D CEO

Following in the footsteps of a father and grandfather can be daunting. But Ray Huffines, the third-generation owner and CEO of Huffines Auto Dealerships, never gave it much thought. He was confident that he wanted to continue down the path his grandfather J.L. Huffines Sr. set in 1924 with the company’s first location in Denton. A young Huffines spent summers working at the dealership his father, J.L. Jr., operated in Commerce, selling his first vehicle for $600. He became a dealership owner at an early age, like his father, who did so in 1950 at age 27 after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Ray briefly pivoted from the family business in the early 1980s to work on Ronald Reagan’s first presidential campaign before becoming the personal assistant to former Texas Gov. Bill Clements at the governor’s request. In 1984, at the age of 31, Huffines took over his second dealership. Running the Chevrolet store in Plano was an experience that he admits was a lot to absorb at the time. “It was pretty overwhelming,” Huffines says. “I didn’t know a lot. There are so many things you learn by doing. It was the time when computers started to run things, and so business became more automated. We’ve been blessed because we could have been a Saturn or Oldsmobile dealer, and we’d be gone.”   Today, there are 10 Huffines dealerships throughout DFW that generate a combined $1.1 billion between the service, parts, body shop divisions, as well as fleet, preowned, and new car sales. The entire operation and its 900 employees are under the direction of its third-generation owner. Huffines is also overseeing significant renovations and expansions at multiple dealership locations over the next two years to the tune of $37 million.  The CEO says several factors are necessary to be successful in car sales. “The one thing that comes to mind is the integrity I saw, which was an important part of how my grandfather and father operated,” Huffines says. “That was the foundation. And then the relationships with people. It’s a people business. When the company was much smaller, there were relationships between my grandfather and his employees, customers, and manufacturers because we’re, in a way, partners with them.” Huffines is not quite ready to pass along the empire he has helped build but says a capable heir is in the line of succession. His son Sam, general manager at the Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealership in Plano, is set to step in as the fourth-generation owner. “When he was at Texas A&M, he was hired to sell Infinitis in Houston,” Huffines says of his son. “When he came back to our operation, he had credibility not just because of his name. The elder Huffines says there’s no set time for the transition. “I’m not going to walk away until he’s ready and willing to take it on,” he says. 

The running joke in the Hunstable family was that Fred E. Hunstable never knew that garages were where you parked your cars. Instead, they served as places for the nuclear and electrical engineer to tinker and invent. Growing up in Granbury under the tutelage of his father, oldest son Brad Hunstable was fascinated by technology. As a young boy, he wanted to be an astronaut. Then, he began learning how to program on a RadioShack TRS-80. When he was 12, he developed a computer bulletin board system called Dark Realms where users could log onto a host computer through a modem to participate in chat rooms, message boards, and games. It was a Frankenstein arrangement of hard drives, modems, and PC parts, says Fred, who handled the hardware while his son worked on the software and ran the business. “I had to be creative, figure out how to market it and what products were on there,” Brad says. “People had questions, so I was on call and had to go into the chat rooms. I was the customer service representative.” Along with sparking an entrepreneurial drive that persists to this day, the experience and a shared love of inventing ultimately led to another father-son collaboration—one that is set to transform electrification. The two were on a trip to South Africa in 2017 when they were struck by the lack of infrastructure. It prompted them to wonder if they could create a motor with enough torque to provide electricity and access to clean water for those who lived in the villages. “My belief was we could be a part of that equation to help people,” Brad says. They put their collective brainpower to work and began experimenting with an old windmill that used a shaft that moved up and down to pump out fresh water for cows. What if something like that could be used to generate electricity? Through trial and error, they eventually discovered a way to leverage the up-and-down motion of the shaft to do just that. “That’s why we’re called Linear Labs Inc.,” Brad says. “Our vision was to bring clean water and electricity to rural Africa and South America with one device. It led to an important discovery in motor topology, resulting in the world’s most efficient, highest-torque motors and generators.” The implications are staggering. About 50 percent of the world’s electricity passes through electric motors. Global robotics and computer science guru Henrik Christensen called the Hunstables’ invention “the holy grail in electric motors.” Since Linear Labs was founded in 2018, the company has raised $20 million to fund operations. Read about Brad's vision of how Linear Labs can be a game-changer in the clean energy space, his first multimillion-dollar venture in uStream, his time at the United States Military Academy at West Point, his philanthropic pursuits with Hayden's Corner, and more from Layten Praytor at the link below.

