Meet the 2025 Gulf South winners

Learn more about our winners

Donnie Carr | Christian Brothers Automotive | Houston, Texas

Donnie Carr is the President & CEO of Christian Brothers Automotive. Christian Brothers Automotive (CBA) has been working to make auto repair more pleasant since opening its first store in 1982 in Mission Bend, TX. With over 300 locations—most franchised—across 30 states, we offer everything from routine maintenance and brake repair to complex transmission work. CBA’s store team members use the latest equipment to assess a vehicle’s health and explain the assessments clearly to guests—no confusing jargon, just honest advice. With cozy waiting areas, a complimentary shuttle service, an easy online scheduler, and personalized digital vehicle inspection reports shared with guests before any work begins, we’re always looking for ways to make auto repair less stressful. In 2024, we launched Care+, a subscription-based service contract that makes managing maintenance and repair costs more convenient and affordable for guests.

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Neha Sampat | Contentstack Inc. | Austin, TX

Neha Sampat is the Founder & CEO of Contentstack Inc. Contentstack is on a mission to deliver the world’s best digital experiences through a fusion of a cutting-edge content management platform, customer data platform, native personalization, and AI technology. Iconic brands rely on the platform to stay relevant in the digital market and gain their competitive edge.

Contentstack EDGE is the only adaptive digital experience platform that represents the next stage of market disruption, showcasing the company's long-standing commitment to digital experience innovation and leadership.

Contentstack and its employees are dedicated to the customers and communities they serve. The company is recognized for its unmatched customer care and tradition of giving back globally through the Contentstack Cares program, including proud support of Pledge 1% and Girls Who Code.

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Hala Ballouz, PE | Electric Power Engineers, LLC | Austin, Texas

Hala Ballouz, PE is the Co-Founder, Chief Vision Officer and Board Chair of Electric Power Engineers, LLC. EPE is a prominent consulting firm established in 1968 and a pioneer in electricity network planning. EPE places particular emphasis on being an industry leader in providing a holistic approach to enable a clean energy transition and build the grid of the future. With over 400 team members, EPE has extensive experience in electrification, clean energy technologies, electric power system studies, renewable energy, and Distributed Energy Resource (DER) integration on transmission and distribution systems, as well as power system design in the U.S. and internationally. We have deep expertise in the ERCOT, SPP, WECC, MISO, CAISO, PJM, ISO-NE, NYISO, and Southeast markets.

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Jonathan Swerdlin | Function Health | Austin, Texas

Jonathan Swerdlin is the Co-Founder & CEO of Function Health. Function is the first health platform to include access to over 100 lab tests, helping individuals understand their whole body—from heart and hormones to thyroid, nutrients, toxins, autoimmunity, immunity, and beyond. This amount of testing is five times more than a typical physical, which averages 19 lab tests and may miss critical aspects of your health. Since its beta launch in April 2023, Function has welcomed over 150,000 members—people who believe in taking control of their health. In June 2024, Function closed a $53 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health, alongside an incredible group of investors.

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Michael Howard | Howard Industries | Laurel, Mississippi

Michael Howard is the CEO of Howard Industries. Howard Power Solutions, a division of Howard Industries, Inc., is the nation’s leading manufacturer of distribution transformers, with over 10 million single-phase and three-phase pad-mounted and network transformers in service across the U.S. Howard Technology Solutions strives to bring cutting-edge, reliable, high-quality technology equipment to market at affordable prices. Our product line includes servers, desktops, notebooks, rugged laptops, presentation carts, and enterprise mobility solutions such as Tacticomm, our modular emergency response vehicle. Howard Medical also offers comprehensive point-of-care solutions, including POC carts and specialized hardware technologies essential to EMR, CPOE, PACS, and other health-related systems.

Howard Transportation operates a full-load, long-haul flatbed common carrier truck line and brokerage firm with over 200 trucks, as well as a regional drop yard and recruiting office located in North Carolina.

At Howard Industries, Inc., our integrated expertise in power solutions, technology, medical hardware, and transportation ensures we deliver innovative and reliable solutions to meet the diverse needs of our clients.

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Gabriel Rio | Milestone Environmental Services, LLC | Houston, Texas

Gabriel Rio is the President & CEO of Milestone Environmental Services, LLC. Milestone Environmental Services is a multi-faceted industrial waste management company that has developed and operates the infrastructure needed to process waste from the upstream oil and gas industry, sequester carbon, and process other non-hazardous industrial waste streams.

Milestone's operations reduce the carbon impact of its customers by permanently sequestering hydrocarbon waste over a mile below the surface, preventing greenhouse gas emissions and water and ground contamination. Since 2014, Milestone has sequestered more than 3.5 million tons of CO2e through its injection process.

In addition, Milestone is developing carbon sequestration and industrial waste management networks. Milestone Carbon is devoted to helping multiple types of emitters meet their decarbonization goals by developing and operating injection sites that permanently and securely sequester CO2 below the surface. Milestone Industrial brokers and processes non-hazardous liquid industrial waste streams from manufacturing, agricultural, chemical and other industries.

