People are the greatest asset any organization can have, and the Greater Dallas Chamber's membership roster boasts some of the nation's top talent. Each month, The Chamber Report profiles some of the Chamber's most dedicated volunteers-the board of directors-sharing their corporate pathways to success.

This month we are proud to feature Mary Frances Burleson of Ebby Halliday Realtors, Elaine Agather of JPMorgan Chase, Doug Reed of Fidelity Investments Southwest Regional Center, Dumas Siméus of Siméus Foods International, Inc., Chris Kleinert of and Tom Baker of Oncor Group.

Mary Frances Burleson, CRB
President
Ebby Halliday Realtors

Mary Frances Burleson is president of Ebby Halliday, Realtors, which serves the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area with approximately 1200 sales associates and 114 employees in 26 offices.

Burleson started her career with the firm over 40 years ago as Ebby's secretary. She opened the fourth office for Ebby Halliday, Realtors in Richardson. In 1979 she became executive vice president and general sales manager. In 1989 she was named as president.

In 1989, Burleson was named REALTOR of the year by the Greater Dallas Association of Realtors and in 1992 she served as president for that organization. Burleson serves as the chairman of the board for the Texas Association of Realtors. Burleson has been a member of the National Association of Realtors board of directors since 1991. In 2001, she was chair of economics and issues trends residential forum.

Burleson currently serves as the chairman of the board of directors of the Baptist Foundation of Texas, chairman-elect of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the board of directors for the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Methodist University Planned Giving Council. She was a member of the Fannie Mae national advisory council in 1999-2000. She speaks locally and leads seminars to many groups in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. She has led round table discussions and given speeches at six National Association of Realtor conventions.

Burleson has been married to Rufus C. Burleson for over forty years. The two have exhibited Boxer show dogs since 1964.

Elaine Agather
Chairman and CEO
JPMorgan Chase — Dallas Region
Elaine Agather is Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase - Dallas. She also serves as Managing Director of the JPMorgan Private Bank Southwest.

A native of Sherman, Texas, Elaine graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in History/Economics and an MBA from the University of Texas. She joined Chemical Bank of New York in 1979, working in London, San Francisco and New York until she relocated to Dallas in 1984 as Vice President of Chemical New York, Southwest, Inc. In 1986, when Texas Commerce Bank merged with Chemical, Elaine was named Executive Vice President and Department Manager for the corporate, correspondent and middle market lending areas in North Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. She was promoted to Chairman of Texas Commerce in Fort Worth in 1992, elected Vice Chairman of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex in 1995 and joined The Private Bank to manage Client Advisory Groups across the state in 1997.

Elaine is Chairman of The Dallas Plan and is a member of the Greater Dallas Chamber Board's Executive Committee, the Dallas Citizens Council Board of Directors, the Governor's Business Council, the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Board of Directors, Southwestern Medical Foundation Board of Trustees, the SMU Tate Lecture Series Board of Directors, the SMU Cox School of Business Executive Board, the Episcopal School of Dallas Board of Directors and the JAAGIR Board of Directors. She is on the League of Women Voters of Texas Advisory Council, Dallas Women's Foundation's Advisory Council, Austin College Presidents Advisory Council, Executive Women's Roundtable, La Riata Advisory Committee and a member of Charter 100 and Dallas Assembly.

She is on the Advisory Board of Directors for the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the Bass Performance Hall, the Crystal Charity Ball and the Texas Stampede Rodeo. She is on the Children's Medical Center of Dallas Board Committee. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, and the Young President's Organization. She is also on the Associate Board of Directors for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

She has been involved in several fundraising efforts, including serving as Co-chair of the 2001 Texas Stampede Round-Up Luncheon. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Directors for On-Target Supplies & Logistics and a member of the Governor's Task Force on Economic Growth.

Elaine and her husband, Neils, have two daughters, Bradley, who is fifteen and Lorene, who is twelve.

Doug Reed
Senior Vice President and General Manager
Fidelity Investments Southwest Regional Center
Fidelity Investments is the nation's largest mutual fund company and one of the leading providers of financial services. In his current role, Reed leads and oversees the administrative management for the company's local businesses with locations in Dallas, Irving and Westlake, Texas. Fidelity's Southwest Regional Center employs more than 3,200 associates in a variety of retail and institutional customer service, systems, sales and administrative roles. Reed is also responsible for the administrative management of Fidelity's seven other Regional Centers located throughout the United States.

