⚙️New top guy in Tech; There's a Fool in our midst; The Fool isn't Mike Tyson

💼Scheduling note: 817 BIZ will be off next week for spring break.🎒

TechFW, which fosters innovation and empowers entrepreneurs, has named Ryan Brown its first CEO. Brown's role is to provide visionary leadership, strategic direction, operational oversight, and development to ensure growth of TechFW. He has experience in various industries, including aerospace and defense. He has led company growth and executive leadership within real estate, finance, nonprofits, and events, including leading the Earth Day Texas event into the global EarthX initiative. Hayden Blackburn, former Executive Director, will assume the role of COO.

Having successfully completed its first live-streaming sporting event (tennis), Netflix has turned to boxing. Live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington July 20, Jake Paul will face Mike Tyson. Are you ready to rumble? Also in July, Globe Life Field will host the Major League Baseball All-Star game.

Mansfield has purchased approximately 10 acres from Stillwater Capital Investments to build a city hall and town square within Stillwater's 200-acre Reserve, a mixed-use community under development. Construction on the city hall is expected to be completed by December 2026.

In another stunning challenge to the NCAA's control of major college amateur sports, the Dartmouth men’s basketball team has voted to unionize, the first labor union for college athletes. Dartmouth already has appealed last month's National Labor Relations Board ruling that Dartmouth players are employees and entitled to unionize.

Gerald Haddock, former CEO of Crescent Real Estate Equities, Fort Worth resident, and founder of Haddock Investments, recently became co-CEO of Silver Star Properties in Houston. Now, there's drama unfolding similar to a corporate thriller: a web of accusations, a flurry of legal battles and both commercial and personal fallout. Partners turned-rivals: Allen Hartman and Gerald Haddock, courtesy of The Real Deal. 

Master-planned community Walsh Ranch will add 339 homesites this year as part of its next phase. The sites are along the west side of the development and will include homes and townhomes.

Fan and lighting manufacturer Big Ass Fans has joined Lockheed Martin Corporation in leasing buildings at Fort West Commerce Center — an industrial development in north Fort Worth.

Texas real estate publication REDnews has announced its 2023 Texas Icons. Three of the honorees are from Fort Worth:

• Steve Fithian, Managing Director, SVN Trinity Advisors

• Sarah LanCarte, Founder & President, LanCarte Commercial Real Estate

• Sandra McGlothlin, CEO, Empire Holdings

The Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber selected co-winners as Business of the Year — The Post L Group and owner Jeff Postell; and The Metro Report, published by Shevoyd and Angie Hamilton. 

Fort Worth-based American Track, a North American Rail Solutions subsidiary, acquired Vancouver-based West Rail Construction, expanding the company’s reach in the Pacific Northwest.

Snippets:

• Delta became the latest airline to raise its checked baggage fee by an additional $5.

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a rule that would cap late fees banks charge credit card customers at $8 per incident (from as high as $32). The rule goes into effect later this spring.

• General Motors recalled nearly 820,000 Sierra and Silverado pickup trucks due to a safety issue. The trucks' tailgates could open while driving, increasing the risk of crashes and road hazards.

• Fort Worth is seeking a replacement developer for the Near Southside Evans-Rosedale urban village project. Interviews with finalists are scheduled for May. 

Reader Gaylon T. of Fort Worth took flight with the winning entry for a four-pack of tickets to Butterflies in the Garden at Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

Announcements:

• Cantey Hanger: Adds Sara Norman as Partner in Business Transactions section.

• Brackett & Ellis: Adds attorneys Andrea Paris, Director, and Xintong Song, Associate.

• Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Preparatory: Promotes Dani Ray Barton to President.

• Boys & Girls Club of Tarrant County:  Names Marcus Hicks Chief Development Officer and Matt Sinclair SVP of Operations.

• Glint Advertising: Hires content specialist Tori Taylor and account manager Jonathan Kutney.

• Fort Worth Chamber: Announces TCU as its 2024 Spirit of Enterprise Award honoree.

We’re introducing a new weekly feature. Every Friday, look for insight and stock analysis from The Motley Fool, a private financial and investing advice company. In this week’s issue:

• What’s the best number of stocks to own?

• If you’re looking to buy, here’s a stock to avoid.

• This telecommunications giant is a Motley Fool pick.

Daily digit: $11.5 billion – Rolex sales in 2023, a gain of 11% from 2022. Sales eclipsed the combined total of the next three largest brands. The Swiss watchmaker’s market share of 30% was described as unprecedented in a report by Morgan Stanley and Swiss firm LuxeConsult.

Nothing to do with business: The first jet suit race was held recently in Dubai (see video). One competitor described the experience as “just think or look where you want to go, and that’s where you go.”

Last poll results: What individual has had the greatest economic impact on North Texas? Answers: Jerry Jones (23%), Ross Perot Jr (20%), George W. Bush (19%), Mark Cuban(18%), Other (19%). Total votes cast: 1,631 (a record).

🌷🌷🌷Reminder: 817 BIZ will be off next week for spring break.