Charles Butt

Butt has overseen the growth of H-E-B from a local grocery chain to an iconic Texas brand and the sixth-largest private company in the country. The storied store, founded in the Hill Country in 1905, has been expanding north from its San Antonio headquarters, capitalizing on its cult following in the process.

H-E-B benefits from smart land banking. It scoped out boomtowns like Kyle, Leander, Cibolo and McKinney years before populations surged. Its most distinctive strategy, though, relies on its famous customer loyalty. H-E-B has been a pioneer in grocery-anchored retail and residential projects. Read King Properties has developed multifamily complexes around H-E-Bs in Humble and Katy; Fidelis Residential Partners has anchored multifamily projects to H-E-B in Willis; the Walsh Development Company selected H-E-B as the retail anchor of its 7,500-acre residential community near Fort Worth; and construction is nearly finished on the first phase of a Trammell Crow Company mixed-use development centered on an H-E-B in Allen that doesn’t even exist yet.

The son of the company’s namesake Howard E. Butt became president in 1971. Under his leadership, the company diversified into other retail formats, including Central Market, H-E-B Plus, Mi Tienda and Joe V’s Smart Shop. The company has become the largest private employer in Texas, employing more than 145,000 people and generating annual sales exceeding $34 billion.