valuable but tough lessons. I sometimes think about the biggest risks that I have experienced, not by the ones I have taken but rather by those I decided against taking. When I consider some of the benefits I missed out on as result of those decisions, they were by far the ‘riskiest.’”

OCTOBER 2021

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THOUGHT LEADER

never before, celebrating differences and not being divided by them.

A 21st Century Business Imperative

2. OMNICULTURALISM IS EXPECTED. Omniculturalism promotes each of our perspectives and experiences; these differences are the uniting common denominator. Young people expect acceptance, not only of their ethnicity but also their culture (sexual preferences, marital status, veteran status, etc.). For example, your age shouldn’t be a hindrance, whether you’re young and historically have not been considered for a leadership role or if you’re older and are overlooked for an innovation role. These things shouldn’t limit opportunity. Companies need to adapt or risk becoming irrelevant.

JILL BROUSSARD

Lerma Agency’s Pedro Lerma on why companies must take a multicultural approach in their corporate cultures, products, and services.

1. IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Young people are showing us the way, and each successive generation embraces diversity in a way their predecessors have not. Many of us have seen the video of two toddlers—one Black and one White—running toward one another to embrace. Younger generations are embracing diversity like

n twenty-four years, the u.s. multiracial population will outnumber the non-Hispanic, White population for the first time in our history. In Texas, socioeconomics, culture, religion, politics, and age are other factors that made ours the second most diverse state in the nation. Amid this majority-minority role reversal, it’s up to business leaders to authentically embrace diversity within their corporate culture and product offerings. It starts by recognizing and championing each individual’s distinct identity. But the more diverse future of Texas does not stop at race and ethnicity. Instead, we must value our team’s diverse perspectives and experiences to reflect society’s expectations and shifting demographics. And having diverse leadership in a company is not just a feel-good story; it also pays dividends. A Glassdoor study found that 76 percent of employees and job seekers said a diverse workforce was important when considering companies and job offers. Here are three reasons why fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture has become a 21st-century business imperative:

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3. DIVERSITY DRIVES GROWTH. Countless studies prove diverse teams fuel innovation, creativity, and profitabilit . Despite the benefits of di erse perspectives, companies have been wired to create homogeneity. When you’re a hammer, everything ends up looking like a nail, so you consistently deliver the same kinds of products or solutions to your customers. Embracing diversity provides an opportunity to break out, innovate, and become more relevant to society. Promoting an inclusive culture will attract ingenious talent, increase employee loyalty, reduce turnover, and create innovative products and solutions that ultimately drive business growth.

Pedro Lerma is the founder and CEO of Dallas-based Lerma Agency.

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8/30/21 3:56 PM

WHEN ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Life is what happens while we’re busy making plans. And nowhere is life happening faster than in Downtown Dallas. Now is the time to see why the heart of the third fastest growing region in America is the premier destination for business and residential relocation.

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OCTOBER 2021

OFF DUTY THE PERSONAL SIDE

o f

DFW BUSINESS LEADERS

PURSUITS

Neha Kunte and the Art of Mehndi The MNK Infotech co-founder uses the ancient practice to spark conversations and help create harmony in business. story by BIANCA R. MONTES photography by JILL BROUSSARD

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OFF DUTY

since moving to north texas from mumbai as a newlywed in the early 2000s, Neha Kunte has made it a personal mission to break down silos and cultural barriers in business. Seeing a lot of division in the world, she tapped into her love of mehndi to bond with other leaders. mehndi (men-dee) is the ornate drawing often seen on the hands and bodies of people celebrating in South Asian communities. Although the art form has significant cultural meaning, Kunte also views it as a conversation starter. Her background in mehndi was not something passed down to her. She picked it up as a way to make some pocket money in college. “You would think everybody knows how to do mehndi in India; that’s not really the case,” she laughs as we sit down at her dining room table for a lunch of perfectly crisp samosas, lentils, and a paneer tikka. Working as a Japanese interpreter while living in India, Kunte had an opportunity to teach mehndi to Japanese residents in Mumbai. Since moving to Texas and co-founding MNK Infotech (which works with government clients such as the City of Dallas, DISD, DART, and Dallas College), Kunte uses the art form to bridge relationships. Locally, she has hosted workshops at

ANCIENT ART

According to legend, the darker your mehndi dries, the more prosperous you will be.

