🪑Perot named Chair of U.S. Chamber; Texas prep title games to be accessible to all; Texas lawmakers go psychedelic.

Fort Worth-born and Dallas-based marketing company PMG, with nine global offices, acquired Momentum Commerce, a retail media company with a proprietary Velocity platform. With expertise across Amazon, Walmart, Target, Instacart and other retail platforms, Momentum Commerce tracks more than 37 million products and 880,000 brands. 

Ross Perot Jr., developer of Alliance, Texas, has been named Chairman of The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one of America's most powerful lobbying groups. It has cheered President Trump's agenda as pro-growth, applauding efforts to relax regulations and extend current tax policy. But those tariffs…"This year is going to be tough," Perot told Axios. “I think because we're waiting for the tax code … Then I think people are waiting on where we are going to go on tariffs. Once that settles down, we can all go to work."

General Motors unveiled a plan to allocate approximately $4 billion the next two years to enhance its manufacturing capabilities within the United States. With this investment for gasoline and electric vehicles, GM aims to produce about two million vehicles annually. 

The University Interscholastic League (UIL) entered a five-year agreement with Victory+ to stream all football state championships and select playoff games starting this season. Fans will have free access to the app, a change from previous cable-only distribution. Last year, 26,247 fans attended the 6A Division II championship game and attendance for the ten 11-man state championship games in 2024 was 159,560.

Paul Studebaker has Fort Worth marketing in his blood. But in 2022, his world was turned upside down. Cancer forced him into early retirement. In December 2023, he resolved for New Years to adopt a purpose. He chose the V Foundation and raised $22k for the Jimmy Valvano nonprofit, which decided to share Paul’s story to the nation. 

Texas legislators approved the investment of $50 million in Ibogaine, a psychedelic drug used to alleviate addiction and brain trauma. Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled to sign Senate Bill 2308 today, which would kick-start clinical trials.

GameStop shares sink more than 20% after a convertible debt offering, which many expect is to purchase more Bitcoin. 

Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit in the ongoing 23andMe bankruptcy case to obtain a judgment confirming Texans’ right to their genetic data and requiring 23andMe to comply with Texas’ data privacy laws.

Eight female athletes have filed an appeal to the landmark $2.8-billion NCAA settlement, saying it violates federal anti-discrimination law.

JB Hunt, BNSF Railway, GMXT launch a cross-border intermodal service. They hope to capitalize on the untapped potential from shippers converting over-the-road freight between the U.S. and Mexico to rail intermodal.

Fort announced a triple net lease for its 21,600-square-foot building at 275 N. University. Todd Hawpe and Gibson Duwe of Transwestern represented the landlord. Tesla maintenance and repair had been there previously. 

The Viridian Board has voted to indefinitely close the public beach at Lake Viridian in Arlington after a May 30 party was dispersed by police.

Off the success of its Reid Cabaret series, Casa Mañana is expanding and will present three shows at The Nack Theater in Frisco. The first of three shows is The Music of Neil Diamond Sept. 23-27.

The Dallas World Cup committee has scored its first major sponsorship ... the deal with Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages comes a year before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off. According to the Dallas Business Journal, the host committee can sign up to 10 sponsors and needs them to help meet a nine-figure budget for the world's most-watched sporting event. 

Meta is rolling out an AI "world model" that it says can better understand the 3D environment and movements of physical objects. The owner of Facebook and Instagram said V-JEPA 2 can understand, predict and plan in the physical world, allowing it to learn, and make decisions in a more human-like manner.

Only 46% of 1,000 surveyed workers are interested in a promotion to a management role, according to a survey by Robert Half. Another 31% said they would like a promotion but not to a management role. Gen Z is the age group most interested in a promotion that doesn’t involve becoming a manager, at 40%.

Maintenance issues have American Airlines temporarily grounding its new premium-heavy Boeing 787-9. 

Notable and quotable: “You could probably find an economist that’ll tell you that we’re all going to die cause the last few months have been a little low, but I don’t like doing that…” —Adam Perdue, director at housing research firm Zonda

Significant stat: More than 7.5 million barrels of bourbon currently sit in Kentucky rickhouses. That comes out to nearly 1.75 barrels of bourbon for every person in Kentucky – yes, there are more barrels of bourbon in the state than people.

Daily digit: According to Bloomberg, Hampton Inn sold an estimated 90 million room nights in 2024, millions more than its closest competitor, Holiday Inn Express.

Believe it or not:  A cannabis dispensary in Monroe, Michigan, is offering customers a discount if they can provide photographic proof of Bigfoot.

Nothing to do with business: Parody artist Weird Al Yankovic’s Bigger and Weirder Tour is coming to Grand Prairie on August 2. It involves 20 costume changes, plus nine for the band, all of which will happen in at most 45 seconds.

Announcements:

• Simpli.fi: Appoints Cali Tran as CEO, effective June 16. Founder and current CEO Frost Prioleau will transition to Executive Chairman.

• Texas Wesleyan University: Names Gary Stout Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, effective July 1.

• BNSF Railway: Names Jacob Sass Director of Consumer Products Marketing. 

• Fidelity Investments: Names Jason Elliott VP-Implementation & Operations for the Workplace Investing-Tax Exempt Market.

• Valor: Appoints Luke Hawkins CFO.

• Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts: Selects Amber Ledbetter as Principal.

• Charles Schwab: Adds Bradford Hutchins as Senior Wealth Advisor.

• Texas Environmental Excellence Awards: Recognizes Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center in Arlington/Fort Worth with Technical/Technology Award.

• Altivo Digital Marketing: Adds Eddy Alonso as Strategic Storyteller-in-Chief.

• The Texas Lawbook: Hires Alexa Shrake to cover complex commercial litigation. 

• Bandwidth Podcast: Adds Georgette Lopez-Aguado as co-host.

• Lantern: Hires Rachel Nkollo as Director of Learning and Knowledge Management.

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