Halff’s Baker Daily Named to Dallas 500 by D Magazine

RICHARDSON, Texas — Halff President and CEO Jessica Baker Daily was named to the Dallas 500 by D Magazine, recognizing the 500 most powerful business leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth.

D CEO’s signature special publication, the Dallas 500, features profiles of the most influential North Texas executives in more than 50 industry categories. The 2025 book includes well-known, emerging and behind-the-scenes leaders who make the regional economy tick. Editors make selections after months of research and hundreds of personal interviews.

Baker Daily started as an intern at Halff in 2003 and continued to work in multiple positions before being named the chief marketing officer in 2021. She became chief people officer in 2023, and became the firm’s sixth president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2024. Baker Daily has also previously served on Halff’s Board of Directors.

A graduate with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas, Baker Daily’s illustrious career highlights include serving as Halff’s liaison on a joint venture contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) worth nearly $600 million, and leading a team of more than 100 professionals in delivering flood risk identification and disaster response services for FEMA’s Region 6. She was named to ENR’s national Top 20 Under 40 list in 2018 and received the Outstanding Young Alumna Award at The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering in 2014.

Additionally, Baker Daily actively contributes to her community by serving on The University of Texas Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering department’s External Advisory Committee (EAC), by holding a director position on the board of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Dallas chapter, and by graduating from the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Leadership Dallas program.

Earlier this year, Baker Daily was named one of 28 honorees for the 2024 Dallas Business Journal Women in Business Awards.

About the Firm

Halff is an award-winning, employee-owned, diverse and full-service infrastructure consulting firm that improves lives and communities by turning ideas into reality. For nearly 75 years, Halff has provided smart solutions for clients throughout the United States. The people-first firm is committed to continuously investing in its employees and fostering a culture of collaboration.

Halff has more than 30 offices in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The firm was recognized as the 2023 Texas & Louisiana Design Firm of the Year by the Engineering News-Record. Halff is ranked No. 87 in the 2024 Top 500 Design Firms rankings by ENR. Halff is the No. 16 Top Workplace nationally in 2024 as ranked by Energage for businesses with 1,000 to 2,499 employees.