Every Last Word

Dallas Innovates’ signature series capturing what leaders across North Texas are saying — in their own words — about innovation, impact, and what’s next.

The Last Word: United Way’s Jennifer Sampson on New $20M Southern Dallas Thrives Fund

Today is Giving Tuesday, and to celebrate it, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas announced a new $20 million Southern Dallas Thrives fund that aims to support the nutrition, education, and workforce development needs of the Southern Dallas community for years to come.
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The Last Word: o9 Solutions’ Chakri Gottemukkala on Building a Multi-Billion-Dollar Digital Brain
by | Nov 27, 2023
Dallas-based o9 Solutions has defied the odds in the world of tech unicorns. In just three years, o9's valuation has nearly quadrupled to hit $3.7 billion recently, bucking a trend of declining values for later-stage tech companies.
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The Last Word: Hill Perot Rallies North Texas Leaders to Accelerate Innovation
by | Nov 16, 2023
NYSE President Lynn Martin was in Dallas last week meeting with business leaders of some of the 50-plus DFW companies listed on the NYSE, as well as others that may be looking to go public. She was definitely on business-friendly ground in both the city and the Lone Star State, since more than 200 of the nearly 2,400 companies listed on the NYSE are based in Texas.
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The Last Word: NYSE’s Lynn Martin on Having Over 200 Listed Companies in the Lone Star State
by | Nov 15, 2023
NYSE President Lynn Martin was in Dallas last week meeting with business leaders of some of the 50-plus DFW companies listed on the NYSE, as well as others that may be looking to go public. She was definitely on business-friendly ground in both the city and the Lone Star State, since more than 200 of the nearly 2,400 companies listed on the NYSE are based in Texas.
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The Last Word: Chris Gannett on How Cowboys-Giants Thrashings Mirror Dallas’ Business Edge over NYC

by | Nov 10, 2023
Gannett, a former chief marketing officer for "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance,"  launched  Dallas-based Gannett.Partners to provide leadership coaching, operating advisory services, and strategic capital solutions. A native of Dallas who's lived in New York, he knows both cities well—and believes things are trending Dallas' way.
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The Last Word: Bree Kramer on a Rescued Sea Turtle with an Innovative Weighted Vest at Dallas Children’s Aquarium
by | Nov 9, 2023
One of the newest residents of the Dallas Children's Aquarium had a big problem after he was injured by a boat: A spinal injury had turned his life upside down. Trapped air—also known as "bubble butt syndrome"—made him float vertically and helplessly at the top of the sea. 
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The Last Word: UTA’s Melanie Sattler on a $200K Grant for a Highway Price Estimation and Visualization Tool
by | Nov 8, 2023
UTA researcher Mohsen Shahandashti, an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, is building a price estimation and visualization tool for the Texas Department of Transportation through a $200,000 U.S. DOT grant.
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The Last Word: Dallas College’s Ben Magill On the SMU-Led Proposal Landing the Texoma National Semiconductor Tech Hub, 1 of 4 in the U.S.
by | Nov 7, 2023
In late October, Dallas won its second federal innovation hub award in two months when the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub landed in the city as part of 31 nationwide tech hubs designated by the Biden-Harris administration.
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The Last Word: JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon on Business-Friendly Texas

by | Nov 3, 2023
The "Chase for Business Make Your Move Summit" at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort had its share of seat-filling speakers Wednesday through Friday, including Matthew McConaughey and Mark Cuban, along with sports stars Emmitt Smith and Sheryl Swoopes. But Jamie Dimon spoke at the summit with a rock star status of his own—and a national profile so exalted, he recently had to deny he's running for president in 2024. 
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The Last Word: Texas Rangers GM Chris Young’s January Mission For His Team
by | Nov 2, 2023
All of North Texas has been going bonkers since the Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series last night, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 and snagging the series with four wins against only one loss. Way back in January, GM Chris Young told the Dallas Regional Chamber that this was the team's goal.
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The Last Word: Gov. Abbott On Why Texas Ranks No. 1 for ‘Top State Business Climate’ in 2023
by | Nov 1, 2023
Texas just topped Site Selection’s annual ranking of state business climates. The state, typically in the top five business climate rankings, placed No. 3 last year. The No. 1 ranking follows another recent win—Texas won the publication's Governor's Cup for total capital investment projects for the 11th straight year in March.
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The Last Word: Video Game Veteran Steve Bocska on Why ‘Real Engagement’ is the Key to Loyalty Programs
by | Oct 31, 2023
“We’re disrupting loyalty. So what better place to do it than where loyalty was created?” said PUG Founder and CEO Steve Bocska. He noted that Fort Worth-based American Airlines spawned the entire loyalty industry in 1981 by launching the first successful airline loyalty program.
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The Last Word: Inclusion Cloud’s Nicolas Baca-Storni on 4 ‘Real Digital Transformation’ Lessons Learned at the ServiceNow World Forum

Riding a wave of digital transformation and remote work, Inclusion Cloud recently expanded to Dallas from Latin America. With new offices in the U.S., Spain, and Chile, the company helps Fortune 500 companies and other enterprises rapidly build remote teams of skilled engineers at competitive costs.
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The Last Word: Clark Hunt On DFW’s Chances To Land a Big, Maybe THE Big, World Cup Match
by | Oct 26, 2023
Dallas billionaire Clark Hunt, owner of the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, sat down with Anurag Jain at the Venture Dallas Summit on Wednesday. Hunt—the chairman and CEO of both the Chiefs and FC Dallas—was the headliner for the first event at the annual summit for innovators and investors at the Bush Center.
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The Last Word: Southlake Police Innovate Community Relations with Emergency Uber Eats Delivery
by | Oct 25, 2023
An Uber Eats driver was involved in a car crash in Southlake recently, and the city's police and fire departments went to the scene. The driver turned out to be OK, but was unable to finish delivering an order of fresh-grilled hibachi from Hashi Japanese Kitchen. That's when Corporal Tejada and Officer Grace stepped up to finish the job for the gig worker—and in a sense, gig workers everywhere. 
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The Last Word: Kelly Kitchens on Garland’s Campy ‘It Came From Texas Film Festival’
by | Oct 23, 2023
Some of America’s favorite movies are filled with campy, schlock-y, over-the-top fun—and a lot them were filmed right here in Texas. This weekend, the city of Garland and Garland Cultural Arts are gearing up to celebrate them with the first annual It Came From Texas Film Festival, October 28 and 29 at the Plaza Theater on State Street in Garland.
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