40 Under 40

Three powerful Texans join Taylor Swift, John Oliver and Jessica Alba on magazine's 40 Under 40 list

Austin really is the new Silicon Valley. Fortune’s annual 40 Under 40 honors the most influential people in business, from entertainment to healthcare to food, with a heavy emphasis on technology. While many of these young innovators are based in the Bay Area, Austin found representation on the 2015 list with two impressive execs.

Jason Buechel
Joining Whole Foods Market two years ago, Buechel is probably still considered “the new guy” due to the fact that the next shortest time on the executive team is a 19-year tenure. He’s also the youngest, at age 37, and as the EVP and CIO of Whole Foods has forged important partnerships to boost the technological component of Whole Foods’ services.

In addition to working on systems that allow traceability into the supply chain and inform customers about products’ nutritional and allergen information, he’s also teamed up with Apple Pay (making Whole Foods one of the first retailers to offer this payment platform) and home delivery service Instacart. Another item on his plate is the development of the company’s recently announced millennial-aimed 365 by Whole Foods.

Brian Sheth
What’s better than going into business with your best friend? Sheth teamed up with his best man to establish Vista Equity Partners in 2000, one of the first private equity firms focusing solely on software. Because of this, co-founder and president Sheth has an advantage in the market with investment companies who are newer in the software business.

“In software there are a lot of great technologies, but not as many great business people,” Sheth told Fortune. “We’ve really learned how to put systems in place that improve the companies that grow up around the software.” A 39-year-old billionaire, Sheth and Vista Equity Partners’ future in the equity game have never looked brighter.

Only one other Texan made the list, El Paso native Michelle Dip. She’s the co-founder and CEO of OvaScience, a company that uses a woman’s own mitochondria to “freshen up” older eggs before they’re fertilized, enhancing embryo quality for in-vitro fertilization. Since the company’s founding in 2011, 10 babies have been born using the technology.

The Texas winners join other notable influencers on Fortune’s list, including Taylor Swift, Ronda Rousey, John Oliver, and Jessica Alba. To view the full list, visit Fortune.

Jason Buechel, EVP and CIO, Whole Foods Market.

Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Market

Jason Buechel, EVP and CIO, Whole Foods Market.

bests rankings

Innovation Station

Texas maintains its status as one of 15 most innovative states in the U.S.

Houston skyline

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During a SXSW reception March 12 at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, Gov. Greg Abbott hailed Texas as the No. 1 state for innovation. Personal finance website WalletHub sees it a little differently though.

In a new study from WalletHub, the Most & Least Innovative States (2026), Texas is assigned the No. 13 ranking for innovation among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

D.C. comes out on top, followed by Massachusetts, California, Colorado, and Washington. Mississippi appears at the bottom of the list.

Texas earns a total innovation score of 49.56, compared with 69.13 for top-ranked D.C. In two broad categories, Texas ranks 12th for human capital and 13th for innovation environment.

To identify the top places for innovation, WalletHub evaluated the 50 states and D.C. by reviewing 25 key indicators of innovation friendliness. The indicators include:

Share of STEM professionals
Forecast for Share of STEM professionals
Forecast for STEM jobs
Eighth-grade math and science performance
Concentration of tech companies
R&D spending per capita
Share of science and engineering graduates age 25 and over
Average internet speed
Venture capital funding per capita

“The most innovative states are especially attractive to people who have majored in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, as they offer abundant career opportunities and investment dollars, both for jobs at existing companies and for startups,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report.

“These states also instill young students with the skills they need to succeed in the current workforce, skills which are useful whether or not they pursue a STEM career,” he added.

Texas held steady in the 2026 report, receiving the same ranking as in 2025 (at No. 13), but improving its overall score slightly, up from 48.96. In 2024, Texas was ranked No. 14 in the U.S., marking its first appearance within the top 15 most innovative states. In recent years, Texas has consistently moved up the ladder among most innovative states.

Texas zeroes in on semiconductor industry
On the innovation front, Abbott and other state leaders have focused intently on growing the state’s semiconductor industry, which generates roughly $30 to $60 billion in economic activity per year. Texas ranks among the top states for semiconductor manufacturing, with major operations in North Texas and Central Texas.

To bolster the industry, Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act into law in 2023. The law established the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, which issues grants for semiconductor research, design and manufacturing, and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium, which advises the governor and state legislators on matters related to the semiconductor sector.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.com.

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