The Rise of Downtown Dallas

The former chief financial officer (CFO) agreed to serve as chairman of the 15-member Dallas Economic Development Corporation. The unpaid role adds to his voluntary duties on the board of Catholic Charities Dallas and the Community Foundation of Texas (CFT), making him one of the City’s go-to specialists when it comes to job creation and fundraising. John Stephens was responsible for AT&T’s financial planning, corporate development, accounting, tax, auditing, treasury, investor relations and corporate real estate. John was appointed to CFO in June 2011. Previously, he served as senior vice president and controller, with responsibility for all financial reporting and operational reporting, accounting policy, business planning and regulatory reporting. In that capacity, he also served as chief financial officer for AT&T’s Diversified Services business unit and had responsibility for all corporate tax and shared services. He was named to that position in November 2001. Prior to serving as controller, John oversaw all corporate tax matters as vice president-Taxes, a position he took on in August 2000. He previously served as managing director-Taxes, where he had similar corporate tax responsibilities. He was named to that position in 1995. John joined the company as director-Federal Taxes in St. Louis in 1992. Prior to that, he served as a tax senior manager with Ernst & Young in St. Louis. His career also includes service as a member of the tax staff of Peat Marwick & Mitchell in Kansas City. John has served on the board of directors of América Móvil, an international provider of telecommunications services, and currently serves on the audit committee of the board of directors of a large privately held retailer. John is chairman of the Dallas Regional Chamber and serves on the board of Catholic Charities of Dallas. He has previously served on the board of the United Way of Dallas and a number of other educational and social service organizations. John earned his B.S.B.A. degree in accounting from Rockhurst University in Kansas City. He holds a J.D. degree from Saint Louis University’s Law School. John and his wife, Michele, have been married 37 years and have 6 children.

Dale A. Petroskey assumed the position of President and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) on April 1, 2014. He works with the Board, staff, and more than 1,100 member companies to increase economic prosperity and enhance the quality of life throughout the region. The DRC focuses on economic development initiatives, improving education at all levels, and setting public policy direction designed to maintain a healthy business climate in North Texas. Mr. Petroskey brings to the Chamber a strong background in public policy, strategic communications, and non-profit management, having held leadership positions in all three sectors – public, private, and non- profit – for more than 30 years.

Mike Hoque, a Dallas entrepreneur, is the founder and chairman of Hoque Global, parent company of HG Real Estate Solutions, DRG Concepts, iDesign Meetings and RideCentric. Always finding opportunities among what others might perceive as business obstacles, Hoque’s companies have fostered his vision of creating vibrant urban environments. HG Real Estate specializes in catalytic land acquisition, development, master-planning, and construction of mixed-use residential, retail, hotel, and office projects. DRG Concepts, Hoque’s restaurant group, creates, owns and operates numerous distinct and acclaimed concepts throughout DFW, with an emphasis on Main Street in Downtown Dallas. RideCentric, founded in 1999 by Hoque, has grown into an international transportation logistics company serving Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Hoque also serves on the board of Downtown Dallas Inc. and has received honors from the National Restaurant Association for his leadership and innovation in the Dallas business community.  He has been honored by Dallas Business Journal as a Top 40 Under 40 business innovator.  D Magazine and DCEO have also recognized Hoque as a Dallas 500 business leader.

Larry was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. At Ripon College (Wisconsin) he was president of the student body, and editor of the campus newspaper. Having majored in history, he had an interest in historic structures that would emerge later in professional life. In his military career, he directed a Czech-German border resident intelligence office during the cold war. In 1970 he joined the Colorado Governor’s Office to build a new downtown campus for the University of Colorado at Denver and two other colleges. The Auraria Campus was the largest capital construction project in state history and today has the State’s largest enrollment. He spared many of the historic buildings then slated for demolition – Tivoli Brewery, St. Cajetan’s Church, the Golda Meir house and a dozen historic structures on 9th Street that today give the Campus its architectural diversity and flavor. He left higher education for the private sector joining Gerri Von Frellick, the State’s largest retail developer. Larry became an equity investor in several of Von Frellick’s projects and formed Hamilton Properties Corporation in 1976. While his late campus development served as one of downtown’s building blocks, Von Frellick’s regional malls ironically had abetted the flight to suburbia. During the 1980’s Hamilton Properties focused on suburban office parks but Larry remained a downtown proponent and was appointed to the downtown master plan committee by Mayor Federico Pena in 1983. The Denver central business district was then plagued by commercial vacancy, dead after-hours life and lack of residential living. That would change and Larry’s belief in a nation-wide trend to urbanism would cause Hamilton Properties to focus on downtowns and preservation of historic buildings. Larry helped convince the Holtze organization to depart suburbia and develop a down-town hotel in Denver’s former First National Bank Building. The Magnolia chain was born and he later helped expand it to reconstructed historic buildings in central Dallas and Houston. In the mid-1990s Larry’s son Ted joined Hamilton Properties as a principal. In Dallas, the father son team has been the primary force behind the revitalization of a once dying downtown. Their dynamic mixed use developments, three occupying full city blocks, have preserved historic buildings and strengthened the City’s architectural legacy. His civic involvements have included leading two foundations and chairing two higher education governing boards, including the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges. He has served on the downtown planning committees for Mayors of both Denver and Dallas and has received various honors and awards for contributions to higher education, business leadership and historic preservation and development.

