Navigating leadership: A Compass Fireside Chat with Ross Perot Jr. and retired Adm. Patrick M. Walsh

Business Journals

23-06-2025

The Compass School of Texas concluded its 2024-2025 Fireside Chat season with a panel on navigating leadership, featuring Ross Perot Jr., and Adm. Patrick M. Walsh. Attendees gathered at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science to hear from Perot, the chairman of The Perot Companies and Hillwood; and Walsh, the president of Cristo Rey Dallas and retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral.
Opening remarks were given by Linda Silver, Ed.D., the Eugene McDermott CEO of the Perot Museum. 'Our mission to inspire minds through nature and science complements the work of The Compass School, so perfectly,' said Silver. The discussion was moderated by Peter Brundage, senior managing director at Evercore, who posed questions for the audience to gain insight into becoming, creating and employing great leaders.
It all starts with education and giving. Walsh attributed early success to his years at Jesuit, afforded to him by generous individuals through scholarship funds, while Perot recognized the programming at The St. Mark's School of Texas from the parent perspective and training taught in the Boy Scouts of America. In looking at the next generation, Perot emphasized the demand for more academic institutions in Dallas to hone the skills desired for great leaders. 'You've got incredible young men and women that need phenomenal education. Compass is needed. It's going to continue to add to the growth of the region,' he said.
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Compass opened in 2023 and has grown from 43 students to 102 students, pre-K through fourth grade, with plans to expand to eighth grade. Through intentional partnerships, the school offers students opportunities to dive into real-world skills, like financial literacy, sustainability and public speaking. Compass enhances its education through cross-curricular learning, integrating STEM, daily Spanish, art, music and a signature Farm-to-Table program with its core classes. The curriculum combines a rigorous academic approach with hands-on experiences that aim to shape children into compassionate students, global ambassadors, critical thinkers and confident leaders.
The conversation included many common themes on true leadership with a strong focus on integrity and altruism. When dissecting the qualities of accomplished leaders, Walsh said, 'There's an element of capacity that is just never exceeded. True leaders always find capacity.'
Upon reflection of his own involvement in emergency response in Japan after the 2011 tsunami, Walsh realized it is not always about having the loudest voice or the best ideas. 'Part of building an organization is just showing people how much you care,' he said.
This sentiment was shared by Perot, who stressed living by these principles in his own company, noting this mindset is why many employees on his leadership team have been with their company for more than 30 years. 'Somebody gets sick, we're going to find the best doctors, and we don't care what it costs. When you take care of people that way, you've got partners for life. The type of people that are attracted to our companies; they want that high achievement.'
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Perot's main takeaway for the night was that 'It's about others and it's about giving and about taking care of people. It's about making your city, your state, your country and the world a better place to live.'
His insight speaks volumes to the spirit of generosity embedded in the business community of Dallas. It is the same mentality that sparked a sense of stewardship in the Compass School of Texas founding team when developing the Fireside Chat series.
Frances Mitchell, co-founder of The Compass School of Texas, said, 'Having these remarkable leaders share their time and wisdom is truly invaluable. Hosting the Fireside Chat series allows Compass to share inspiring knowledge and partner with the community beyond our campus.' Each event is open to the public and designed to extend the learning experience by providing expert knowledge on core values instilled in the Compass students — community, family, leadership, purpose and resilience.