Gerald Haddock is an attorney, private equity investor, and philanthropist living in Fort Worth, Texas.
Gerald
Haddock attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas. While working toward his
bachelor’s degree, Mr. Haddock was an active member of the Baylor student body.
In his four years at Baylor, Mr. Haddock served at various times as the
President, Secretary, and Rush Chairman of Alpha Kappa Psi, which was the
premier business and social fraternity at Baylor. Mr. Haddock was also a member
of Beta Alpha Psi (The International Honorary Organization for Accounting
Professionals); a member of The International Honor Society Beta Gamma Sigma
Recognizing Business Excellence; and Student President of Baylor Hankamer
School of Business. Mr. Haddock completed his Bachelors of Business
Administration at Baylor University in 1969. Even while attending Baylor, Mr.
Haddock continued to make deals and pursue business opportunities. For example,
after his freshman year of college he put together a partnership that developed
a golf driving range back in his hometown of Marshall, Texas.
After
earning his BA, Mr. Haddock immediately enrolled in the Baylor University
School of Law. Along with his demanding law school courses, Mr. Haddock
participated in extracurricular academic activities and received significant
awards for his academic achievements. He was the Articles Editor of the
prestigious Baylor Law Review. He was named the Outstanding Student in Practice
Court. Additionally, he was a member of the Baylor Law School Student Supreme
Court and a member of Phi Alpha Delta, an international co-ed legal fraternity.
In 1971, Mr. Haddock graduated from Baylor University School of Law cum laude
with his Juris Doctorate degree.
Mr.
Haddock was awarded a scholarship to attend New York University School of Law
to pursue his Master of Laws in Taxation. Here, he was the Graduate Editor of
the New York University Tax Law Review. He graduated in 1972 with his LL.M. in
Taxation.
Upon
graduation, Mr. Haddock accepted an associate position at the Houston law
office of Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP. There, he enhanced his knowledge and
skills in tax law and quickly rose through the ranks of the firm, making
partner in just seven years.
Along
with his demanding workload at the firm as a new associate, Gerald Haddock
continued his involvement with his alma mater, Baylor University. For five
years he served as Director of the Baylor Alumni Association and continues his
involvement as a lifetime member of the Baylor Alumni Association. He also
served, over the course of five years, as the President, Vice President, and
Secretary of the Houston Baylor Club. Additionally, Mr. Haddock was a member of
the Dean’s Advisory Board for Baylor Law School from 1975-1978.
In
1980, Mr. Haddock began expanding his career goals. He accepted a position at
Consolidated Petroleum Industries, Inc. as the Vice President of Legal and Tax
Matters. This move allowed him to combine his expertise in tax law with his
business background. Additionally, while working for Consolidated Petroleum,
Mr. Haddock served as Chair of the Taxation Section of the Texas Bar from 1981
to 1982.
Gerald
Haddock left Consolidated Petroleum in 1982 in order to pursue various business
ventures. Then, in 1984, Mr. Haddock joined Kelly, Hart, & Hallman, PC, a
Fort Worth law firm. From 1984 to 1990, Mr. Haddock was a Shareholder,
Director, and Head of Taxation Section at the firm. During this time, Mr.
Haddock served as the Advisory Board Director for the Baylor Hankamer School of
Business. It was during his time at Kelly, Hart & Hallman that Gerald
Haddock met and began working with his future business partner.
Gerald
Haddock, as a member of Kelly, Hart & Hallman, served as lead transactional
attorney and chief negotiator on many significant deals. However, for many of
these projects, Mr. Haddock’s involvement continued after the completion of the
deal. He became directly involved with many of the companies, specifically,
ENSCO International, PLC, the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, and
AmeriCredit Corporation, Inc. Mr. Haddock was a founding director of ENSCO in
1986. He has served on the Board of Directors as a Director and the Chairperson
of the Audit Committee since 1986. A lifetime fan of baseball, Mr. Haddock
happily became an investor in the Texas Rangers Baseball Club (along with then
Governor George W. Bush), and served as the Club’s general counsel from 1989
until 1998. He also served as a Director on the board for AmeriCredit
Corporation.