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the Crow Museum of Asian Art and Dallas Museum of Art to share her passion. But the past 18 months spurred the mother of two to look for additional ways to use mehndi to create harmony in businesses that have been bifurcated by a global pandemic and remote work. Through her involvement in organizations such as the Asian Chamber and DEC’s Women of Innovation Group, Kunte says she heard a collective outcry of people who were stressed, restless, and uncomfortable emotionally, physically, financially, and mentally. “There is so much unrest. Everybody is looking for new avenues to express their feelings, express their sadness and sorrow, and there needs to be a way where they can get it out,” she says. Beyond the fun of learning a new craft, Kunte says mehndi has medicinal benefits, too; it is known to provide relief from stress, fever, and headaches. Henna leaves, augmented with tea water and eucalyptus oil, are ground up into a paste. Its smell—kind of like an earthier, grassier Vicks VapoRub—is meditative. “The aroma calms you down; It has a magical scent,” Kunte says. “It all starts with inhaling that really great breath of air. One should have ways to calm themselves, and we have to make that cautious effort to identify or find sources where you can find your peace.”

P L AY L I S T

Area execs share the walk-up song they’d choose to start the day. “I especially like ‘Never Give Up’ by Sia. It has great energy. There’s a Japanese proverb about determination: ‘Fall down seven times, stand up eight.’ This song speaks to that persistence and willpower to keep giving it your all until you reach your goal.” Z AC K H I C K S

Toyota Connected

“‘I Will Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor. Because no matter what obstacles or challenges we encounter, we will overcome them and not just survive, but grow stronger and thrive. And because I’m looking forward to telling COVID, ‘Go on now go, walk out that door…’” DEBBIE STORE Y

AT&T Performing Arts Center

“I love all types of music, but if I had to pick one song as I enter the office, it would be ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams. I’m thrilled that we’re able to return to the office and that I can see the team after a year of almost entirely working from home.” TE D COLB E RT

Boeing Global Services

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OFF DUTY

ON THE GO

SNAPSHOT

Alvarez-Mathies’ work takes her from artist studios to boardrooms to cocktail parties.

ART OF STYLE

MUSEUM EXEC CAROLINA ALVAREZ-MATHIES AND HER ‘UTILITARIAN CHIC’ STYLE

Before he got into eSports, Envy Gaming CEO Adam Rymer ran alongside some of Hollywood’s brightest stars as an executive movie producer. This role led to several appearances at the Grammy Awards and Cannes Film Festival. But it was his on-set experiences that meant the most. Particularly memorable was The Rover. It was filmed i a desert in South Australia, where Rymer forged friendships with actors Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. “We shot in a very remote [area], so the cast and crew developed close relationships. I remember grabbing drinks at the bar with superstar Rob Pattinson, and realizing we are just two people. I also remember an early 100-degree Australian morning during which Guy and I talked about the awesome wildlife that exists in the Outback.” —Ben Swanger

WHAT I DO: “I am deputy director at Dallas Contemporary. It’s a non-collecting arts institution that presents some of the most pressing art of our time, in a variety of mediums, with free admission, and accompanied by learning programs for all ages. I oversee all development and communications initiatives. Prior to joining the museum two years ago, I held roles at the New York-based public arts nonprofit C eative Time and El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latin American cultural institution.” STYLE ICON: “I’ve always admired Emmanuelle Alt, editor-inchief of Vogue Paris, and the actress Tilda Swinton. They are unapologetically true to themselves in how they dress.” ON THE JOB: “My work takes me anywhere from artist studios to the boardroom and cocktail parties all in one day, so for me, it’s all about versatility.” INSPIRATION: “Art, design, and fashion are some of my passions—I am naturally drawn to their extremes in expression.

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It’s either clean lines and neutrals or bold use of color and more organic forms. I often joke that it’s a result of my German and Latin roots.”

ACCESSORIES: “I love earrings, and they usually never match; more often than not, I am wearing four different earrings at a time.”

STYLE DEFINED: “Utilitarian chic” FASHION ESSENTIALS: “I never leave home without my cell phone and lipstick.” GO-TO LOOK: “Double-breasted blazers and denim.”

WEEKEND LOOK: “My downtime look really doesn’t change much.” FAVORITE STORES: “Saks Fifth Avenue has a great selection, and it’s my go-to for online shopping. In Dallas, some of my favorite shops are The Conservatory and V.O.D.”

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

Envy Gaming CEO Adam Rymer’s brush with fame as a Hollywood movie producer.

