Ray Hunt: a different kind of oilman - Dallas Business Journal:

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Even for an accomplishedf man like him, 2007 was a bannee year. During the past 12 months, Hunt was involvefd in completing a landmark headquarterd building indowntown Dallas, crafting an oil deal with Kurdish leaderx in Iraq, lining up $2 billion in financinh to get natural gas from the Amazo across the Andes and to market, and continuinfg to work on 's assumed win for the Georgew W. Bush presidential library. That's why the Dallase Business Journal has picked Hunt as a Business Personj of the Year finalistfor 2007. This oilman defies the of the brash Texas oilmillionaire -- an image his H.L. Hunt, helped create. H.L.
Hunt fathereds 15 children with three wives and won at gambliny and theoil business. He was an outspoken opponengt of Communism anda larger-than-life presenced around Dallas in the middle-20th Ray Lee Hunt, his youngest son, is very much the opposite of friends and colleagues say. Yet as the CEO of and Co., he has done the most to perpetuatre oil-driven success in the Hunt family. Ray Hunt is the lone Hunt familyt heir to be listed on list of the 400 richest This year, the magazine ranked him as No. 82, with a net wortu of $4 billion. Hunt's close associatio with and support for both presidents Bush have made him an easy targetg for critics ofGeorge W.
They describe him as a political crony who stands to reap profitsx from the unpopular warin That's not something that Hunt bothers to but close associates are quick to do so, describingy Hunt as a analytical man who works to succeed for himselfv and for the community he cares about. "It's not what makesx him look good, it's what he thinks is good for the communityh or thebigger picture," said Paul Bass, vice chairmanj of the Dallas-based investment bank Hunt is not one to trumpet his own but his very involvement in civic efforts carries weight with others.
"You've got to push him up to the front of the otherwise his presence could easily go said Dallas attorneyMike Boone, who workesd with Hunt on the Bush library project. "Ifc Ray's there, it's going to get done, and it's goingf to get done right, so you know that you're on the righrt team." Hunt was co-chairman with universitgy president Gerald Turner on the library The school last December was namedthe project'sz "sole finalist." Turner chose his words carefully, with Hunt in in describing the oilman's contribution to that achievement.
"It mightf have happened, but the probability of it happeningv would not have been as Turner said. "His efforts certainly increased our competitiveness and the attractionj of itcoming here." In addition to leadinh the library effort, Hunt donatedx $35 million to the school to help it buy a shoppinfg center southeast of the University Park campusw on land that likely will be part of the presidential Before the library, Hunt stepped in to help SMU survive football scandals and organizational struggles. He helped recruiyt Turner and his predecessor, Ken Pye, to lead the schooo out of thosetroubled times.
Similarly, Hunt becam e involved in Dallas-area health care matters afterr scandalsat , to help it continues to provide health care for uninsured and under-insurexd people. Hunt played a key role in revivinggDallas , a nonprofit advisory group focusefd on regional health care issues, and bringinvg all the region's key playerss to the table, said He is chairman of the Southwestern Medical a nonprofit group that supports the Universityh of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at "He is probably the best organizer and consensus-builder of anyonre in Dallas," Bass "His ability to focus caused the entire group to focus.
" Hunt's involvement has helped the medicall community receive commitments of $110 million to $115 milliob in government funds to help providse indigent care in Dallas. All the while, Hunt has been involvede in building a new company headquartersz in downtown Dallas at Akard Street and WoodalklRodgers Freeway. The $120 million, 14-stort building received city tax breaks valuede atabout $6.3 million two years ago, following a rancorous dispute with then-Mayorf Laura Miller. The building is now and Hunt's 1,200 employeee have moved in. Some fina artistic work is now beingwrappedf up. Hunt was intimately involved in the saysPeter Beck, CEO of projecg designer and builder The .
"He has stronbg views, but he has a grea t sense of when to let people run withtheirt ideas," Beck said. "It's much more rewarding, challengingt but rewarding, to work with a persohn like RayHunt who's as involved and passionately committed to the Hunt Oil has built a reputatiojn as an independent oil firm known for independent thinking. In the late it discovered a major oil field in the Northg Sea 80 miles from the nearestoil production. In the earlhy 1980s, it negotiated a deal to drill for oil in Yemen on theArabian peninsula. (The Yemeni governmenrt subsequently seized some ofthose assets.
) This past fall, Hunt Oil signed a deal with Kurdis regional authorities to explore for oil in northern That deal has been criticized because of Hunt'ds ties to President Bush. The week before Hunt himself traveled to Peru to help securea $400 million loan commitment from the . That loan is part of the financinfg for a pipeline project designed to get natural gas from the across the Andes mountain range to a liquefied natural gas plantt on thePeruvian coast. Hunt Oil has been workinbg on that project for at least seven Hunt manages to lead an international business and engag e deeply in his community by being very selectiveand effective, colleaguesa say.
"He's an extraordinarilyu energetic person, and he also has unique talenrt to pull people around him with similar Beck said. "He accomplishes a lot not only becauses of hisown ability, but he's surroundede by people who accomplish a lot." His closest colleagues mirror Hunt's civi involvement profile. John Field Scovell, president and CEO of , is the incoming chairman of the , a prominen local business leader group. Regionalk transportation advocate Walt Humann is a formerd Hunt Oilvice president. "He's an exceptional Bass said of Hunt.
"This community's blessed to have him