Historically a farming community, Dallas grew to prominence through its railway network, eventually becoming the
center of the oil and cotton industries in the early 1900s. By the 1930s, the discovery of oil fields had promoted
the city further as an energy hub, with the advent of technology and telecommunications solidifying its future role
as the southern epicenter of industry in the United States. Now home to the third largest concentration of Fortune
500 companies in the United States, all eyes are on Richardson’s Silicon Prairie Corridor and Austin’s Silicon Hills
to see what the future has in store.
Though smaller in population than its elder brothers, Houston and San Antonio, the Dallas metropolitan area has grown to encompass Plano, Fort Worth, Richardson and Arlington, with many tying Austin’s new startup ecosystem to the region as well. Employing over three million professionals in banking, transportation, logistics, healthcare, biotech, energy, technology and telecomm, Dallas’ economy boasts the 14th largest GDP in the world. The planned development of a high-speed train between Dallas and Houston is slated to bring in significant economic growth over the next few years.
Recent years have seen a brain drain from the larger cities, to the up-and-coming ones, with Austin being the
largest recipient. Young professionals now flock to Austin in droves, bypassing the internship and rotational fellowships
of the larger conglomerates in Dallas proper. This, in addition to competition from the rapidly expanding business sectors
in Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix, and even as far as Chicago, has put an immense strain on the talent economy. Talent
acquisition and retention will be the greatest challenge of CEOs in every industry and across all stages of the corporate
lifecycle.
Current home to our CFO and Partner Emeritus, James F. Holland, whose background includes stints at Texas Instruments,
W.R. Grace and Tenneco, our firm has helped Greater Dallas companies solve their HR issues for over 20 years and has a
combined expertise of 30 years experience in the region. Whether you’re looking for executive coaching and leadership
development for your next VP or SVP, assistance during a turnaround and restructuring, HR expertise to plan out employee
and cultural integration for an imminent M&A, a completely new compensation plan to remain competitive in the tough talent
market, or a new Senior Vice President of HR or Chief HR Officer to bring fresh energy to your talent management initiatives
and HR organization, we know the HR market here better than every other firm.