👑King of the (money) hill; Progressive not so aggressive; Venture with the twins?

Leah King has decided to step down after nearly five years as president and CEO of United Way of Tarrant County to lead JPS Foundation as its president. JPS, which made the announcement, is a non-profit dedicated to raising funds to support several services within JPS Health Network, the taxpayer-supported hospital district in Tarrant County. King said the transition broadens her mission of improving health care for all. 

M2G Ventures, a real estate investment and development company that got its start in Fort Worth, raised its first general partner equity fund. Grey Swan I will allow investors to capitalize on M2G’s opportunistic strategy on a larger, more efficient scale, pursuing value-added industrial and mixed-use properties across select growth markets. The primary focus will be in Texas.

Westlake-based ECI Software Solutions has acquired Khameleon Software, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning software company. EC said the acquisition grows its support system for commercial furniture dealer clients.

Billy and Rozanne Rosenthal have been selected as the 2024 Fort Worth Business Executives of the Year and will be honored on Nov. 19 during the Business Hall of Fame dinner. Billy is the Chairman of Penrose Group, LLC and Rozanne is the founder of the Susan G. Komen Greater Fort Worth Affiliate. Proceeds from the event benefit the Thomas H. Law Scholarship program, which supports Texas Wesleyan University business students.

RobotLAB, a robotics integrator that delivers business innovations and solutions, has opened Fort Worth Innovation Lab, which will focus on providing improved efficiency, service, delivery and customer experiences through robotics solutions and be a creative hub for exploring new sales, marketing and operational strategies.

Brightmore Brands has acquired Texas Thrift, a portfolio of 17 thrift stores in Texas and three in the Tarrant County area, Brightmore has 37 stores across five states and says it is the largest privately-held, for-profit thrift store chain in North America. 

Not so fast: The founder of home improvement store Lumber Liquidators has agreed to buy and take over more than 200 locations of the renamed LL Flooring, which announced last week it would liquidate. Approximately half of the 400+ stores will remain open. The 30-year-old company said last week it had failed to find a buyer during its bankruptcy and would shutter its 400 national locations.

Elbit Systems of America, headquartered in Fort Worth, was awarded a $27,792,187 modification contract for AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night Vision Devices. Work will be performed in Roanoke, VA with an estimated completion date of March 30, 2026.

American Airlines said it would add 500 maintenance jobs in Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Tulsa to support additional lines of heavy maintenance check work.

Big Lots has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and agreed to a $620M sale to Nexus Capital. There are a dozen stores in the Tarrant area.

Texas included: Progressive Insurance CEO Tricia Griffith said the company is “temporarily restricting new homeowners' business ... Reducing the impact from weather-related volatility is strategically important."  

Nothing to do with business: Here’s an image of the Empire State Building lit up to celebrate Darth Vader, in honor of James Earl Jones’ passing.

Daily digit: The University of Texas at Austin unseated the University of Virginia this year to top the list of public schools that have produced the most sitting CFOs, according to a report by executive search firm Crist Kolder Associates.

Significant stat: While U.S. commercial construction spending has declined 13.5% year-over-year as of June 2024, more than six million square feet in new office space was underway at the start of the year in D-FW. That represents nearly 10% of all commercial space under construction across the country.

Snippets:

• Manufactured at Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center, the AH-1Z is the U.S. Marine Corps’ secret (and powerful) weapon in the sky. 

• What impact will private equity have on NFL team ownership, if any?

• Fort Worth is looking for answers to better serve the business ecosystem. The city asks you to fill out this survey.

Announcements: 

• Deceased: Business and community leader Jack Rattikin, Jr., passed on Sept 5.

• Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones LLP: Hires Will Mabry as transactional Partner.

• Willis Law Group: Adds Neely Fortinberry as a Partner.

• Texas Attorney General:  Promotes Austin Kinghorn to Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy.

• Cowtown Creative: Hires Derinda Kohn.