Dallas Entrepreneurs of the Year 2012

When Rick Spurr signed on as president and chief operating officer of Dallas-based ZixCorp. in 2004, the company was deep in debt, had negative cash flow, and its operating expenses exceeded revenue.

The next year, he became CEO—and immediately set changes in motion, focusing on the company’s core service: email encryption. He also restructured the go-to-market strategy and downsized the company.

By 2008, Zix had paid off its debt and cash flow was break-even. In 2011, the company had record adjusted earnings, record cash flow from operations, and returned funds to shareholders through share buybacks.

The subscription email encryption network that Zix developed and manages has more than 30 million members—and it’s growing by about 100,000 members per week.

“There are so many companies that need our product,” Spurr says. “Only 10 percent of emails in the U.S. have security on them. That’s a growth market for us.”

The company also invented an email decryption method “that operates automatically under the covers, if you will,” Spurr says. “Thirty percent of our customers are getting it transparently; our goal is getting that up to 50 percent.”
— Glenda Vosburgh

USP&E is a supplier of diesel generators, HFO generators, and power plant services. But 90 percent of its business is building power stations in emerging economies, particularly in Africa. “We change millions of lives in emerging markets by supplying energy and jobs,” says Will Gruver, president and CEO. “One of the things I’m passionate about is helping others through employment.”

Celina-based USP&E employs design, electrical, mechanical, and petrochemical and civil engineers from more than 20 countries to construct and operate fuel-efficient and renewable power stations. Gruver became interested in emerging markets in Asia, South America, and Africa in early 2000, and the company began to pursue power generation infrastructure projects in those areas of the world. The biggest challenge is dealing with corruption, Gruver says: “We do a lot of due diligence.”

The CEO has been so touched by the plight of the orphans in the countries where the company is operating, especially in Africa, that he and the company work with an organization called Every Orphans Hope, which helps children whose parents have died due to HIV/AIDS. “These children are everywhere there,” Gruver says. “The’ve lost their parents and they’re just out there walking from place to place all on their own.”
— Glenda Vosburgh

DIamond-A Ford Corp.
Gerald J. Ford
Chairman of the Board

If you’ve got a football stadium named after you, chances are you’re doing pretty well. Consider Gerald J. Ford, who sits at No. 764 on Forbes’ 2012 “World’s Billionaire List.”

After graduating from Southern Methodist University in 1966, Ford, who is known for buying and selling financial institutions, hit the ground running in 1974 when he bought his first bank for $1.2 million and later sold it for $80 million.

In a 46-year career, he was responsible for merging First Nationwide Bank with Golden State Bancorp in 1998, forming the second-largest U.S. savings and loan company. He later sold that company to Citigroup for approximately $6 billion.

Ford currently serves as chairman of Diamond-A Ford Corp., First Acceptance Corp., and Triad Financial. He also serves as a director of Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. and McMoRan Exploration Co.

But it isn’t all about business. Ford says he’s been fortunate to be able to help support SMU, home to the Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
The school has had a big impact on his life, he says, and helped introduce him to Dallas. Along with money, Ford has given his time, serving on the SMU board of trustees since 1992 and as chairman since 2002.

And, he isn’t slowing down. Most recently, a group led by Ford bought PlainsCapital for $520 million. “I’m very excited about the Plains transaction,” he says. “We’re looking forward to that, hoping to have success.”

Looking back, Ford says he’s grateful that his career has worked out so well. “I’ve been fortunate,” he says. “It has been years of enjoying what I do every day.”
— Jessica Melton