The Dallas-based finance and technology entrepreneur discusses how experience in investment banking, community banking, software, acquisitions, and asset management has shaped the questions he asks when evaluating new opportunities.

DALLAS, Texas, 26th September 2026, ZEX PR WIRE— A promising business opportunity can look very different depending on which side of the table someone is sitting on.

After more than four decades working across finance and technology, Gary Bassett has occupied several of those seats. He has analyzed companies as an investment banker, worked inside community banking, built and operated an enterprise software company, experienced an acquisition as a founder, and later returned to institutional finance.

Each experience, Bassett says, added another question to the way he evaluates an opportunity.

“Early in my career, I learned to ask whether the numbers supported the story,” Bassett said. “Later, after running a company myself, I learned to ask another question: What actually has to happen every day for those numbers to become real?”

Looking Beyond the Initial Opportunity

Bassett began his career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan in New York in 1979. His work included financial modeling, valuation, due diligence, and corporate debt transactions.

The experience taught him to examine the assumptions underneath a proposal rather than focusing only on its potential.

“An idea can sound very compelling until you start changing the assumptions behind it,” Bassett said. “What happens if growth is slower? What happens if the cost is higher? What has to go right for the plan to work? Those were useful questions to learn early.”

His subsequent experience in Texas banking brought those questions closer to individual businesses and communities.

Bassett became a founding shareholder of Lamar National Bank and served as president of the Lamar Bank Center. The work exposed him to commercial banking, lending, real estate, and the practical consequences of financial decisions.

That perspective became particularly important when Bassett moved from analyzing businesses to building one.

Building Microbank Changed the View From the Other Side

In 1985, Bassett founded Microbank Software Inc., an enterprise software company serving organizations in banking and construction.

Running the company introduced a different set of considerations. A business could not succeed on strategy alone. Products had to work. Customers had to see value in them. Employees had to execute. Problems that appeared small on paper could become much larger when they affected day-to-day operations.

“Building Microbank changed the way I looked at companies,” Bassett said. “When you have been responsible for the product, the customers, and the decisions that have to be made on Monday morning, you start asking different questions when you look at a business.”

Microbank eventually developed an international client base and was acquired by Citicorp. Bassett also participated in the integration that followed the acquisition.

That process added another layer to his experience. Evaluating whether two businesses make sense together is one challenge. Integrating people, systems, customers, and operating processes after a transaction is another.

“A transaction has a closing date, but the work of combining organizations does not end on that date,” Bassett said. “That experience made me pay much more attention to what has to happen after an agreement is signed.”

Returning to Investment Banking With an Operator’s Perspective

Bassett later spent nearly a decade as a managing director at Bank of America, working in investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and strategic advisory assignments.

He returned to institutional finance with experience he did not have earlier in his career: he had founded and operated a company himself.

Bassett says that experience made him more interested in what sits behind financial statements and projections.

“Numbers are important, but every number came from something that happened inside the business,” he said. “There are customers, employees, operating decisions, competitors, and unexpected problems behind those results. I became much more interested in understanding that part of the story.”

Experience Can Change the Questions

Today, Bassett is the founder, chairman, and managing partner of Dallas-based HP Capital Partners, which he established in 2012.

His career has crossed industries and roles, but Bassett does not view those experiences as separate chapters with no connection to one another.

Instead, each has influenced how he approaches the next opportunity.

For business leaders, he believes evaluating an opportunity requires more than asking how attractive the potential outcome appears. It also means examining assumptions, understanding how an organization actually operates, considering what could disrupt the plan, and determining whether the people and systems involved can execute it.

“Experience does not mean you automatically know the answer,” Bassett said. “If anything, it gives you more questions to ask. I think that is useful. The goal is not to make every opportunity look good or bad. It is to understand what would actually have to happen for it to work.”

About Gary Bassett

Gary Bassett is a Dallas, Texas-based finance and technology entrepreneur whose career has included investment banking, community banking, enterprise software, acquisitions, asset management, and philanthropy. He began his investment banking career at J.P. Morgan and later became a founding shareholder of Lamar National Bank. In 1985, he founded Microbank Software Inc., an enterprise software company Citicorp later acquired. Bassett subsequently served as a managing director at Bank of America. In 2012, he founded HP Capital Partners, where he serves as founder, chairman, and managing partner. Bassett holds a BBA in Finance and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

Bronx-based radiology technologist Nivia Fontanez discusses the communication, preparation, positioning, safety, and attention to detail behind medical imaging.

