Craig Hall

Craig Hall is an entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, vintner and philanthropist. He formed HALL Group in 1968 at age 18 with $4,000 saved from small ventures that began at age 10. Today, the diversified company is made up of several subsidiary brands, including: HALL Park, the 15-building, 162-acre office park in Frisco, Texas; HALL Arts, the three-phase, five-acre, mixed-use development in the Dallas Arts District that includes HALL Arts Hotel and Residences; HALL Structured Finance, the entrepreneurial, value-add direct private lender to the real estate industry; HALL Wines, located in St. Helena and Rutherford, producing highly-rated Bordeaux varietals; WALT Wines, Napa Valley producer of handcrafted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varietals; and SENZA hotel, a Napa Valley boutique hotel and luxury resort.

Hall actively supports new entrepreneurs, nurtures young startups and often speaks publicly about the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship worldwide. Together with his wife Kathryn Hall, he funded the Fulbright – Kathryn and Craig Hall Distinguished Chair for Entrepreneurship to teach entrepreneurship in Eastern Europe. Hall also founded the Dallas Regional Office of NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship). He is also the author of seven published books, including his most recent, BOOM: Bridging the Opportunity Gap to Reignite Startups, which was published in May 2019.

Hall has made it a lifelong mission to put people first – those in the community, those whom he employs, and those whom his business affects. Hall strongly believes that entrepreneurship is a catalyst that makes a difference both today and in the future, and intends to leave the world better than he found it. This is a philosophy he has been putting into action for 53 years, both in business and through his family foundation, established in 1977.

Hall and his companies are often recognized for significant achievements and civic and charitable contributions. In 2006, Hall received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mortgage Bankers Association. In 2007, Hall was named a lifetime member of the prestigious Horatio Alger Association for Distinguished Americans, where he currently serves as a board member. He was also inducted into the North Texas Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame and the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas’ Ring of Honor. Hall was named the 2013 Dallas Real Estate Executive of the Year and in 2016 he was inducted into the Junior Achievement of Dallas Business Hall of Fame. In 2017, Hall and his wife Kathryn were co-awarded the 2017 “Master Entrepreneur of the Year” award for the Southwest Region from the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program. In 2019, Hall was received the Pioneer Award from D CEO magazine for his contribution to the Dallas real estate community, and in the same year he also was recognized with the Business Council for the Arts Obelisk Award for his partnership with and service to the arts community.