Gary Hoover

Best known as a creator of the first book superstore chain BOOKSTOP (sold to Barnes & Noble) and business information source Hoover’s (now part of Dun & Bradstreet), Gary Hoover has been an author, bookseller, and publisher. His love for business began at the age of 12 when he subscribed to Fortune Magazine. What followed was an education in liberal arts at the University of Chicago, including studying economics under Milton Friedman, two years picking stocks on Wall Street, and seven years learning the retail trade at major department store chains. He then began his life of founding companies. Gary has given over 2,000 speeches about building great enterprises in 30 countries and writes regularly on Hooversworld.com and LinkedIn. The first Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, Gary is now active at UT’s graduate School of Information (including library sciences) and the University of Chicago. A self-described “information junkie,” Gary’s story is one of lifelong curiosity about every aspect of people and life. He lives in historic downtown Flatonia, Texas, with his 57,000-book personal reference library.