The 2025 edition of the Dallas 500 made its debut at an exclusive event last night at the Dallas Museum of Art. Months in the making, the 10th anniversary issue is D CEO editors’ take on the most powerful and influential leaders in North Texas.
Included in this year’s book are 52 of the most recognizable names in Dallas business who have made the list every year for the last decade. Each is noted in the publication with an exclusive 10-year badge. Additionally, 181 new and emerging leaders made the list for 2025.
At the event, the 2025 cover models were revealed. They are: Vikram Agrawal of American Resilience Partners, Jennifer Sampson of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Jenny Martinez of Munck Wilson Mandala, Rogers Healy of Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners, NéAndré Broussard of BMW Digital, Mahisha Dellinger of Huzzy Smart Sips, and Nirav Tolia of Nextdoor. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the photoshoot:
D CEO editors spent more than six months doing research, hundreds of interviews, and asking those in past editions about their most respected colleagues—and competitors. We read through nearly 500 nomination forms and were introduced to many interesting under-the-radar leaders.
You can access the full Dallas 500 list online here. It is just a sneak peek, though, as the full, unabridged content can only be found in the print edition.
As always, D CEO editors wrote fresh profiles for all 500 individuals to highlight their latest business moves and achievements. We also came up with several new personal questions, including: “What is your biggest job interview failure, or one that you have witnessed?”
Some of the answers are downright hilarious. Lindsay Clark, CFO of the State Fair of Texas, came to her interview (at D Magazine!) on the wrong day: “I showed up to a job interview at D on the wrong day. Complete facepalm moment. The staff there was so kind and considerate even though I was squarely in the wrong.”
Tait Cruse of Northwestern Mutual said, “It was an interview I had 35 years ago in 1988. I was so hungry driving in from the University of North Texas to my appointment. I stopped at McDonald’s and got an Egg McMuffin to eat in my car. The entire egg patty fell out and rolled down my tie leaving a streak of cheese sauce down my tie! Moral of the story is to protect your tie or eat at home.”
Dallas Cowboys CFO Tom Walker told us: “I had a potential employee in my accounting department fail to tell me that he was currently under indictment for embezzlement. We found it on the background check and he was still surprised that we ended the dialogue.”
It turns out that many executives have interviewed candidates who brought their moms along to sit in on the interviews. (Really?) But perhaps the best answer came from Tony Carimi at Park Place Dealerships who said, “We had an applicant for a valet position request to work remotely from home.”
We also asked the Dallas 500 about their favorite family recipes or home-cooked meals. We have a lot of confident amateur chefs in the book—and many professional eaters. Wayne White of Communities Foundation of Texas said, “I make a serious Jamaican Ox Tail dish and wash it down with a rum punch.”
Mark Cuban, Cynt Marshall, and Chris Cassidy all have a thing for sweet potatoes. After six months on the International Space Station, former NASA astronaut Cassidy’s first meal back on earth was his wife’s sweet potato casserole with parmesan chicken. Marshall said, “My sweet potato pies are famous. The recipe is actually in a cookbook but I can’t tell you which one because family members were not happy that I shared the recipe.”
Gary Wojtaszek of RecNation probably had the smartest answer of all though: “I love everything my wife makes!”
The profiles in our 10th edition of the Dallas 500 will inform, entertain, and inspire. They’ll make you feel proud to live in such a vibrant market. As Dallas newcomer and celebrity chef Carla Pellegrino says, “Dallas is thriving right now, and I feel like I arrived at just the right time to grow alongside the city. It feels like a perfect moment.”
To learn more about the Dallas 500 and to order a copy of the 2025 edition, click here.
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