David Green is the American founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, the world’s largest privately owned arts-and-crafts retailer. He launched the company in 1971 with a $600 loan from his garage in Oklahoma City and grew it into a multi‑billion-dollar enterprise with over 1,000 U.S. stores and 46,000 employees. Guided by his Christian faith, Green channels half of Hobby Lobby’s pretax profits into evangelical ministry and philanthropy, including the Museum of the Bible and educational causes.

Darwin Deason is an American billionaire entrepreneur and founder of Affiliated Computer Services (ACS). Under his leadership, ACS became a global outsourcing powerhouse before being sold to Xerox for $6.4 billion in 2010. After the sale, Deason emerged as Xerox’s largest individual shareholder (~12%). He is also a high-profile Republican political donor and owner of the mega-yacht Apogee and an opulent La Jolla estate called “The Sand Castle.” 

Chad Richison is the American entrepreneur who founded Paycom in 1998 and has served as its President, CEO, and Chairman since inception. A University of Central Oklahoma graduate, he pioneered fully online payroll and HR solutions through Paycom, leading its IPO in 2014, and growing it into a $1.9 billion SaaS company. Richison is also a committed philanthropist—founding the Green Shoe Foundation and donating tens of millions to educational and mental health causes—and is a signatory of The Giving Pledge.

Carl Thoma is a veteran private-equity pioneer and co-founder/managing partner of Thoma Bravo, one of the world’s largest software-focused buyout firms managing more than $130 billion in assets. A Stanford MBA and Oklahoma State alumnus, he began his career in 1980 with the predecessor firm GTCR and helped invent the “buy and build” consolidation strategy that underpins his longtime success in PE.

George Kaiser is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and chairman of BOK Financial Corporation. He is known for his substantial contributions to education, healthcare, and early childhood development through the George Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser maintains a low public profile despite his considerable wealth and influence.

Harold Hamm is an American oil and gas entrepreneur, known for his pioneering work in the development of the Bakken oil field in North Dakota and Montana. He is the founder and chairman of Continental Resources, a leading oil producer in the United States. Hamm is also recognized for his significant contributions to the energy industry and his philanthropic efforts.