STAR POWER

Robert Pattinson, left, and Adam Rymer at the Cannes Film Festival.

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8/30/21 4:05 PM

D CEO 2021 Corporate Counsel Awards Finalist CONGRATULATIONS! PepsiCo is proud to congratulate John Poakeart on being named a 2021 Corporate Counsel Awards Finalist. John exemplifies what it means to be a team player and is universally admired and appreciated by both his business clients and colleagues. Well done John!

John Poakeart

Sr. Legal Director, Global Environmental, Health & Safety

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Since 1989

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9/1/21 11:13 AM

OFF DUTY

SECLUDED SANCTUARY

Aspen Meadows’ fitne s amenities include this mountainside lap pool.

DESIGN DIGS

The Aspen Meadows campus is built to engage the mind with sculpture and art throughout.

W E L L T R AV E L E D

Aspen, Colorado story by WILL MADDOX

VIEW-TIFUL

Aesthetics and function unite in the Bauhausinspired suites at the Aspen Meadows resort.

SALMON STACK The artistically presented dishes at BOSQ restaurant tasted as good as they looked.

WADING WONDER

The Roaring Fork river and other waterways provide ample fly fishing options

A HUB FOR RECREATION

Known for its skiing, Aspen has plenty of warmweather sporting options, too.

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F LY F I S H I N G BY M A T T P O W E R ; B O S Q BY N I C K T R I N I N E N K O ; S C U L P T U R E BY D A N I E L B A Y E R ; A L L OT H E R I M AG E S C O U R T E S Y O F A S P E N C H A M B E R A N D D O L C E A S P E N M E A D O W S R E S O R T

The mountain getaway has long been a family destination for Stephen Jones, chief operating officer of the Dallas Cowboys.

OFF DUTY

BEAUTY’S EDGE

Aspen Meadows resort sits on the outskirts of town, nestled at the base of a ski resort.

i don’t think i will ever forget the moment I realized that Aspen has it all. My wife and I were e-biking a 12-mile climb into the Elk Mountains to get a look at the Marron Bells—two 14,000-foot peaks whose soft red shale and paler siltstone give them their distinct, purplish hue. As we took in the view of the bell-shaped mountains reflected in a quiet alpine lake, we began to understand why they are some of the most photographed mountains in the country. For a Texan, escaping the summer heat in favor of fresh mountain air accompanied by plentiful outdoor activities, luxury accommodations, fine dining, and panoramic mountain views, is a blissful respite. My wife and I stayed in Aspen Meadows, a Dolce by Wyndham resort. The 40-acre campus sits on the edge of town and integrates nature and art, providing both rest and inspiration. The Bauhaus-style rooms and facilities are arranged like a small college campus, because the resort was originally built, and is still home to, the Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. Over the years, the Colorado campus has hosted

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presidents, statesmen, diplomats, and business leaders. It also houses a gallery with works by the influential Bauhaus artist Herbert Bayer. Aspen’s free rental bike program came in handy throughout our stay. We took a 10-minute ride into town each day through neighborhoods full of quaint mountain homes to arrive at a bustling downtown full of restaurants, shops, and galleries. We also decided to take a hike along Hunter Creek, winding our way down from the mountains just north of town. Accompanied by a guide from the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, we took in the stunning views and learned about the local flora, such as the fairy slipper, a pink and purple mountain orchid. Aspen is great for burning calories, and lucky for us, it may be even better at replacing them. We enjoyed hearty and warm Italian fare at L’Hostaria Ristorante, where the spinach fettucini and Bolognese stood out, and we finished with colorful mountain of gelato, meringues, and berries. At Aspen Meadows, one can enjoy the views at Plato’s, where Chef de Cuisine Rachel Koppelman’s summer menu was fresh and delectable. The Wagyu tenderloin from Snake River Farms, paired with potato, fennel, wood sorrel, and lemon ash, was outstanding. We also enjoyed sitting off the town square at BOSQ, where Chef Barclay Dodge’s summer tasting menu was equal parts art and nourishment. The dishes were as diverse as Peking duck with Chinese pancakes, duck liver mousse on black bread, and blackberries and beets with pistachios and lemon verbena. Our trip also included an up-close look at mountain streams with an afternoon fly fishing trip on the Roaring Fork with Aspen Outfitting Co. The shallow stream was moving quickly, but the cold, clear water and expert guidance helped us reel in a few brown trout. The views and pursuit were unbeatable. That afternoon, we once again took the e-bikes into the mountains, with the cool breeze and MAROON BELLS breathtaking views reminding The peaks in Apsen bring the line us why Aspen is among the “purple mountain premier vacation spots that majesties” to life. America has to offer.

