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Innovative business leader Ray W. Washburne ’84 brings vibrancy to the Dallas landscape and beyond.

The Dallas native attended Highland Park High School before choosing SMU for his collegiate experience. “It had everything I wanted,” he says. He studied history and pledged Sigma Alpha Epsilon, citing his friendships and his fraternity as his greatest memories from his time at SMU.

Since graduating in 1984, Washburne has created numerous businesses in the Dallas area, creating thousands of jobs. He currently serves as the chairman of the board of Sunoco LP and president and CEO of Charter Holdings, a Dallas-based private investment company primarily involved in real estate, restaurants and diversified financial investments. He is the co-founder and co-owner of M Crowd Restaurant Group, which operates 46 restaurants including Mi Cocina, Taco Diner, The Mercury and Katy Trail Ice House. He also serves as president and managing director of Highland Park Village and owns a number of retail and office spaces, including Watters Creek Village, Knox Street Dallas, the former Dallas Morning News campus, and Founders Square. He has served on many boards and commissions and was inducted into the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors Hall of Fame earlier this year.

From 2017 to 2019, Washburne served the U.S. government as president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, and on the advisory board of U.S. Military Southern Command. From 2012 to 2015, he was the national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Washburne currently serves on the Cox School of Business Executive Board, where he previously acted as adjunct professor teaching a class on entrepreneurial skills. In February 2020, he and his wife, Heather Hill Washburne, committed $5 million to the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium, which was dedicated in April 2022.

Ray and Heather celebrated 26 years of marriage this July, and they share three children: Hill ’22; Andrew ’24; and Mary Margaret “Margo” ’26. All three children have chosen to join the Mustang family.