Bob Bullis is a graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington, School of Architecture. His practice as a respected North Texas Architect spans over thirty years of place making, including the design and master planning high-density mixed-use urban infill projects. A Vice President at HKS, Bob leads the architecture firm’s efforts in the planning, design and delivery of state-of-the-arts 24/7 sports and entertainments districts across the United States. The most notable local project is the Texas Live! District at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. Bob is fond of saying, “the times they are a changing”. The Dallas of today is far different from the Dallas we all knew just a decade ago. Downtown Dallas is becoming more walkable and livable and has recouped much of its former influence over the region. This does not come without visionary thinking and leadership from grassroots organizations such as Downtown Dallas, Inc., Better Block, Coalition for a New Dallas, and AIA Dallas. Through his leadership in the Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Bob is heavily invested in the betterment of Downtown Dallas. In 2015, Bob was the voice of AIA Dallas’ impactful anti-Trinity Toll Road campaign that, some might say, led to the demise of the ill-conceived toll road. As an executive leader of AIA, Bob led the chapter’s engagement and stakeholder input on multiple downtown initiatives including TxDOT’s CityMap study, DART’s D-2 alignment, and Downtown Dallas 360 study.

Gary C. Thomas is president/executive director of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). He is responsible for a 13-city transit system covering 700-square mile service area with bus, light rail, commuter rail, and paratransit services. Under his leadership DART has doubled its light rail system - twice - to become the nation's longest at 93 miles. The agency has been recognized for innovation in developing a progressive clean fuels program for its bus fleet, advancing new models for local bus and paratransit service and customer-facing communication technology and service. DART is also a recognized leader in the global advancement of the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) movement with its use of targeted demand-response transit service matched with new customer tools for fare payment and trip planning. Thomas administers the goals and policies of the DART Board of Directors and directs the agency's top managers and approximately 3,700 employees, emphasizing a strong customer focus. He works closely with service area city governments and the public in developing short- and long-term transportation and mobility goals. Thomas joined DART in November 1998. He was a consulting engineer for 19 years prior to that. He has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Architecture from Texas Tech University. He serves on the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Subcommittee on Planning and Policy Review for the TRB. He is a past chair of the American Public Transportation Association, RailVolution and the South West Transit Association.

Jason is responsible for overseeing ZOM’s multifamily development activities in the Southwest region. During his career, he has been involved in the investment and development of over 10,000 residential units and over one million square feet of commercial space. Prior to joining ZOM, Jason developed affordable housing projects for a large LIHTC developer and, earlier in his career, developed shopping centers for one of the largest privately held shopping center owners in the country. He holds dual degrees in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona, where he graduated magna cum laude, and is also an alumnus of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Jason is a member of the National Multifamily Housing Council and the Urban Land Institute where he serves on the Dallas/Fort Worth Advisory Board, Multifamily and Mixed-Use Product Councils, and is a graduate of the Center for Leadership Program. He is an active member of The Real Estate Council where he has served on the Board of Directors and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program. Jason also serves on Klyde Warren Park’s Corporate Council, is a board member for Friends of The Commons, and is a member of Oak Lawn Committee and Downtown Dallas Inc.

John L. Zogg, Jr. serves as managing director for Crescent Real Estate Equities, LLC. Mr. Zogg manages the leasing efforts in the Dallas and Houston markets of over 2,300,000 square feet. Mr. Zogg serves on the board of various local civic organizations including Executive Committees of Uptown Public Improvement District, Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation, Downtown Dallas and The Rise School of Dallas. He is a member of The Dallas Assembly, Urban Land Institute, City Center Tax Incentive Finance District, as well as the Downtown Connection Tax Incentive Finance District. Mr. Zogg is vice chairman of the AT&T Cotton Bowl and a founding member of the Advisory Council to the Center for Real Estate Finance at the University of Texas at Austin, Business School. In 2002, Mayor Laura Miller appointed Mr. Zogg to the Dallas Inside the Loop Committee. Mr. Zogg was named #1 Office Leasing Agent in Dallas/Fort Worth by the Dallas Business Journal in 1995 and again in 1996. Mr. Zogg joined Crescent Real Estate Equities as vice president of leasing and marketing in May of 1994. In 2004, he was promoted to managing director in Crescent’s Dallas Region. Mr. Zogg served as managing director until Crescent was sold to Morgan Stanley in 2007. Prior to rejoining Crescent, Mr. Zogg worked at Silverstone Capital Group. From January 1989 to May 1994, Mr. Zogg served as vice president of the commercial real estate group for Rosewood Property Company, responsible for marketing and leasing office space in the Dallas and Denver areas. Prior to joining Rosewood, he worked as marketing manager of Gerald D. Hines Interests. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Mr. Zogg holds a Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Dallas.

Born in Belgium, Brigitte grew up in Antwerp, a city with not only a rich architectural heritage, but also a reputation for pioneering new, often experimental ideas. Her native city fostered an adventurous spirit and a love of design that brought her to the US to study Interior Architecture when she was just 21. Brigitte’s approach to design is humanistic, championing people-centered solutions in a variety of interiors — workplace, education, and non-profit organizations. She has a collaborative approach and is a passionate promoter of the importance of teamwork and establishing a shared design culture with her clients. Brigitte has been a business owner, entrepreneur, and design principal in the span of her career—roles that give her a firsthand insight into the needs of her corporate clients.

Mark Niehus has more than 25 years of experience in ICT installation, business development, project management, sales, and marketing. He is a frequent presenter of emerging technologies and market trends at nationally-recognized conferences and a regular contributor for various trade magazines. As Director of Strategic Accounts at Connectivity Wireless, Niehus leverages comprehensive industry knowledge to help customers understand and implement the right solution(s) to meet their in-building connectivity needs. He holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and has been an RCDD since 1997.