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Rod Larson | Oceaneering International, Inc. | Houston, Texas

Rod Larson is the President & CEO of Oceaneering International, Inc. Oceaneering is a global technology delivery company that provides solutions to our customers’ most complex problems. We combine our core competencies in robotics, software, and automation with our expertise in delivering safe and reliable solutions in harsh environments across five operating segments:

Subsea Robotics, which merges our underwater robotics and automation expertise into our market-leading Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), Survey, and ROV Tooling businesses.

Manufactured Products, which merges our expertise in advanced technology product development, manufacturing, and project management to deliver subsea and surface products to energy and non-energy customers.

Offshore Projects Group, which provides a broad portfolio of integrated subsea solutions that enhance the efficiency and capability of our customers' assets.

Integrity Management & Digital Solutions, which utilizes software and analytics to optimize our customers' maintenance and inspection programs.

Aerospace and Defense Technologies, which leverages competencies and technologies from our other segments to deliver engineering services and manufacturing to the Department of Defense and NASA.

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Tom Dorsett and Dr. Siva Mohan | RazorMetrics | Austin, Texas

Tom Dorsett is the CEO and Dr. Siva Mohan is the President of RazorMetrics. RazorMetrics creates cutting-edge pharmacy cost containment solutions to quickly and easily reduce drug costs. Its proprietary technology automatically initiates cost-saving opportunities through medication switching, deprescribing, deduplication, and more—all while adapting to fit clients' plans, preferences, and formularies. RazorMetrics conveniently plugs into prescribers’ existing workflows, improving healthcare decisions while seamlessly reducing medication costs for members and plan sponsors. Based in Austin, TX, RazorMetrics supports self-funded employers, health plans, PBMs, and organizations to bring clarity, efficiency, and more value to their pharmacy benefits.

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Juan Moreno | STGen | Navasota, Texas

Juan Moreno is the CEO of STGen. STGen uses cutting-edge, proprietary technology to create products and services for farmers to produce sustainable and efficient animal protein. We operate in four segments:

1. Gender Selection Technologies: Sexing Technologies uses its technology to produce gender-specific sperm straws for the dairy and cattle industries. The semen comes from STgenetics’ lineup of genetically elite sires and from a number of other livestock genetics companies around the world.
   
   
2. Bovine Genetics: The company’s premium genetics enable customers to improve their sustainability and profitability by accelerating genetic improvement in their herds.
   
   
3. Porcine Genetics: The company applies genomics and phenotyping to maintain its own breeding stock of pigs. The company sells genetically superior pigs that are used for breeding and commercialization.
   
   
4. Licensed and Other Technologies: The company offers genomic sequencing, data analysis, and digital farm solutions designed to shrink our customers’ carbon footprints. The Company also lends its technology to philanthropic projects. STGen is working with partners to save endangered rhinoceroses and collaborating with a pharmaceutical company to separate healthy stem cells used in a promising cure for Parkinson’s disease.

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Dave Sisk | Streamline Innovations | San Antonio, Texas

Dave Sisk is the Co-Founder & CEO of Streamline Innovations. Streamline Innovation’s vision is Reducing Emissions Through Technology. We help heavy industry around the world achieve environmental performance objectives, improve sustainability, and transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy.

H2S is present in almost every industrial process in the world. Our technology can be applied across industries, delivering a sustainable solution that eliminates H2S, the leading cause of acid rain and a deadly greenhouse gas that is dangerous for work and living environments.

Streamline believes that achieving the "E" (“Environmental”) in ESG requires data. Creating intelligent systems that operate effectively and efficiently without human intervention is critical to reducing emissions that harm the environment. We integrate advanced data collection, process control, and analytics in our technologies to provide a total solution for customers.

We serve organizations in multiple sectors, including energy, oil and gas, biogas, and landfill gas.

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Jeff Bezner, Will Bradley, Reagan Fincher, Jonathan McKenzie | Turtlebox Audio, LLC | Houston, Texas

Jeff Bezner is the Co-Founder & CRO, Will Bradley is the Co-Founder & COO, Reagan Fincher is the Co-Founder & CPO and Jonathan McKenzie is the Co-Founder & CMO of Turtlebox Audio, LLC. Originally designed to fuel a shared passion for the outdoors in South-Central Texas, Turtlebox is a leading manufacturer of portable audio devices. The brand’s mission is to produce the best-sounding, most durable portable speakers available. In pursuit of untamed adventure, Turtlebox products are built to withstand the harshest elements, providing an unmatched, elevated experience outdoors.

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Nathan Ough | VoltaGrid | Houston, Texas

Nathan Ough is the President & CEO of VoltaGrid. Transforming the world with best-in-class, clean, intelligent energy.

At VoltaGrid, we aim to change the energy landscape by developing and deploying innovative energy technologies that enable our partners to focus on their core competencies while providing them with a practical choice to improve their ESG performance. To accomplish this goal, we are continually exploring new technologies and challenging ourselves creatively every day. We seek to advance ourselves, improve our business, and operate with integrity, returning value to our clients, shareholders, and employees in the process.

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Anthony Bahr | WildFire Energy LLC | Houston, Texas

Anthony Bahr is the CEO of WildFire Energy LLC. WildFire Energy is an independent energy company focused on the acquisition, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States through the application of modern technology and production optimization. 

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