Reata Restaurant President to Lead Board During Pivotal Year of Member-Focused Work, Strategic Planning, and Global-Visitor Opportunity
The Fort Worth Chamber (FWC) today announced its 2026 Board of Directors, including Executive Board officers and new slate of Executive Board and at-large board members, as well as committee and area board leadership for the year ahead.
Mike Micallef, president of Reata Restaurant, will serve as Chair, leading the Chamber through a pivotal year that includes an intensified focus on engagement and advocacy for Fort Worth employers of every size, the development and launch of a new three-year strategic plan to guide that work, and a critical focus on workforce, talent, and education challenges facing our community.
Micallef previously served as Vice Chair in 2025 and has been involved with the Chamber over multiple periods, with Reata a Chamber member since the restaurant opened in Fort Worth in 1996. He stated that his focus as Chair will be on strengthening member engagement and business advocacy across the full business community.
“Running a restaurant keeps you grounded in what it means to be a small business,” Micallef said. “You have to earn trust — and re-earn it every day — one customer at a time. That perspective matters for the Chamber because as important as our largest employers are, our city’s strength also comes from the small businesses that build the day-to-day Fort Worth economy.”
Micallef also noted the timeliness of his experience guiding a hospitality business through Super Bowl XLV in 2011, when icy weather complicated operations in the days leading up to the game. With World Cup matches and other key Fort Worth-based conventions and sporting events happening this year, his practical understanding of what it takes for local businesses to prepare for and take advantage of business opportunities will help the Chamber support members as the region gears up for an influx of visitors and global attention.
Fort Worth Chamber President & CEO Steve Montgomery said this kind of member-first, “boots-on-the-ground” work will be central as the Chamber sharpens its focus on serving existing local businesses. “We’re the advocates for the companies that call Fort Worth home,” Montgomery said. “That means being a cheerleader for our community, but it also means rolling up our sleeves and helping solve problems for the employers operating here and now.”
To guide that work over the next three years, Montgomery said the Chamber has launched the development of a new strategic plan to sharpen priorities and align resources around what members need most. “The purpose is to ask ourselves some fundamental questions,” Montgomery said. “What is our value proposition, is it still valid, and what is it we’re doing that resonates with our members? The goal is a clear, member-informed roadmap for how the Chamber will focus its work and measure progress over the next three years — and beyond.”
The plan will be built through a stakeholder-driven research phase that includes a member survey, focus groups representing businesses of different sizes and sectors, and one-on-one interviews with key community partners. Montgomery said the Chamber will share a midpoint update at its annual meeting on March 25, with the final strategic plan expected to be presented in June 2026.
Montgomery noted that funding for the planning process has been made possible through a grant from Sid Richardson Foundation and a contribution from Texas Health Resources.
Alongside Micallef, the Chamber’s 2026 leadership slate reflects a broad cross-section of Fort Worth industries and employers. The following Executive Board officers and members, at-large directors, committee chairs, and area board chairs will serve in 2026:
Executive Board Officers:
Additional Executive Board Members:
- Andrew Lombardi (Crescent Real Estate LLC)
- Becky Redman (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics)
- Hadley Woerner (Frost Bank)
- Henry Hudson (Danone)
- Karen Denney (Haynes and Boone LLP)
- Ken Randall (Baird, Hampton & Brown Inc.)
- Lori Baldock (Simmons Bank)
- Lucas Bathurst (HDR Engineering Inc.)
- Matt Homan (Trail Drive Management Corp. — Dickies Arena)
- Travis Clegg (The Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth)
At-Large Board of Directors Members:
- Alan Shipman (ID Technology)
- Andrew Fluty (Pulliam Pools)
- Ben Robertson (TEI Consulting LLC)
- Brandon Bledsoe (Amegy Bank)
- Chad Key (Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP)
- Christina Elbitar (Chadra Mezza and Grill)
- David Campbell (Huitt-Zollars Inc.)
- Derrick Potter (Firefighting’s Finest Moving & Storage Inc.)
- Ish Arebalos (Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages)
- James Hurley (Tarleton State University)
- Matt Whip (EY)
- Mike Coffey (Imperative)
- Terry Smith (InterBank)
- Toan Luong (Ampersand)
- Holly Schroeder (DrinkPAK)
Additional FWC members have been tapped as new or continuing chairs for the following specialized committees and regional boards, dedicated to providing support for the city’s diverse business community:
- Craig Harbuck (Higginbotham) to chair the Membership Committee
- Frank Shiels (Frost Bank) to chair the Business Advocacy Committee
- Brendan Harrington (Autobahn Fort Worth) to chair the Automotive Task Force
- Erin Timberlake (Comark Direct) to chair the Action Ambassadors
- Mia Moss (Black Coffee) to chair the East Area Board
- Mike Coffey (Imperative) to chair both the South Area Board and the Talent Committee
- Ken Randall (Baird, Hampton & Brown Inc.) to chair the West Area Board
- Ben Johnson (Frost Bank) to chair the North Area Board
ABOUT THE FORT WORTH CHAMBER
The Fort Worth Chamber, with more than 1,250 member businesses, serves as the leading voice of the business community in one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. Through its core functions of leadership, engagement, and advocacy, the Chamber’s mission is to bring the Fort Worth region together to identify issues, solve problems and align resources resulting in a stronger business climate and greater economic prosperity for all.
For more information, visit fortworthchamber.com.
