Spotlight On: Richard Hunton, President & CEO, The Hunton Group

Key points:

• • The Hunton Group helps improve building performance through energy efficiency, smart technologies, and indoor environment solutions.
• • Demand for intelligent buildings, distributed energy, and water solutions is creating new growth opportunities.
• • Houston’s expansion in industrial, technology, and life sciences sectors continues to drive long-term demand.

July 2026 — In an interview with Invest:, Richard Hunton, president and CEO of The Hunton Group, discussed the company’s evolution, its role in indoor environments, and the growth opportunities shaping Houston. “Distributed energy and water are going to be the two new frontiers,” Hunton said.

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What is your overview of The Hunton Group and its position within Houston’s engineering and energy services sector? 

First of all, when you say “energy services,” most people in Houston think about oil and gas.  When we think about energy services, we are thinking about the U.S. built environment, which consumes approximately 40% of final energy use or 75% of electricity use every day.  Buildings and facilities are often overlooked and/or taken for granted, and opportunities abound within these spaces to save energy while maintaining comfort and a healthy environment.  At Hunton, we exist to radically improve the indoor environments in which people live, work, learn, and play.

The Hunton Group was founded by my father, R.O. Hunton, in 1981. We started as a Trane manufacturer’s representative business for commercial and industrial HVAC equipment, and over time, that grew into a large service business that helped us ride out the ups and downs of the construction market. 

In 1991, we became the independent wholesale distributor for Trane residential equipment in Southeast Texas. The Hunton Group expanded into markets like El Paso, Lubbock, and Oklahoma City, but ultimately divested from those markets and reinvested those monies back into the Houston area, where we saw the greatest opportunities. 

We’ve continued to grow by staying in synergistic markets. We may push the edges a bit, but we stay close to our lane. Our business IS indoor environments, whether residential, commercial, or industrial. We address the new construction and existing buildings marketplaces through several companies within The Hunton Group that approach our purpose from different angles. 

How do the different companies within The Hunton Group support its overall mission? 

Hunton Distribution handles commercial and residential B2B equipment, parts, and supplies distribution. For your home, we are the people behind the scenes who make sure your Trane Residential Dealer is equipped and trained to provide you with the highest quality installation and service. In the commercial world, we support our building owners and contractors with the right parts or equipment, at the right time, for the right price.  

Hunton Trane is our manufacturer’s representative business for commercial and industrial heating and cooling systems. In addition to supporting the construction and replacement markets, our Advanced Engineering Group also plays in the data center market, where we do advanced engineering for facility and white space thermal management. In addition, with the majority of these data centers being in drier parts of the state, we are also addressing water usage within these facilities.  

With the influx of data centers and the fragility of the ERCOT grid, utility demands have become a major factor for companies wanting to relocate to Texas. The availability of both power and water is an increasingly important factor when expanding or relocating a business. I believe distributed energy and water are going to be the two new frontiers, and we are moving toward offering full solutions, either in-house or through partnerships. 

Hunton Services started as a warranty support business but has grown into a full-blown operation consisting of HVAC and plumbing maintenance and services, mechanical contracting, control system maintenance and services, and a rental division called HRS, where we rent HVAC, Power, and Air solutions for all markets.  Our expertise is our ability to understand your building and its energy needs. We do engineering studies, energy savings projects, system upgrades, asset management, and more. Anything a customer needs for their facility, we can typically support.  

What trends are shaping customer expectations around energy efficiency and operational performance? 

Every customer is different, so you must evaluate each situation individually. Our role is to understand how a building operates and why it operates the way it does.  Then, we can determine if we have anything of value to offer the customer.  

A lot of that value comes from energy savings. We can go into buildings and optimize systems like chiller plants and airside operations. In some cases, we can reduce HVAC system energy usage by up to 20%.  If this can be done at scale, it reduces pressure on the grid, which is already under strain. 

How has technology transformed the way you deliver solutions? 

In 2010, I started Convergentz, a building technology company. The idea was born out of the shift from proprietary control systems to IP-based systems around the late 2000s. This shift to IP-based control systems fueled a move towards non-proprietary control systems and uncovered the realization that we need to become “IT-savvy”.  

Today, Convergentz is one of the top building technology businesses in the country. We handle HVAC controls, security, fire/life safety, and digital systems, including parking, signage, and even RF tracking. We are effectively bringing buildings into a more intelligent, connected environment and making them smarter.  

Buildings can now recognize when someone arrives in the parking garage or walks through security and start their welcoming process; send a good morning text or enable the A/C and the wall outlets in their office, thereby saving energy. As a Master Systems Integrator, we can bring disparate building systems into one platform so owners can manage buildings more effectively and efficiently. 

We also look for ways to improve building performance, not just upgrade systems. The goal is always to create measurable value and a return for our customers. 

Beyond cost savings, how do these systems impact building users? 

The real purpose is to create environments where people want to be. If people enjoy working in a building and the price is not too steep, tenants stay. That’s ultimately what drives value for the owner. It’s not just about efficiency; it’s about the occupant’s experience inside the building. 

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth in Houston? 

Houston is a growing city, and it grows outward rather than upward. We have land, infrastructure, a strong labor market, and competitive costs. In addition, access to the port and the vast network of highways available to the Houston area make Houston an attractive city for warehousing and transportation. 

I see economic development coming into the state, and that means growth across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Housing will continue expanding, and as the population grows, commercial development follows. Much of Houston’s growth will come from the industrial sector. With lessening EPA regulations and growing demand for petrochemical and energy products, we should see steady growth in the Houston area’s industrial market.

Office space is also evolving. Downtown will likely shift toward more of a destination model, with mixed-use development becoming more prominent. Given Houston’s size, we will likely see multiple destination areas across the metro, combining residential, retail, and commercial uses. 

Overall, I don’t see a downside in any of the major sectors. 

Are there additional sectors contributing to Houston’s growth? 

Houston is also becoming a leader in biomed, driven by the medical center. We are seeing growth in advanced and digital manufacturing, as well as increased investment from major technology companies and data centers across the region. The large players are coming into Texas, and we are working with them.

Want more? Read the Invest: Houston report.