The Metroplex Civic and Business Association (MCBA) hosted its Leadership Luncheon, held every two months, on August 5 to celebrate its fifth anniversary and unveil a refreshed brand.
The event featured guests from Dallas and across Texas, including Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Gay Donnell Willis, Council Member Adam Bazaldua, and acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock.
Onyinye Akujuo, president and CEO of MCBA, opened the event by celebrating the organization’s accomplishments and growth, saying they are “an elite, passion-driven, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the continued success of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.”
“We are growing. We are 10,000-plus employees strong across the region, and with growth comes an even greater opportunity to make a positive impact on our communities. For months, we’ve been building, refining, and pushing the boundaries of MCBA. I think you all can feel it in this room, especially for our future. And today, we’re sharing it all with you.”
The luncheon also featured the unveiling of a new MCBA logo, which incorporates the Texas star, a checkmark, and a compass.
Each of these symbols represents an aspect of MCBA: the Texas star signifies civic pride and unity, the checkmark reflects voting integrity, and the compass symbolizes the forward thinking necessary to guide businesses into the future.
After the logo unveiling, attendees heard remarks from Hancock and Texas Stock Exchange Global Managing Editor Nicole Chambers.
Hancock opened the segment by recognizing the work being done by businesses across the state, saying the best part of his job is getting to brag about the booming Texas economy.
“We’re actually projecting continued economic growth because of really the men and women in this room and the economic development organizations across the state that we work with so well,” Hancock said.
“And to talk about that, we are no longer just an oil and gas state. And we went from an oil and gas state to a technology state. We went from a technology state to a financial state. And that’s the transitions that we’ve made.”
Chambers followed with comments on the financial growth in Texas, noting that the TXSE is expected to come to the state within the next few months.
“We’ve raised almost $200 million with some great institutions that back us, like BlackRock, Citadel, and Charles Schwab. It’s no secret that they are all leaders in their respective trading areas, largest retail, largest passive, and largest active,” Chambers said.
“But what we’re most proud of is that 80% of our financing has come from private wealth and specifically great Texas leaders and business leaders that have seen this as an absolute game-changer for not only the state, for the city, but for the broad economy nationwide.”
Chambers further detailed the support from many Texas leaders during this process, adding that it will only increase as more companies commit to the Lone Star State.
“Regardless of your politics, we have a wonderful support of Texas leadership to create this environment and foster this environment that we’ve seen more companies move their headquarters, expand in the state.”
“We have one in 10 public companies based here. Fifty-two of the Fortune 500 are headquartered in Texas, and it has only grown. And because of that momentum, we are able to establish Texas as this next center of gravity for the financial markets, specifically Dallas as the hub for the next capital markets.”
Moving forward, Chambers said the TXSE is “expecting approval by the SEC no later than the beginning of Q4 2025,” indicating the opening of the exchange is on the horizon.
“So we are very excited to have that open and launching in the middle of Q1 2026. So in Q1 26, TXSE will be open for trading. That will allow folks to use our exchange to trade on and trade through. We will start listings of ETFs shortly after that, Q2, Q3, and then corporate listings will start in mid-Q3.”
“About this time next year, you’ll start to see companies either move their listings from the New York or NASDAQ or even a foreign issuer, as well as IPOs later in the year. So we are just about 12 months away from really being up and running.”
The launch of TXSE is expected to further bolster the growing Texas economy, with MCBA also projected to continue expanding its reach and membership in the years ahead.