BRONX, N.Y, 26th September 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, When patients arrive for an X-ray or CT scan, much of their attention naturally goes to the imaging equipment. Behind the technology, however, is a radiology technologist who guides the patient through the process and performs the study according to established procedures.

Bronx-based radiology technologist Nivia Fontanez believes patients may not always see the human side of the profession.

Fontanez works with X-rays, CT scans, and bone density studies. She holds a New York State radiologic technologist license and is qualified to administer contrast for CT studies. Her experience has shown her that medical imaging requires technical knowledge, but operating equipment is only one part of the technologist’s responsibilities.

“Patients see the machine because that is the most obvious part of the room, but there is a lot happening around it,” Fontanez said. “We are thinking about positioning, instructions, safety, and whether the patient understands what we need them to do.”

Positioning Requires Working With the Individual Patient

Positioning is one example of a responsibility that can appear simple from the patient’s perspective. A technologist may ask someone to stand in a certain place, turn their body, move an arm, or remain still while an image is captured.

In practice, patients have different physical abilities and limitations. Some may be experiencing pain or have difficulty moving into a standard position. Technologists must follow appropriate procedures while recognizing what an individual patient can reasonably do.

“You can know the position you need, but you’re still working with a real person,” Fontanez said. “Someone may be uncomfortable or unable to move exactly the way you initially ask. You have to pay attention and communicate.”

That interaction is one reason Fontanez views adaptability as an important part of working in medical imaging. Technical requirements remain important, but patients cannot be approached as though everyone will respond to an instruction in exactly the same way.

Clear Communication Helps Patients Understand What Is Expected

Communication is another significant part of the technologist’s role. Instructions that sound simple to someone working in radiology every day may be unfamiliar to a patient.

Fontanez believes healthcare professionals must be aware of that difference.

“Something can be routine for me and completely new for the patient,” Fontanez said. “I try not to assume that someone understands an instruction just because I’ve given that same instruction many times before.”

That may mean explaining a position differently, letting someone know what will happen next, or checking that an instruction was understood before continuing.

Fontanez also notes that different patients want different amounts of information. Some have questions about each step, while others prefer to receive the necessary instructions and complete the study. Recognizing those differences is part of working directly with people.

“The goal isn’t to overwhelm someone with technical information,” Fontanez said. “It’s to communicate clearly enough that they understand what is expected of them during the study.”

Safety and Attention to Detail Remain Central to Medical Imaging

Many checks in medical imaging are not particularly visible to patients. Technologists follow established procedures for patient identification, the requested study, positioning, imaging practices, and applicable safety requirements.

Certain studies may involve additional considerations. Fontanez’s work with CT imaging, for example, includes her qualification to administer contrast for CT studies.

Fontanez believes one challenge of professional experience is making sure familiarity doesn’t become complacency.

“When you do something regularly, you naturally become more comfortable with it, and experience is important,” she said. “At the same time, you don’t want something being familiar to make you less attentive to the details.”

Efficiency matters in a busy healthcare environment, but Fontanez says there are also situations when taking additional time to verify information or explain an instruction is necessary.

Technology Does Not Replace the Human Side of Radiology

Medical imaging relies heavily on sophisticated equipment, but Fontanez sees the technologist as the connection between that technology and the patient.

Equipment cannot recognize that a patient is struggling to understand an instruction. It cannot independently account for the way an individual is experiencing an appointment or provide the human communication that may be needed during the process.

That responsibility remains with the professionals working directly with patients.

“Technical knowledge matters, but you’re never just working with equipment,” Fontanez said. “There is always a person on the other side of what you’re doing.”

For Fontanez, that is one of the defining aspects of being a radiology technologist. The final medical image may be what remains after the appointment, but producing it involves preparation, communication, positioning, safety procedures, and attention to the individual patient.

Those responsibilities may happen quietly in the background, but they are part of the work every day.

About Nivia Fontanez

Nivia Fontanez is a radiology technologist based in the Bronx, New York. She works in medical imaging with experience in X-ray, CT imaging, and bone density studies. Fontanez holds a New York State radiologic technologist license and is qualified to administer contrast for CT studies.