Longtime beauty entrepreneur Mahisha Dellinger sold off her CURLS Beauty Brands this year to transition into the mocktail business. Her company launched in June and in less than three months has already been accepted in some of the nation’s largest retailers. For D CEO‘s September 2024 issue, we stepped inside the founder’s wardrobe. Read what she has to say about her unique style here: https://lnkd.in/gS5iXAnj

See our very own Gillea Allison at Fierce Lab LIVE on October 7-8, 2024 at River Crest in Fort Worth, TX. Sign up today: https://lnkd.in/g9Zt_zRX

Introducing D CEO’s October 2024 issue, headlined by profiles on two successful Fort Worth executives. The cover story, written by Layten Praytor, is on Brad Hunstable, the CEO and founder of Linear Labs Inc. The engine innovator has suffered immense loss, but through it is helping countless others navigate similar circumstances. In the business realm, he’s found spectacular success, pioneering a new type of motor for light electric vehicles. Also in the western sector of North Texas is Lisa Atherton, the CEO of Bell Flight. Written by Ben Swanger, the profile details her ascension from a Cold Stone Creamery to now leading the helicopter manufacturer through a contract to replace the Black Hawk helicopter for the U.S. military. The project could be worth up to $100 billion. Additionally, Will Maddox penned a trend piece on how corporate counsels have mastered the art of adaptation. Keep turning the pages and you’ll read about how marketing exec George Popstefanov left his $30,000 salary to found PMG, which now does $7 billion in annual media billings. You’ll also learn that Sam Romano was a national Pokemon video gamer. Finally, Maddox’s latest healthcare column is about why executives are starting to invest in brain science to fully understand their workforce and help each of their employees grow. Get the latest news, information, and insights on Dallas-Fort Worth business delivered right to your mailbox with a complimentary subscription to D CEO here: https://lnkd.in/gSypGYDZ

Meet the Dallas 500: Carolyn Rosson, Ebby Halliday Companies During her more than four decades with Ebby Halliday Cos., Carolyn Rosson has held various leadership roles, starting as a manager in her 20s. She reached a pinnacle last September when she was named CEO, while retaining her president title. She succeeded former CEO Chris Kelly, who now serves as Ebby Halliday’s executive chairman and an executive VP at parent company HomeServices of America. With $8.2 billion in total sales volume in 2023, Ebby Halliday Cos. was the region’s top residential brokerage. The iconic company will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year. And Rosson sees ongoing evolution on the horizon. “Change will bring opportunity,” she says. “Our industry has had storm clouds circling, but we are up for the challenge. We will equip our team with the tools and training to overcome.”

Ever since plans for the Texas-based national stock exchange were announced this past summer, North Texas business leaders have been abuzz about what it could mean for the market. Now, Texas Stock Exchange | TXSE Group Inc has revealed more details about its executive leadership team. The individuals, TXSE says, come with backgrounds in both the public and private sectors and have been instrumental in shaping plans for the stock exchange as it “works to revitalize competition for issuers, establish the premier venue for listings, and create a world-class trading platform for all market participants.” James H Lee, founder and CEO of TXSE Group, said the team is made up of business, market structure, and policy leaders. “These individuals have tremendous expertise in the markets as well as broader experience building and leading companies that have propelled their industries,” he said in a statement. “Their perspectives will be invaluable as we position TXSE for success now and for the next generation.” Industry veteran Cameron Smith will serve as global head of trading and co-president. Jeff Brown, former acting general counsel at Charles Schwab, has joined as GC of TXSE Group and the exchange’s chief regulatory officer. Familiar names on the board include former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Energy Transfer co-CEO Tom Long. Additionally, former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher will serve as a strategic advisor. Lee said in a Monday press conference in Austin that $135 million has been raised, primarily from BlackRock and Citadel Securities, toward the mission of offering an alternative to Nasdaq and the NYSE. He cited the size of the state’s economy, the number of public companies in Texas, and its deep data center infrastructure as reasons for basing a new exchange here. It will serve U.S.-based and international issuers, investors, and market participants, TXSE says. Plans call for the exchange to be based in Dallas, which has exponentially advanced its financial base with recent campus expansions from Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorganChase, and others. Hoque Global’s Mike Hoque has made no secret of his goal to welcome TXSE as a tenant in the 72-story downtown office tower he has under contract. TXSE expects to file a registration with the SEC to operate as a national securities exchange in the coming months. See excerpts from the bios of the organization’s new leadership team, presented in alphabetical order at the link below.

