Halff’s Baker Daily Named to D CEO’s Dallas 500

RICHARDSON, Texas — Halff President and CEO Jessica Baker Daily has once again been recognized as a Dallas 500 honoree in D CEO’s 2026 edition.

Dallas 500 is an annual publication produced by the editors of D CEO, the award-winning business title of D Magazine Partners. It features insightful profiles of the 500 most influential leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth. 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 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.

Baker Daily oversaw Halff’s June 2025 acquisition of engineering design firm C&D Utility Consulting, a strategic move that significantly expanded the firm’s energy services practice. In addition, she has also served as CEO during Halff’s entry into two new markets, establishing offices in Atlanta and Phoenix.

This marks her second consecutive year of being honored among the region’s most influential executives by D Magazine.

About the Firm

Halff is an award-winning, employee-owned, full-service infrastructure consulting firm celebrating a legacy of 75 years of improving lives and communities. Founded in 1950 by Dr. Albert H. Halff, the firm has built a legacy of delivering innovative solutions with a people-focused approach.

Operating from more than 30 offices across Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, Halff is a leader in design excellence and community impact, earning more than 90 project awards since 2021. For four consecutive years, Halff has ranked as an Engineering News-Record Top 100 Design Firm and as a USA TODAY National Top Workplace.