Fontanez earned an associate degree in computer science from SUNY Cobleskill before transitioning into healthcare. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in radiology from Concordia College in 2020 and has also been certified as a nursing assistant. In 2025, she received a Best Technologist Award for her work. Her professional interests include medical imaging, patient communication, continued learning, and the role radiology technologists play in patient care.

California, USA, 26th September 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, Piya Saliba, CEO of Fountain Capital and an active supporter of the Nalin and Naseeb Foundation and the Cedars-Sinai NICU Family Council, has announced the release of a free Community Connection Checklist, a practical self-guided resource designed to help people become more intentional about supporting others in their everyday lives.

The checklist encourages users to evaluate how they spend their time, identify simple ways to contribute to their communities, and build consistent habits around volunteering, communication, and relationship-building.

Saliba created the resource after years of balancing business leadership with nonprofit involvement and community service.

“I’ve learned that leadership begins with paying attention to people,” Saliba said. “You don’t have to make a huge gesture to create positive change. Small actions repeated consistently often have the greatest impact.”

The resource reflects Saliba’s belief that meaningful relationships are built through preparation, consistency, and follow-through rather than one-time efforts.

“I don’t think relationships should become transactional,” she said. “Trust grows over time when people know you’ll continue showing up even after the immediate need has passed.”

The need for stronger community engagement continues to grow. Recent research highlights the personal and social cost of weak social connections:

• The U.S. Surgeon General reported that social isolation increases the risk of premature death by amounts comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day.

• Gallup has found that people with strong social connections report significantly higher levels of overall well-being than those who feel disconnected.

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about one in five Americans formally volunteers each year, leaving many nonprofit organizations struggling to meet growing community needs.

• The American Psychological Association continues to report that stress remains one of the leading challenges affecting adults, with strong social support consistently identified as one of the most effective protective factors.

Saliba believes many people want to contribute but simply do not know where to begin.

“People often think they need more time, more money, or more experience before they can help,” she said. “Most communities simply need reliable people who are willing to listen, volunteer, and stay involved.”

The Community Connection Checklist includes:

• A five-minute personal relationship self-audit

• A weekly community involvement planner

• A conversation starter guide for reconnecting with friends, neighbors, or colleagues

• A volunteer opportunity planning worksheet

• A monthly reflection page to track progress and consistency

Use This in 15 Minutes

The resource is designed to be completed quickly without any special training.

Minutes 1-3: Identify three people or groups you have not connected with recently.

Minutes 4-7: Complete the relationship self-audit and identify one area where you can be more consistent.

Minutes 8-11: Choose one practical community action, such as volunteering, checking in on a neighbor, supporting a local nonprofit, or mentoring someone.

Minutes 12-15: Schedule your first action on your calendar and identify one accountability partner who can encourage you to follow through.

“Leadership isn’t about reacting to everything,” Saliba said. “It’s about making thoughtful decisions and consistently acting on what matters most.”

Common Mistakes People Make

According to Saliba, many people unintentionally make community involvement more complicated than it needs to be. She recommends avoiding these common mistakes:

• Waiting until life feels less busy before helping others

• Assuming only large donations or major commitments make a difference

• Treating volunteer work as a one-time event instead of an ongoing habit

• Trying to solve every problem instead of helping where you can make a realistic contribution

• Forgetting to build genuine relationships while focusing only on completing tasks

She believes consistency will always outperform occasional bursts of effort.

“I’ve learned that trust compounds over time,” Saliba said. “People remember how dependable you are long after they forget individual conversations.”

Call to Action

Download or recreate the Community Connection Checklist today. Set aside 15 uninterrupted minutes, complete the self-audit, choose one meaningful action you can take this week, and schedule it before the day ends. Then repeat the process once each month to build stronger relationships, support your community, and create a lasting habit of service.

To read more, visit the website here.

About the Community Connection Checklist

The Community Connection Checklist is a free practical resource inspired by Piya Saliba’s approach to leadership, philanthropy, and community engagement. Designed for everyday individuals, it helps people strengthen relationships, identify opportunities to support families and local organizations, and build sustainable habits of compassion through simple, actionable steps.