This week in personnel moves: Aligned Data Centers appoints Meghan Baivier as chief financial officer and Anubhav Raj as chief investment officer; Stream Realty Partners appoints Randy Cooper to executive vice chairman and partner; Make-A-Wish America names Dominique Bertolone, Maurice (Marty) L. Brimmage, Jr., Michelle Carroll, Alex Druta, Tina Mahal, and Dr. Maurizio Ghisoli as new board members; Trademark Property Company taps Lance W. Taylor, CCIM as senior vice president of development and Blake Bickmore as vice president of development; and more at the link below.

Growing up in a humble home in Kingston, Jamaica, Peter Burns, MBA, PMP, CM recalls washing car windshields at a gas station to make money to buy a bicycle sans a seat or brakes. He had never seen a fully assembled bike before emigrating with his family from Jamaica to America at 12 due to political unrest in his home country. The family moved to New York, where Burns got a job working in the district attorney’s office in high school. A 20-year career in the U.S. Army carried him across the globe and into various roles, including representing the U.S. State Department on NATO affairs. From there, Burns spent two decades as an exec with Nokia. Today, he’s the CEO and president of Peter Burns Enterprise, a leadership coaching firm. Here, Burns shares how his experiences molded his desire to shape future generations of leaders. “The lesson of putting that bike together told me I can build anything. You must be willing to work, learn, and fail. I don’t allow fear to stop me from failing. We had an old term in the Army that says, ‘If you think you’re going to fail, hurry up and get it over with.’ My military career and the foundational things that we learned growing up allowed me to take advantage of the environment that I’m in and look for ways to either succeed or grow from it. That’s the reason why I’m trying to mentor people as much as I can: to touch that next generation from an educational perspective and to get them to look beyond their circumstances and look for opportunities where they are. “We had food on the table. My father made sure our family was taken care of. If I were hungry, I would find a fruit tree and get a piece of fruit to eat. I might not have been full, but I wasn’t starving. I could walk to the ocean, and my brothers, family, and cousins could go fishing. We didn’t use fishing poles. We would just throw out a net, grab what we could, and come back. I never allow the circumstances that I’m in to prevent me from accomplishing what can be done. I’ve made mistakes. But I made enough mistakes to learn so that I can continue to move forward. “We were first-generation immigrants from Jamaica. We just had a work ethic in our home where our parents said, ‘Go do what you’re supposed to take care of and do what you’re supposed to do.’”

Meet the Dallas 500: Jennifer Mitzner, Baylor Scott & White Health Jennifer Mitzner arrived in North Texas in 2021 to serve as the chief financial officer at Baylor Scott & White Health. She had previously been executive vice president of Hoag Health System, a California-based multi-hospital system. Before that, she was chief executive officer of the system’s nationally recognized Hoag Orthopedic Institute. As chief financial officer, she has been busy balancing increasing labor and supply costs with stagnant reimbursement, all while helping the system nearly double its Waxahachie medical center to the tune of $240 million. Baylor Scott & White Health also recently launched a healthcare-centric high school in coordination with Uplift Education in West Dallas. Below, read on to learn about Mitzner’s surprising physical outlet, an adventure with a 1966 VW bug, a pivotal moment that changed her career, and more.