Former President/CEO, King Ranch in Texas
Name: Jack Hunt
Summers as a Camper: 4 summers (1953-1956)
Current Profession and Title/Years in role: Former President/CEO, King Ranch in Texas (15 years)
Can you provide a brief overview of how you got started in ranching and your career highlights?
My mother’s family had ranches in Texas and New Mexico, and I started spending my summers working there at age 12 until I entered the Navy after graduating from Williams College with Honors in History. I was in the Navy for eight years and left as a Lieutenant Commander, got into Harvard Business School and studied agribusiness to graduate with my MBA.
I started my career working in agribusiness and went back to working in the family company, running their agricultural operations. Later on, I was hired by Tejon Ranch in California and was there for 15 years (CEO for 10). They are the largest private landowner in the state.
I was then recruited to be the CEO of King Ranch in Texas, where the ranching business was founded and has a tremendous history. There was almost a million acres, most of it was cattle but we had several hundred acres of farmland and raised everything from fresh vegetables to cotton and grain. That’s where I retired after 15 years.
How do the values or skills you learned at Camp show up in your everyday work and/or personal life?
Sea Gull helped lay the foundation for my self-confidence. It was a very impactful four years at Camp and I’ve always viewed Sea Gull romantically. I was really looking forward to my fifth summer at Sea Gull, but my mom told me I was going to the ranch.
As a leader, you really need to understand people and their skillsets to accomplish your objectives. It’s important to find the right people and develop them. You learn from those you’re around and I credit Sea Gull with understanding that. I was able to develop some of those soft leadership skills at Camp.
What were some of your Camp accomplishments?
I started in Camp 1 when I was eight and learned to swim well very quickly. In fact, I was the best swimmer and best camper in Camp 1 my second year. In my last year, when I was 11, I was the youngest Lightning Skipper up until that time. It was a big deal for me. I had a lot of recognition and achievement which helped my development long-term.
Special Camp Memory: My father was an aviation pilot and he used to fly a Navy fighter and land at Point Lejeune and come over and have lunch with us.
Do you have a hidden talent? I continued to water ski well into my 70s.