T R AV E L T I P S

Year-Round Retreat Dallas Cowboys exec Stephen Jones grew up vacationing in Aspen and skiing the four nearby mountain resorts with his father and siblings. But as his own family grew, he discovered that Aspen has just as much to offer in warmer seasons. Hiking, biking, horseback riding, white-water rafting, and all varieties of fishing fill up m y of his summer trips these days, and the family makes sure to hit all the fantastic restaurants in town. Jones celebrated his 40th birthday at the legendary Pine Creek Cookhouse, which sits at the foot of the Elk Mountains and features wild game and freshly caught fish. “ ith all the healthy activities and outdoor sports, it is a great family affair,” Jones says. “It’s an amazing place, whether it’s winter or summer.”

OCTOBER 2021

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OFF DUTY

GIRL NEXT DOOR

A young Correa in his Chilean school with his neighbor and future wife, Claudia (left).

AT THE DANCE

Correa at a cultural celebration at his school in Santiago. He moved to the U.S. when he was 11 years old.

ROOTS

ANDRÉS CORREA Partner LY N N P I N K E R H U R S T & S C H W E G M A N N

ON THE MOVE

as told to WILL MADDOX illustration by JAKE MEYERS

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born in santiago, chile, attorney Andrés Correa spent his early years living amid conflict with the dictator Augusto Pinochet. When he was 11, he immigrated to the U.S. with his family, which settled in New Orleans before moving to Dallas. As a teenager, Correa helped push for Texas House Bill 1403, a 2001 law that allowed undocumented immigrants and long-term visa holders in Texas to attend college while paying in-state tuition. That led to a McDermott Scholarship that paid his way through The University of Texas at Dallas. Here, he shares his journey: “We lived half a block from one of the hotbeds of resistance in Chile. Every night, my dad said, you couldn’t sleep, and you could hear gunshots and cars and people, because the military was trying to quell those who opposed the dictatorship. But it wasn’t the dictatorship that pushed us out. We were very humble and modest, and my father wanted to see what else there was. We

never lacked for anything, but we never had anything an inch above what we needed. My mom and dad were both English language teachers in Chile. They ended up being teachers in New Orleans public schools to teach Spanish. I watched television, but that was the only notion I had of the United States at the time. When we got to New Orleans, it was a tough experience. There was a lot of violence in the area. I saw kids get stabbed. I had friends die from gunshots. Being an immigrant is inseparable from my identity. It is at the core part of who I am, whether I like it or not. I view everything through that prism. My wife and I joke about the immigrant mindset: you show up to work, are thankful for the job you have, keep pushing forward, and do the best you can.”

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

Correa grew up in a family of modest means in Chile. Both of his parents were English teachers.

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9/1/21 10:46 AM

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9/1/21 11:14 AM

A Utopian Commune in Dallas

VIC TOR PROSPE R CONSIDÉ R ANT Oct. 12, 1808— Dec. 27, 1893

story by SHEFALI KONDA

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C O U R T E S Y O F T H E D E G O LY E R L I B R A R Y A T S O U T H E R N M E T H O D I S T U N I V E R I S T Y

END MARK

n 1855 , a group of french, swiss, and belgian immigrants settled on about 2,500 acres along the Trinity River to create a utopian socialist commune called La Réunion. They were led by Victor Prosper Considérant, who had fled Europe a ter a failed insurrection against Napoléon III. “The public mood is falling into a somnolence, helplessness, and torpor which smoothes the way for the domination of wealth and the invasion of corruption,” Considérant wrote in 1847. The Reunionists were artisans and professionals; they were not farmers, which doomed their grand experiment. Along with infertile land, the settlers were challenged by political tensions and internal dissension. After La Réunion failed in 1859, Considérant moved to San Antonio. Although short-lived, the colony helped spark Dallas’ evolution from a frontier trading post into a haven for entrepreneurs. Settlers who stayed later established some of the earliest institutions in Dallas. Benjamin Long served as mayor, and Julien Reverchon became a renowned botanist. Considérant ultimately returned to his home country of France, where he died in 1893. Today, echoes of the past are refle ted in Dallas’ Reunion Tower and Reverchon Park.

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8/26/21 1:50 PM

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