Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation Inducts Two Trinity Alumni

On Thursday, November 2, the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation inducted transformative business leaders and Trinity University alumni Christopher (Kit) Goldsbury Jr. ’66 and Daniel Lubetzky ’90.

Created in 1982, the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation recognizes six transformational business leaders in our state each year by celebrating their impact on both business and community. They tell their stories to inspire and instill the same sense of enterprise, community, and excellence in all generations of Texans.

At Trinity University, students discover who they are and how they impact the world around them. Guided by mentors committed to nurturing tenacious curiosity who champion the full student experience, students become active and engaged leaders eager to act when they see a need for change. And when they graduate, they are ready to forge a path, lead a team, lead change, or simply lead a conversation, calling on their unique Trinity education to be innovators who inspire others.

Read more about two such alumni, Kit Goldsbury Jr. and Daniel Lubetzky, and learn how they are serving as leaders in our state economy and community.

Kit Goldsbury Jr. is the chairman and founder of Silver Ventures (SV), a San Antonio-based private investment company. In 1969, Goldsbury joined Pace Foods as one of a two-person prep line. A decade later, he was named President. In 1995, as Pace’s Chairman, Goldsbury sold Pace Foods to Campbell Soup Company.  

He later founded Silver Ventures. In 1998, SV purchased a fledging tomato company, Desert Glory. Today known as NatureSweet, it is the leading producer of greenhouse-grown tomatoes in North America, employing 7,000 full-time year-round associates.   

In 2002, Silver Ventures acquired the 22-acre Pearl Brewery. Goldsbury saw its potential to revitalize the neighborhood and the reach of the San Antonio River and preserve the area’s historic architecture. The once derelict, abandoned industrial site is now a bustling neighborhood home to chef-driven restaurants, independent retailers, 650 residences, 30 companies, the no. one year-round farmer's market in the country, and the nationally recognized Hotel Emma, a five-star designated hotel. The Pearl is recognized as one of the most successful urban and environmental revitalization efforts in the U.S.  

In 2008, Goldsbury partnered with The Culinary Institute of America to address the underrepresentation of Mexican-Americans in restaurant leadership. Together, they opened the Institute's third campus at the Pearl—with programs committed to promoting Latin cuisines, culinary techniques, and diversity in the hospitality industry. Goldsbury created the El Sueno Scholarship to increase accessibility to all students—90% of whom receive financial aid. Its 1,100 graduates have changed the city’s local food scene and helped make San Antonio the second UNESCO Creativity City of Gastronomy in the U.S.  

Daniel Lubetzky is a social entrepreneur passionate about channeling business forces to achieve social good. The son of a Holocaust survivor, he strives to prevent what happened to his father and others from happening again. While best known for founding and growing KIND Snacks into a multi-billion-dollar global brand, Lubetzky’s foray into food was the unexpected outcome of his work to use business to bring neighbors in Middle Eastern conflict regions together. He conceived of civic movements OneVoice and Starts With Us to give voice and agency to the majority of citizens who favor common-sense solution-building over hateful divisiveness. Through his business-building and investment platform Camino Partners, Lubetzky and his team partner with entrepreneurs to co-found, launch, and build new ventures (like Mexican food brand SOMOS)—and also take meaningful positions in entrepreneur-led ventures building value with values.

Lubetzky is a member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Inaugural Board of Directors. He has received awards from The King Center, World Economic Forum, Skoll Foundation, Conscious Capitalism, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and Horatio Alger Association. Lubetzky was named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship by former President Obama. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller Do the KIND Thing and a recurring shark on ABC’s television series “Shark Tank.” In February 2019, he was one of the Trinity University Policy Maker Breakfast Series guest speakers.