Accenture and InnovationMap team up to bring innovative high-energy event to Houston for the first time

total knock out

Houston's first Digital Fight Club will be November 20 at White Oak Music Hall. Courtesy of Digital Fight Club

The Houston innovation ecosystem has seen its fair share of panels. Whether the discussion is focused on digital health care or investing, it's structured the same way. However, one organization has redesigned what a typical innovation networking and panel event needs to look like, and Houston gets to see the Digital Fight Club in action in November.

Michael Pratt came up with the idea for Digital Fight Club as a way to liven up technology-focused events and networking opportunities. The plan was to pit two specialists against one another, with a referee steering the conversation. The audience is involved too and can vote in real time for the winner of the, for lack of a better word, debate.

"The notion of crazy fun wild entertainment was kind of in the back of our minds, but it exploded in that way more than we predicted it would," Pratt says.

Since Pratt premiered the concept in Dallas, where he is based, in 2016, he put on three more in Dallas and even hosted one in Boston in October 2018. The sixth Digital Fight Club will be hosted in Houston and presented by Accenture and InnovationMap, at White Oak Music Hall on November 20.

Brian Richards, managing director at Accenture and Houston Innovation Hub director, says he wanted to bring the concept to Houston because it's directly in line with what the city needs.

"We were just inspired by how completely different from a panel that it really brings out these core beliefs," Richards tells InnovationMap. "We thought it would be a great way to help spark the innovation community here in Houston."

The topics of discussion for the Houston edition include cybersecurity, future of the workforce, tech in oil and gas, health tech, and more. The event is structured very deliberately, Pratt tells InnovationMap. Five different 10-minute discussions take place between two fighters and a referee — all experts in their own ways on the topic at hand and selected by the event's partners and sponsors. Usually, the referees are a bit more senior with years of experience in an industry, and the fighters tend to be high-energy entrepreneurs.

"People that are founders and at that stage of their careers have no shortage of opinions, and that makes for great fighters," Pratt says.

Once the fight is over and the audience has decided the winner, conversations can continue at an after party. Pratt says he's e seen some pretty successful networking after his events, which is something that Richards is excited to bring to Houston.

"One of the things we've been trying to drive here in Houston is collisions — the ability to get our corporates, our investors, our startup founders to collide," Richards says. "We believe this is a way to help create that density of collisions and this is a format that helps spark that in an organic way."

Here's an example of what a Digital Fight Club match up looks like:

Digital Fight Club: Dallas 2019: Fight #3: Silence: To digitally disconnect or notwww.youtube.com

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10 Houston billionaires land on Forbes' 2026 list of richest Americans

America's Richest

The richest billionaires in America have a collective worth of $8 trillion in 2026, a staggering $1.4 trillion increase since last year, says Forbes. American billionaires are so wealthy that it now takes an unprecedented $4.4 billion net worth to be considered one of the richest people in the country. And one local billionaire has regained the title as Houston's wealthiest resident.

Oil tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand, 67, now reigns as the No. 1 richest Houstonian, the 9th richest Texan, and the 88th richest person in America for 2026.

The annual Forbes 400 list is a definitive ranking of the wealthiest Americans, using interviews, financial data, and documentation provided by billionaires and their companies. In all, 43 billionaires across Texas made it on the 2026 list, and 10 are based in Houston.

Hildebrand's net worth has surged $4.7 billion since last year, bringing his current net worth to $14.7 billion. He cofounded Hilcorp, one of the largest privately owned oil and natural gas producers in the U.S., in 1990 and served as its CEO until 2018. He still serves as the chairman of the company.

Hildebrand skyrocketed past several other Houston billionaires to claim the top spot citywide: Kinder Morgan chairman Richard Kinder, Toyota mega-dealer Dan Friedkin, and hospitality honcho Tilman Fertitta.

Kinder, 81, was dubbed Houston's richest billionaire in the 2025 Forbes 400 list, whose net worth has increased from $11.1 billion to $12.9 billion in just one year. He is the 11th richest Texan and the 100th richest person in America.

Friedkin, 61, is the third-richest Houstonian and the 102nd richest American with an estimated net worth of $12.9 billion, up from $9.7 billion last year. He most notably owns Gulf States Toyota, which sold $14.5 billion worth of Toyotas in 2025, per Forbes.

The Friedkin family is also in talks to launch a new NHL team in Texas, with Houston and Austin being eyed as potential home bases, CultureMap reports. Bringing a professional hockey team to Houston would be a major boon for the city, which has been without one since the Houston Aeros folded in 2013.

Fertitta, 69, has a net worth of $12.3 billion and is the fourth richest Houstonian and the 110th richest American. Fertitta owns hospitality corporation Fertitta Entertainment and the NBA team Houston Rockets. He most recently purchased the WNBA's Connecticut Sun and plans to relocate them to Houston under the Houston Comets name in 2027. He also keeps himself busy as President Trump's ambassador to Italy.

There's also one new Houston-based billionaire making his debut on the Forbes 400: Houston Texans owner and CEO Cal McNair.

McNair, 64, took over as the principal owner of the NFL team after his late mother, Janice McNair, transferred her principal stake to him in 2024. Janice, who cofounded the Texans with her late husband Bob McNair, passed away in July 2026. She previously had an estimated net worth of $7.3 billion.

Cal McNair ranks as the 218th richest person in America with an estimated net worth of $7.7 billion.

