Ned S. Holmes
Ned S. Holmes (UT, BBA, JD ’69), a businessman, banker and residential and commercial real estate developer, has made significant contributions to transportation infrastructure in the Greater Houston area and the state of Texas. He is chairman and CEO of Holmes Investments, Inc. Formerly, he served as chairman of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc., and was the founder of Commercial Bancshares, Inc.
Holmes lends his substantial business and financial expertise to both public and private organizations. In 2007, he was appointed to the Texas Department of Transportation Commission, where he served until 2012. He championed construction of the Grand Parkway in Houston and helped obtain funding to expand U.S. Highway 290. He also served as chair of the Transportation Transformation Group, a coalition of state departments of transportation advocating nationally for transportation funding and reform. Holmes served as chairman of the Port of Houston Authority from 1988 to 2000 during a significant growth period in the port’s infrastructure. His other transportation leadership roles include membership on the Gulf Coast Rail District, the City of Houston Planning Commission, and as chair of the Greater Houston Partnership.
C. Michael Walton
Dr. C. Michael Walton (VMI ’63; NC State ’69, ’71), academician, scholar, mentor and consensus-builder, is internationally known for 40 years of visionary leadership in transport engineering and policy analysis. He holds the Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering and is a professor of civil engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Walton has held leadership positions on numerous technical and professional society boards, including chair of the Board of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association; chair of the Board of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America; chair of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee; and chair of the Texas 2030 Transportation Needs Committee. Walton has received multiple awards for distinguished service, including the Frank Turner Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation from TRB, the President’s Award for Achievement from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the prestigious ASCE OPAL Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Education. He is widely recognized as a transformative figure in bridging the gap between transportation research and industry practice.