In
1990, Mr. Haddock moved his law practice from Kelly, Hart & Hallman to
Jackson Walker, LLP as a partner. Shortly thereafter, he became the Chairman of
the Policy Committee at the firm. In 1994, he left Jackson Walker to
become President and COO of a newly developed real estate company.
The
Dallas based real estate company was one of the largest publicly held real
estate investment trusts in the United States. There, Mr. Haddock served
as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1994 to 1996, and served as
President and Chief Executive Officer from 1996 to 1999. He also served
as director and trust manager during his entire tenure at the company.
Mr. Haddock received the “Outstanding CEO of the Year Award” from Realty Stock
Review for three years in a row – 1996 through 1998. In addition, he was
named the “REIT Executive of the Year” in 1998 by Commercial Property
News. In addition to his roles at the company, Mr. Haddock continued his
participation in corporate governance by serving on the Board of Directors of
AmeriCredit Corporation.
In
1999, Gerald Haddock left the real estate company to pursue entrepreneurial
business developments. In 2000, he founded Haddock Enterprises, LLC and
has served as its President since that time. Haddock Enterprises, dba
Haddock Investments, focuses on investments in real estate and oil and
gas. Haddock Enterprises established a real estate development arm that
has been actively engaged in retail real estate development.
Mr.
Haddock’s decision to form his own company gave him the freedom to explore and
pursue business opportunities in connection with his philanthropic interests. A
lifetime appreciation of baseball and sports inspired him to create The Haddock
Foundation. The purpose of the Foundation is to foster national and
international sports competition. The Haddock Foundation serves as a general
partner in the Texas Collegiate League, Ltd. (previously known as Texas
Collegiate Baseball League), a summer wood-bat league for talented college
players seeking professional careers. Mr. Haddock gave new life to his
passion for baseball by co-founding the Texas Collegiate League, which played
its inaugural season in the summer of 2004 with eight teams in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area. The Texas Collegiate League enjoyed incredible success in its
inaugural year, including a summer-long television program on Fox Sports Net Southwest.
Recently, The Haddock Foundation licensed the league, but remains involved
through active oversight of the licenses and promotion of the licensed teams.
Texas Collegiate League is currently pursuing expansion into other markets in
Texas and Louisiana.
Mr.
Haddock’s philanthropic pursuits continued with the foundation of The Haddock
Center. In 2005, Gerald Haddock founded The Haddock Center, a non-profit
corporation dedicated to promoting art, education, and scholarship in the Fort
Worth Community. The Center focuses on the preservation, study, and analysis of
the paintings of Stanhope Forbes. The Haddock Center works with the
Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth as well as local educational institutions to
provide access to this large, privately held collection of Forbes paintings
outside of the United Kingdom.
Mr.
Haddock has remained involved in the legal community. Since 2010, he has been
involved with the CEELI Institute, a not-for profit, international provider of
post-graduate, professional legal education headquartered in Prague. The
Institute’s mission is to develop an international, professional community of
reformers committed to the rule of law. Through innovative training programs
and other activities, the Institute works with judges and legal reformers in
countries in transition to support the continuing development of market
economies and democratic institutions, in addition to building a respect for
human rights. Mr. Haddock is currently a member of the International Advisory
Board as well as Director of the Friends of the CEELI Institute based out of
Washington DC.
In
addition to his involvement with The Haddock Foundation, The Haddock Center,
the CEELI Institute, and the Baylor University System, Mr. Haddock serves on
the Board of Trustees for the M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Education and
Research Foundation.
Gerald Haddock and
his wife, Judge Diane Haddock, live in Fort Worth, Texas. Together they have
three children and five granddaughters.
