WHITNEY WOLFE HERD
Founder and CEO, Bumble
Known especially for his expertise at Canje and the new Nicosi, this chef was recently named a 2026 James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker—the only finalist from Austin. Nicosi remains the exclusive dessert-only concept in the country with a Michelin star.
PHOTO BY ROBERT J. LERMA
TAVEL BRISTOL-JOSEPH
Chef and partner, Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group
GHIZLANE BADAWI
CEO, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
PAUL BODENMAN
Senior vice president of investments, Stream Realty Partners
KEVIN BURNS
Broker and CEO, Urbanspace
JEFF CARDENAS
CEO, Apptronik
JOHN CARVER
Chef and owner, Guy+Larry Restaurants
JIM DAVIS
President, The University of Texas at Austin
MICHAEL DELL
Founder, chairman and CEO, Dell Technologies
ZACH DELL
CEO, Base Power
ALLISON ELLSWORTH
Co-founder and chief brand officer, Poppi
BOBBY EPSTEIN
Chairman and co-founder, Circuit of the Americas
CHRIS FRANKE
General manager, Travis Club Austin
JJ GOTTSCH
CEO, Austin Gamblers
JASON KIM
CEO, Firefly Aerospace
LIZ LAMBERT
Managing partner at MML Hospitality/Hotelier
THAI LEE
Founder, president and CEO, SHI International
RICHARD LINKLATER
Filmmaker, writer and producer, Detour Film-production/Founder and artistic director, Austin Film Society
JOE LONSDALE
Founder and managing partner, 8VC
DANIEL LUBETZKY
Author/Founder and CEO, KIND
LARRY MCGUIRE
Managing partner at MML Hospitality/Restaurateur
YETI might have been "built for the wild," but nowadays the brand appears everywhere, thanks in part to its CEO. As the company continues to promote sustainability initiatives, it also supports many worthwhile community efforts.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAND
MATTHEW REINTJES
Director, president and CEO, YETI
TOM MOORMAN
Managing partner at MML Hospitality/Restaurateur
ELON MUSK
CEO and product architect, Tesla/ Founder, CEO and chief engineer, SpaceX/Founder and CEO, xAI/ Founder and CTO, X Corp/ Co-founder: Neuralink, the Boring Company, OpenAI, Zip2 and X.com/ President, Musk Foundation
GLEN POWELL
Actor/Founder, Barnstorm Productions
MARK RICHARDSON
Principal, Mark Richardson Architects
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ
Writer, producer, director and composer
JOE ROGAN
Podcaster, comedian/Owner, Comedy Mothership
KENDRA SCOTT
Founder, Kendra Scott and Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott
MACK & SALLY BROWN
Philanthropists/ Co-founders, Mack, Jack, & McConaughey (MJ&M)
SERGIO & ANGELA GARCIA
Philanthropists/ Principals, The Sergio & Angela Garcia Foundation/Co-founders FORE Kids ATX
JOE & ANDRA LIEMANDT
JOE: CEO, Trilogy
ANDRA: Founder and CEO, The Kindness Campaign
EDDIE MARGAIN & LORENA JUNCO MARGAIN
EDDIE: Founder and CEO, Pixiu Investments/ Co-founder of Austin FC
pixiuinvestments.com, austinfc.com
LORENA: Philanthropist, author
CHRIS HARRISON & LAUREN ZIMA
Philanthropists/ Producers/Television personalities
Even after being featured on the prestigious TIME100 Next list last year for their pioneering work reimagining the restaurant model, this couple continues working tirelessly to make the hospitality industry a more equitable and sustainable place to build a career.
PHOTO BY MACKENZIE SMITH KELLEY
ARJAV EZEKIEL & TRACY MALECHEK-EZEKIEL
Co-owners, Birdie’s