Reed received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA in corporate finance from the University of Dallas Graduate School of Management.

Reed is a member of the Board of Trustees of Baylor Medical Center Irving, the Board of Directors of Irving Healthcare Foundation, American Heart Association-North Texas Affiliate, United Way of Tarrant County and the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association and is a member of the Dallas Citizens Council.

Reed and his wife, Jill, reside in Dallas, Texas, with their children Douglass, who is fourteen and Natalie, who is twelve.

Dumas M. Siméus
Chairman, CEO and Owner
Siméus Foods International, Inc.
Dumas M. Siméus is the chairman, CEO and owner of Siméus Foods International, Inc. (SFI), a privately owned manufacturer of frozen food products for the restaurant industry. Siméus Foods is headquartered in Mansfield, Texas, within the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. With revenues approaching $200 million and 750 teammates, Siméus Foods is the largest black-owned food processing company in the U.S. and ranks among Black Enterprise magazine's largest black-owned businesses in the United States.

Prior to purchasing Siméus Foods in 1996, Siméus served as president and COO of TLC Beatrice International Foods, the nation's largest African-American corporation with revenues of $2.1 billion. As president, he had full responsibility for all operating units in 25 countries around the world, including France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Siméus is a member of the board of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA), the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, and TGI Friday's. He also serves as chairman of the National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians (NOAH) and the Caribbean/American Leadership Council. He is a member of the Haitian/American Business Development Council, Dallas Urban League, Inc., Dallas Together Forum (a group of CEOs in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex), and the D/FW Minority Business Development Council.

He is president of the Dumas M. Siméus Foundation, a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing medical care, food and clothing to the less fortunate. His company regularly donates truckloads of food items to food banks in the U.S. He is an inspirational speaker with a particular interest in motivating young people to obtain the best possible education and to do the best possible job at every endeavor they undertake.

Siméus was named Entrepreneur of the Year in a competition sponsored by Ernst & Young, LLP. He also was a finalist for the Horatio Alger Award. In relation to Haiti, he has acted as special advisor to congressional representatives and to the president of Haiti.

He earned a degree in electrical engineering from Howard University, where his classmates elected him "Mr. Leadership." Siméus also earned a master's degree in business administration, graduating with honors, from the University of Chicago. Siméus believes in the relentless pursuit of excellence.

Christopher W. Kleinert
President and Managing Director
Hunt Investment Group, L.P.
Hunt Ventures, L.P.
Chris Kleinert is president and managing director of Hunt Ventures, L. P. and Hunt Investment Group, L. P. Both investment groups are subsidiaries of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., a family-owned business directed by Ray L. Hunt in Dallas, Texas. Hunt Ventures seeks to make investments in companies and limited partnerships that concentrate on early-stage, primarily technology-oriented businesses in the areas of software, wireless communications, semiconductors and life sciences. Hunt Investment Group is focused on making direct investments of up to $50 million in later-stage businesses across a variety of industries.

Chris earned a BBA from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from Texas Christian University. Prior to joining Hunt in 1996, Chris was employed by Chase Bank of Texas, and previously by General Mills, Inc. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Dallas Chamber, the World Affairs Council of Greater Dallas, the MBA Alumni Partners Executive Board at Texas Christian University, and the Parish Episcopal School Board of Trustees. Chris is also a member of the Lone Star Dallas Chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization.

Chris and his wife, Ashlee, have three children.

Tom Baker
President
Oncor Group
Tom Baker is President of the Oncor Group, TXU's new subsidiary responsible for the delivery of electricity and natural gas. He is also responsible for TXUs public policy efforts regarding the restructuring of the electric utility industry in Texas and the U.S.

Baker graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas and is a career employee of the TXU System beginning at Dallas Power & Light Company in 1968. He has held numerous management positions including Chief Financial Officer.

Tom is a graduate of UT Austin with an engineering degree and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University. His civic activities include service as a board member of the Circle 10 Council of Boy Scouts of America and Chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce. Tom is also a past chairman of the Central Dallas Association, a past member of the Paul Quinn College Board of Trustees and Children's Medical Foundation of Texas.

He also is a member of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences Foundation Advisory Council and the College of Engineering's Engineering Foundation Advisory Council. Tom serves on the boards of the American Gas Association and Association of Edison Illuminating Companies.

For more information on the Greater Dallas Chamber's board of directors, contact Jan Hart Black at jhblack@dallaschamber.org.