36 | Company: Blue Thunder Management | Education: Vanderbilt University, University of Texas at Austin
Ross Mulford is continuing the entrepreneurial and civic legacy of his grandfather, Ross Perot Sr.
Mulford founded Blue Thunder Management, which is named for his grandfather’s boat, in 2020. He has overseen its growth to span five divisions and a variety of entities, including e-commerce, industrial real estate, and commercial services.
While building Blue Thunder’s majority interest, Mulford served as CFO of a local e-commerce company that later rebranded to become children’s clothing brand Classic Whimsy. Classic Whimsy has grown into one of the largest Shopify stores in the U.S.
He got the idea for another venture, Jaguar Waste Management, in 2023 when a close friend who owns a trucking company came to visit Mulford during an extended hospital stay after he suffered severe, third-degree burns in a fire.
“It was a true no-frills startup: one truck, a handful of open-top containers, and two brand-new CDL drivers — one who had been an orphan in Louisiana, and another who had relocated to Dallas after surviving a violent robbery,” Mulford said. “I am proud of the opportunities we’ve been able to provide for our people, and that I was able to channel the energy from my recovery.”
Early in his career, Mulford served as a Teach For America corps member, where he worked in an underserved area of Houston.
Mulford is an incoming board member for Teach For America Dallas-Fort Worth, a returning board member for St. Philips School and Community Center, and a member of the board of directors for St. Michael Episcopal School.
What is your favorite part of your current job or community involvement?
My favorite part of my job is spending time day-to-day in the Classic Whimsy distribution center. The company is now in the largest 1% of stores on Shopify in the United States, and in 2025, Classic Whimsy sold nearly one item per minute, so it is quite an operation. There is always something big happening, and I enjoy being close to the action around the fulfillment team.
Are you where you thought you’d be when you graduated from high school?
Someone once shared advice with me that has stuck: have a 10-year vision and a two-year action plan, because life’s opportunities are always evolving. That mindset has proven true in my own experience. The broad vision I had for my career and life has largely held, but the details and opportunities along the way have been far more dynamic and more fun than I could have imagined.
What (or who) motivated you to get involved in the community?
I have always drawn tremendous inspiration from both of my grandfathers, Ross Perot and Ross Mulford. From their examples, I learned that when something needs to be done, the instinct should be to step forward rather than pass the responsibility to someone else.
They also demonstrated that success in business and commitment to community are inherently intertwined. Ross Perot had a profound impact across many organizations throughout North Texas, while Ross Mulford served more than 25 years in the Marine Corps and retired as a Colonel. Despite their very different careers, they shared the same core values: a strong sense of purpose, taking care of their people, and engaging with others from all walks of life out of a deep sense of patriotism and service. Interestingly, they attended college together, were good friends, and even shared the same first name. Their example of focusing on where they could make a difference—for individuals and for the broader community—has had a lasting influence on how I approach community.
What was your first job and what did you learn from it?
My first job was as a delivery driver and pizza cook at the Domino’s Pizza on Sherry Lane. I gained a deep appreciation for the attention to detail required to keep operations running smoothly and for learning from people with different experiences and perspectives. Working the night shift, I was immersed in every part of the operation, which gave me perspective that still shapes how I lead and work with teams today. But to this day, I still can’t find my way around the Village Apartments!
Was there a “lightbulb moment” that led you to your career? If so, what was it?
After graduating from the UT MBA program, I worked in investment management, which was an incredible learning experience for understanding how different industries and asset classes operate financially. One of the senior leaders at the firm encouraged me to gain experience in financial operations—a very different skill set, but one that is mission-critical across industries. That advice led me to take a CFO role at a local e-commerce company, which at the time was just the next step, but ultimately became the foundation for Blue Thunder Management.
What accomplishment are you the proudest of and why?
