The Greater Houston Partnership’s mission is to make Houston one of the best places to live, work and build a business. Showcasing Partnership member companies and their commitment to Houston is critical to strengthen the business community in the region. Today, the organization serves the 12-county greater Houston region and represents a member roster of over 950 businesses and institutions.  In this feature, Tyrus Brailey, Executive Director, Industry Executive Government at JPMorgan Chase, shares his thoughts about the Partnership and its member benefits.  Describe your company and its role in the region’s business community. We’re a multi-national financial institution that engages with customers and clients at the retail, consumer, small business, middle market, and corporate level across a range of products including retail and commercial banking, investment management, and investment banking services. We provide services for everything from individuals to municipalities, and public and private corporations.   Describe your experience membership. How have you and your employees benefited from membership?   As a founding member of the Partnership and its predecessor nearly a hundred years ago, JPMorgan Chase and the Partnership have worked closely to represent and communicate the needs of the JPMorgan Chase client base. When we represent our business community, we’re representing our client base. The Partnership and its predecessor has a longstanding history of partnering around issues of importance and concern to the community, to the extent that JPMorgan Chase’s client base in Houston benefits from this relationship. Why is it important for your company to be a member of the Partnership?  The Partnership serves as a conduit through which the business community engages with the city, and JPMorgan Chase views its leadership on the executive committee as an important part of this engagement.  What specific Partnership efforts most align with your company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR)/ environment, social and governance (ESG ) goals?   Both organizations maintain a deep commitment to supporting the community.  What do you want more Houstonians to know about the Partnership and why?  JPMorgan Chase is one of the largest employers and entities in Houston. This Partnership allows us to better understand the key issues surrounding our community in the Houston and greater Houston area.  What would you tell other businesses in the greater Houston area that are considering joining the Partnership?  Be a part of the conversation – be in the room where it happens. If see benefits for your company, to your employees, and to your stakeholders in terms of community involvement, this is a terrific organization to engage in that way.    The Greater Houston Partnership is a meeting place for businesspeople who want to be involved in Houston’s positive growth and influence the trajectory of the region.  Learn more about membership with the Partnership here.

The Greater Houston Partnership celebrates our members making important announcements and sharing news about their operations and impact in our community. Learn more about some of those announcements over the last month below.  Business Moves In a recent SEC filing, ExxonMobil officially changed its headquarters to its new Houston-area location in Spring. The move makes ExxonMobil the largest publicly traded company headquartered in the Houston-area.  After being awarded the leasing assignment from The Howard Hughes Corp office portfolio, JLL announced it will open a leasing office in The Woodlands. The firm will lease over 4.2 million square feet of office space with an additional 2.5 million square feet of planned development. Port Houston announced that it will relocate its administrative office to the vibrant East River mixed-use development in the heart of the historic Fifth Ward. The move is scheduled for the summer of 2025 as the existing administrative building will be transitioned to accommodate cargo operations near the intersection of Highway 225 and the 610 Loop.   Education Houston Community College – Katy is now offering a new degree in logistics and global supply chain management, a growing field in the region. The multi-faceted program offers students the opportunity to obtain either a Level 1 certificate or an Associate of Applied Sciences degree. San Jacinto College announced that it will launch its second bachelor’s degree, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education, starting in the Spring semester of 2024. The new degree program will work to fill the workforce gap that currently exists in early childhood education.  Texas Southern University became the second HBCU and only school in Texas to be recognized by the American Accreditation Board International for its in-house aviation pilot program. The program launched five years ago and has since grown its curriculum, enrollment and partnerships.     Energy Transition ExxonMobil announced the acquisition of Denbury, a leading developer of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCS) solutions and enhanced oil recovery. This $4.9 billion deal will bolster ExxonMobil's commitment to advance its Low Carbon Solutions business and provide a comprehensive carbon capture and sequestration offering. Houston-based startup Fervo Energy made a significant breakthrough in geothermal technology through a completed performance demonstration of its commercial pilot at the Project Red site in northern Nevada. The successful demonstration showcased the potential of enhanced geothermal systems on a large-scale commercial level. Engineering services company, KBR, announced a large-scale low-carbon ammonia partnership with Houston-based Air Liquide, that will offer its customers a more sustainable option through Autothermal Reforming technology.   Health Care The Texas Heart Institute received a $32 million gift, its largest philanthropic contribution in the company’s history from a former patient that was treated nearly 40 years ago. The generous donation will help support cardiovascular research.  The University of Houston launched its new Healthcare Business Institute which will offer a collaborative space for medical and business leaders as well as students to find solutions to pressing issues in the health care industry, including high costs, access to care and new technologies.   The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced a partnership with newly financed biotechnology company Nexo therapeutics. Through collaboration, the two companies will work to accelerate the development of small-molecule therapies for patients with limited treatment options.   Innovation Axiom Space snagged its second International Space Station Extravehicular Activity (EVA) spacesuit task order from NASA to advance its Artemis III lunar spacesuit design for ISS spacewalking capabilities in low Earth orbit. The contract includes an initial commitment of $5 million and a potential value of $142 million over four years, in which the Axiom Space team will offer design, certification and hardware to support NASA’s EVA systems training and real-time operations.  In collaboration with Washington, D.C-based Zeno Power, Intuitive Machines received a $2.4 million contract with NASA to create a Radioisotope Power System for astronauts travelling to the moon during its lunar night cycle. Intuitive Machines expects to have the technology flight-ready for a 2027 lunar surface demonstration. In addition to landing its NASA contract, Intuitive Machines also recently conducted a complete and successful spacecraft test run of its Nova-C lunar lander.  NASA opened a new Digital Engineering Design Center at its Johnson Space Center in Houston. The new center, dedicated to digital space innovation, will help equip the region’s aerospace engineering community with crucial skills needed in the industry.  The University of Houston received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to launch the Transportation Cybersecurity Center for Advanced Research and Education. The new center will provide a space to explore how to best mitigate impacts of potential large-scale cyberattacks on transportation infrastructure.    Transportation Houston METRO signed a $26 million contract to install up to 3,000 digital signs across transit centers, rail platforms and bus stops in Harris County. The agency will partner with technology business group, GMV, who will manage the display systems in the signs. Southwest Airlines announced a $450 million expansion at Houston’s Hobby Airport that will add seven more gates, additional baggage claim carousels and upgrades to the baggage handling system, restrooms and more. Funded by the Houston Airport system's construction and construction and improvement funds, the expansion will help accommodate for the current and future growth of Southwest Airlines.   If you are a member and want us to help communicate news about your organization, please send a press release or information about the announcement to member.engagement@houston.org and we will share it with our content team for possible inclusion in an upcoming roundup. Learn more about Partnership membership.