Six business leaders from across the Lone Star state are set to be inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame—and one of them is from Dallas.

A leader in the local private equity and sports business space, Thomas O. Hicks will be inducted at a ceremony put on by the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation in early November, joining others from Houston and Austin.

Nominated by the general public and selected by peers and other members of the Texas Business Hall of Fame, this year’s six honorees were chosen based on their status as “trailblazers in business” and for their “significant contributions in their local communities through both philanthropic and civic engagement, the  foundation’s chair Amanda Brock said.

“The selection process, combined with the organization’s emphasis on both economic and social impact makes this one of the most prestigious business honors in the state,” Richard Fisher, master of ceremonies for the upcoming event and former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said in a statement.

An investor and former sports franchise owner

After getting started in business as a member of First National Bank of Dallas’ venture capital group, Hicks helped form local private equity firm Hicks & Hass, which most notably acquired, merged, and took public what was then Dr Pepper/Seven Up.

In 1989, after parting ways with Hicks & Haas co-founder Robert Haas, Hicks co-founded Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (HMTF), another private equity firm focused on leveraged buyouts. Pioneering what the Texas Business Hall of Fame calls the “buy and build” strategy of investing, HMTF raised more than $12 billion across six funds, completing more than $50 billion in leveraged acquisitions between the firm’s founding and 2004.

During his time at HMTF, Hicks would also become the owner and chairman of the Dallas Stars hockey team and the Texas Rangers baseball team, positions he departed from in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Hicks serves as a leader of company recently valued at $3.5B

Hicks is currently the chairman, founder, and partner at Hicks Holdings, a local family office. Through its investment advisor and private equity arm Hicks Equity Partners—formed in 2007—the firm focused on small- and middle-market transactions with an enterprise value between $25 million and $300 million in spaces like specialty manufacturing, energy, food, and media. Hicks also currently serves as a senior partner and director at Dallas financial services platform The Beneficient Company Group, which recently announced plans to go public via a SPAC deal with San Francisco’s Avalon Acquisition Inc. that values Beneficient at $3.5 billion.

In addition to his contributions to the business world, Hicks is a member of the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, the UT McCombs School of Business’ advisory council, and the University of Southern California Marshall School Board of Leaders. In 2018, Hicks was tapped to serve as a commissioner on the American Battle Monuments Commission, a government agency that maintains and operates U.S. military cemeteries and memorials overseas.

Texas Business Hall of Fame plans to donate $15K prizes to scholars and veterans

Hicks will join other local business legends like Mark Cuban and Ross Perot, Jr. in the Texas Business Hall of Fame, which has been inducting new members since 1983.

Along with honoring Hicks and the other business leaders at its 40^th anniversary induction dinner—presented by Texas Capital Bank—the Texas Business Hall of Fame said it plans to award $15,000 prizes to 44 scholars and veterans across Texas that “have demonstrated an exceptional inclination to build a business in Texas and better their community”

Meet the other Texas Business Hall of Fame 2022 inductees:

• John Arnold (Houston): Founder of Centaurus Capital LP, an energy-focused family office investment fund, and Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy dedicated to investing in evidence-based solutions
• Ric Campo (Houston): Co-founder and CEO of Camden Property Group
• Jeffery D. Hildebrand (Houston): Executive chairman and founder of Hilcorp Energy Company, Harvest Midstream Company, and JDH Capital
• Paul W. Hobby (Houston): founding partner of Genesis Park and GP Capital
• Whitney Wolfe Herd (Austin): Founder and CEO of Bumble, Inc., the parent company that operates Badoo, Fruitz, and Bumble

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