Here's how the rest of Houston's billionaires fared on this year's list:

  • Houston pipeline heir Randa Duncan Williams ranks 124th with an estimated net worth of $11.7 billion. Fellow pipeline heirs Dannine Avara and Milane Frantz tie for 128th nationally. Each has an estimated net worth of $11.6 billion. Scott Duncan ties for No. 137 with an $11.3 billion estimated net worth.
  • Energy exploration chief exec George Bishop of The Woodlands ranks No. 380 with an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion. Last year: $4.7 billion.

Texas' richest billionaires
Walmart heiress Alice Walton, 76, who currently leads as the richest woman globally, is also the richest woman in America, the third-wealthiest person in Texas, and the richest Fort Worth resident for 2026.

Walton's net worth has grown by $12 billion since last year, bringing her current net worth to $118 billion. She is the only daughter of late Walmart cofounder Sam Walton, though she focuses her attention on other endeavors like the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Arkansas. Forbes still lists her residence as Fort Worth. Walton is one of only 62 women billionaires on the Forbes 400 list, making up just 16 percent of the total list.

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This article first appeared on CultureMap.com.

3 Houston children's hospitals ranked best in the nation by U.S. News

Hospital Honor Roll

Houston has many renowned hospitals providing exceptional care, and now three local medical centers have earned national acclaim for their top-notch healthcare for children and adolescents.

Texas Children's Hospital, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, and Children's Cancer Hospital-MD Anderson Cancer Center are the three local pediatric care centers named in U.S. News and World Report's 2026-2027 Best Children's Hospitals.

Each year, U.S. News surveys over 100 children's hospitals and thousands of pediatric specialists to determine it's Best Children's Hospitals rankings. The winning hospitals excel at various factors such as "clinical outcomes, compliance with established best practices, and level and quality of hospital resources directly related to patient care."

Out of the 90 total children's hospitals selected across 34 states and Washington, D.C., only six were based in Texas.

"For two decades, U.S. News has helped guide families to top-tier pediatric care," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, in a release. “Finding the right medical team for a rare diagnosis or complex surgery can be overwhelming, and U.S. News’ annual evaluation of the Best Children’s Hospitals provides a clear starting point for parents and referring pediatricians alike."

Texas Children's Hospital reigns as the No. 1 pediatric hospital in the Lone Star State and in the Southwest, and it was the only Texas hospital to be named in U.S. News' national Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll list for 2026-2027.

Texas Children's also leads as the No. 1 best hospital in the U.S. in two pediatric specialties — Cardiology and Heart Surgery; Diabetes and Endocrinology. It earned top-five acclaim in seven more nationally ranked specialties: Nephrology (No. 2); Pulmonology and Lung Surgery (No. 2); Urology (No. 2); Neurology and Neurosurgery (No. 3); Gastroenterology and GI Surgery (No. 5); Neonatology (No. 5); and Orthopedics (No. 5).

The hospital also ranked as the country's 12th best pediatric cancer hospital, and it's one of the top 50 Best Children's Hospitals for Behavioral Health in the U.S.

Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital is the No. 3 best pediatric hospital in Texas for 2026-2027, and it earned top-50 ranks in seven specialties:

  • No. 12 – Cardiology and Heart Surgery
  • No. 26 – Neonatology
  • No. 28 – Gastroenterology & GI Surgery
  • No. 34 – Neurology and Neurosurgery
  • No. 40 – Orthopedics
  • No. 50 – Nephrology
  • "Top 50" Best Children's Hospitals for Behavioral Health

MD Anderson's Children's Cancer Hospital was unranked in the statewide list of the best pediatric care centers. It ranked as the No. 33 best pediatric cancer hospital in the U.S.

Other high-performing Texas pediatric hospital include Children's Health Dallas, Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin, and Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.

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This article first appeared on CultureMap.com.

Houston ranks No. 2 for share of AI talent in professional services

AI surge

Houston’s professional and business services sector—think law, accounting, consulting, and engineering firms—grabs one of the industry’s biggest shares of AI talent.

A report from commercial real estate services giant CBRE ranks Houston No. 2 among the top 50 U.S. and Canadian tech markets for the concentration of AI talent in professional and business services.

Houston’s share of AI talent in professional and business services stands at 26 percent, the report shows. Washington, D.C., tops the list at 31 percent. At 25 percent, Dallas-Fort Worth claims the No. 3 spot.

CBRE based the AI ranking on data from the LinkedIn networking platform.

The company’s researchers tallied 11,709 AI-related tech jobs in Houston. Nationwide, data scientists lead AI-related job growth in the U.S., according to the report.

“AI software and hardware developers are currently the most sought-after tech talent by employers,” the report says.

Houston faces AI talent gap

DoubleTrack, a provider of AI and data consulting, reported in June that Houston faces an AI talent gap.

“The places where businesses say they will adopt AI over the next six months, well ahead of where they are today, are mostly the same places already short on talent: Miami, Houston, and Denver among the metros, South Dakota and South Carolina among the states,” DoubleTrack said.

This labor shortage comes amid Houston’s ascent as an AI hub. For instance, a factory being built here by AI chipmaker NVIDIA and electronics manufacturer Foxconn will produce AI supercomputers and infrastructure systems.

Houston’s place in the sphere of tech talent

Overall, Houston ranks No. 32 in the CBRE report among the top 50 U.S. and Canadian markets for tech talent. The San Francisco Bay Area claims the top spot, with Austin at No. 5 and DFW at No. 8.

CBRE relied on 13 metrics to rank tech talent markets, including concentration of tech talent, tech talent pipeline, and research-and-development investments.

Here are other Houston details from the report:

  • In 2025, Houston’s tech talent workforce numbered 104,080, up 7.3 percent over the past three years.
  • Houston’s average wage for tech talent within the tech industry was $120,216 in 2025, up 13.3 percent over the past three years.
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