Co-founding Jaguar Waste Management with my close friend, Curtis Lawrence, is the accomplishment I’m most proud of. In late 2023, I suffered severe third-degree burns over 30% of my body in a fire and spent an extended stay in the burn ICU at Parkland Hospital. The injury was severe, and it took months to even return to a normal level of walking. While in the ICU, Curtis (who has owned a trucking company for 15 years) reached out to check on me. I was completely immobilized and had nothing to do but watch the dumpsters outside my window. I asked if he knew anything about trucking roll-off containers—and from there, we decided to start a company together. It was a true no-frills startup: one truck, a handful of open-top containers, and two brand-new CDL drivers—one who had been an orphan in Louisiana, and another who had relocated to Dallas after surviving a violent robbery. We named the company “Jaguar” after the Southern University Jaguars in Baton Rouge, Curtis’ alma mater. He serves as president, I am CFO, and the company is a joint venture between Blue Thunder and his company, Skyward Transportation. In 2025, we completed over 3,000 commercial roll-off hauls and removed more than 20 million pounds of material across six counties in North Texas. Both original drivers are still going strong and performing at the highest levels. I am proud of the opportunities we’ve been able to provide for our people, and that I was able to channel the energy from my recovery into building something meaningful, rather than giving in to the setback of the severe burn injury.
Which leadership skills have been the most challenging for you to develop and why?
Learning how to delegate has been one of the most challenging leadership skills for me. I’m very detail-oriented and naturally like to be immersed in all aspects of the business. As the Blue Thunder platform has grown, I’ve had to shift from managing tactics personally to focusing on processes and empowering great people to get more done. Learning to delegate effectively has been incredibly rewarding, even if it doesn’t come naturally. At the same time, I still strongly believe in understanding the details of the business, and I’ve worked to find a balance that allows me to stay connected while scaling the organization.
What do you see is the biggest challenge facing Dallas right now? If you had the connections and resources to change that, what would you do?
Dallas is a remarkable city, built by visionary, entrepreneurial-minded people who have created tremendous opportunities for the region. The level of achievement here rivals any community in the world. At the same time, Dallas faces significant poverty and public safety challenges. Early in my career, I was a Teach For America corps member in Houston, teaching 9th grade in the 5th Ward/Acres Homes area. That experience gave me firsthand insight into the types of challenges faced by underserved communities—challenges that are very real in parts of DFW today and critical to the region’s future. Addressing these issues requires public policies that promote both safety and economic opportunity. This includes giving law enforcement and the DA’s office the resources to keep dangerous individuals off the streets and supporting pro-growth business policies that maximize employment and make housing more accessible. Through my work with Blue Thunder Properties, I’ve seen firsthand how permitting and regulatory hurdles can slow growth, highlighting the importance of policies that help, rather than hinder, progress. Public safety and economic opportunity disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in our community, which is something we all must remember. I do believe that these are solvable problems with practical solutions.
If someone made a movie about your life, what would it be called and who would play you?
You Miss the Shots You Don’t Take, I asked my barber at Culwell & Son who would play me, and she said, “Jake Gyllenhaal.”
What is your favorite local restaurant or shop?
Drip Coffee on Lovers Lane
What’s on your bucket list?
Visit Peru to see Machu Picchu and all the Incan ruins
Go grizzly hunting in Alaska.
Go Heliskiing in British Columbia
What do you have in mind for after 40?
Professionally, I hope to continue to iterate on the Blue Thunder platform and add some new focuses/divisions of the company. Personally, I am excited to spend time with my amazing wife (Tori) and my three young children (currently 6, 5, and 3), and want to learn to play the guitar.
Is there anything else you think we should know about you?
After graduating from Vanderbilt, I joined Teach For America and taught 9th-grade Spanish in Houston’s 5th Ward/Acres Homes for two years. It was phenomenal management training and an experience that shaped how I think about leadership and the world. I’m a Texas-certified LOTE (Languages Other Than English) educator in Spanish, which was also one of my college majors, and I still read, speak, and use Spanish daily. It’s been one of the most rewarding and interesting parts of my life.
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