✈️D-FW Airport has a new CEO; General Motors' CEO pay is up; Southwest Airlines' capacity is down.

D-FW International Airport announced Chris McLaughlin as its next CEO, succeeding retiring chief executive Sean Donohue. McLaughlin takes over May 19. Donohue had been CEO 10 years.

A high-tech federal aviation technology testing program is coming to Texas A&M-Fort Worth. The new lab of The Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies will be based at the downtown campus and led by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. 

Rotorcraft manufacturer Bell will continue producing the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor at least through the end of 2027, spanning a critical gap for the company’s production line. Scott Donnelly, chief executive of Bell parent Textron, confirmed the new-build Navy work for at least two more years.

Lockheed Martin has agreed to buy the hardware and product business of Rapid Solution unit of Amentum for $360 million in cash. Rapid Solutions manufactures advanced communications and tactical products aligned to national security missions.

Dr. Natalya Delcoure has been named Dean of Tarleton State University’s Dr. Sam Pack College of Business, effective July 1. Since 2013, she has been Dean of the College of Business Administration at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. 

Fort Worth Opera, the oldest in Texas, has announced its 80th anniversary season October through April 2026, highlighted by four main productions: Jonathan Tetelman, La Belle et La Bête (Beauty and the Beast); Cowboys & Culture; and Madama Butterfly. 

The owner and CEO of now-closed Fort Worth Behavioral Health have been sued for $1 million by a family whose son lost an eye while allegedly being beaten in a restroom. D Magazine has the story.

Ben Thanh Plaza in Arlington will see several enhancements, thanks to a strategic partnership between HKT Management, the city and the Arlington Economic Development Corporation. The goal is to enhance tourism, improve the International Corridor and foster a thriving, community-focused environment in the shopping center, which houses approximately 50 stores and more than a dozen dining options.

Range Resources had an upside surprise with quarterly earnings of $0.96 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.90. Quarterly earnings a year ago were $0.69. 

During its quarterly earnings report, Southwest Airlines announced it would cut capacity about 1.5% the second half of 2025 as it re-positions itself to increase profitability. 

Jan Clayton, interim President of Tarrant County College's Northeast Campus since November 2023, will become district vice chancellor of analytics and planning at the end of this semester. Kirsten Jakowitsch will be interim President. She is the former dean of technology, health and business, and interim vice president for academic affairs.

If you travel I-45 between D-FW and Houston, you may encounter a novel sight: a semi-truck without a human being in the cab. Autonomous trucking startup Aurora Innovation will roll out its first completely driverless vehicle in the next few days. Aurora plans to begin with just a single truck and slowly expand to its whole fleet.

Two Fort Worth EMS supervisor vehicles have been equipped with universal blood units to provide emergency transfusions at the scene of serious injuries or medical emergencies across Fort Worth and 14 surrounding municipalities. 

Southlake-based cargo glider company Aerolane will have its open flight operations center at Perot Field in Alliance. “We're making every plane more capable, productive, and far cleaner with a groundbreaking new technology: Autonomous Cargo Gliders.”

General Motors CEO Mary Barra's total compensation for 2024 was $29.5 million, a 6% increase over 2023. Barra's pay is 310 times the median employee salary of $95,111.

Center for Transforming Lives will have the official opening May 2 of its facility at 3001 S. Riverside Drive. The new construction was designed for women and children experiencing poverty and homelessness.

Nothing to do with business: Fort Worth increases tree protections with an Urban Forestry Ordinance, another in Mayor Parker's green spaces initiatives. 

Significant stat: WrestleMania 41, held last weekend, was the most viewed and highest-grossing event in WWE history. Viewership increased 114% versus 2024.

Snippets:

• Fort Worth, at No. 11, leads all Texas cities in WalletHub's best large cities to start a business. 

• American Airlines improves, losing 29% fewer bags, but still ranks last in the U.S. 

• U.S. business activity grew at the slowest pace since 2023.

• U.S. small manufacturers hope to benefit from tariffs, but some worry about uncertainty.

Announcements:

• Comerica Bank: Names Matt Marchbanks Fort Worth Market President and will serve as the Senior Vice President, Middle Market and Business Banking Group Manager. 

• Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo: As previously announced, General Manager Matt Carter was elected to succeed retiring President Brad Barnes, who was elected president emeritus. 

• North Texas Community Foundation: Adds Lindsay Daniel Livesay as SVP Trust Market Manager at Bank of Texas to the Board.

• TCU: Names Maria Mason President of its National Alumni Board.

• Cook Children's: Names Kyle D. Edington Chief Development Officer. 

• Texas A&M Board of Regents: Selects Robert L. “Bob” Albritton Chairman of the Board.

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