Cal McNair became the chairman of the Houston Texans in July 2018 and assumed the role of chief executive officer in January 2019. Previously, McNair served as the organization's vice chairman since 2008 and its chief operating officer from 2012 through 2018. He has held a limited partner interest in the Texans since 2001. McNair regularly attends NFL meetings as part of team management, chairs the NFL Audit Committee and serves on the NFL Investment Committee.
McNair previously worked at Cogen Technologies for 11 years, joining the company as one of its first employees in 1987. While at Cogen, he helped oversee the construction of several major power plants in the eastern United States, managing those assets in the areas of financial analysis and project management.
McNair also serves as a director of Palmetto Trust Company. McNair is a member of the board of trustees of the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation and is the director, chairman and chief executive officer of the Houston Texans Foundation. The nonprofit's contributions of more than $41.7 million since its inception in 2002 supports its mission to be "Champions for Youth".
McNair is also a member of the United Way's prestigious Alexis de Tocqueville Society, and a current or past member of the Amegy Bank Advisory Board, the University of Texas Chancellor's Council, the Council of Overseers at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business, the Houston Zoo Board, the Fort Worth Zoo Board and the All Saints Episcopal School Board in Fort Worth.
McNair and his wife, Hannah, are involved in and support many charities and philanthropic efforts, including the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Houston Food Bank, United Way, DePelchin Children's Center, Pro-Vision, Bo's Place, The Holocaust Museum, Child Advocates, The Brookwood Community, The Mission of Yahweh, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, MD Anderson, Lone Survivor Foundation, USO, Star Of Hope, Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, Houston Police Foundation, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Texas Children's Hospital, United States Fund For UNICEF, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston Area Women's Center, The Children's Assessment Center, Impact A Hero, Freedom Place, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and many others.
McNair attended The University of Texas at Austin, where he was a four-year member of the Longhorns' football team. He earned a master's degree in business administration from the Rice University Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.
Born in Houston, McNair attended Cypress-Fairbanks High School. He has seven children: Devon, Raelyn, Vivian, Robert, Calhoun, Michael, and Hunter Grace, as well as a granddaughter, Charlotte. McNair resides in Houston with his wife, Hannah.