Doug Horne, chief executive officer and founder of Horne properties, graduated from UT in 1967, long after he made his first foray into the business world at age eight by selling worms. Following the worm sales, he sold glue, then cookies, then Watkins products. By the time he was a business administration student at UT, he was hawking pennants and pins at football games.
Following graduation from UT, he was employed by TVA for 14 years in personnel, engineering, and construction. In 1981 he started his then one-man real estate development and management company. His first break came when he convinced Sam Walton (at 6:30 a.m.) to give him an opportunity to build one Walmart store. He then built dozens of Walmarts and firmly established his commercial and retail development prowess by completing shopping centers in 25 states. Horne was owner of an insurance group and also served as chairman of Horne Radio Group and Republic Newspapers, which included the Farragut Press and Clinton Courier News.
A former Tennessee Democratic Party chair, Horne twice considered making the race for governor, and twice decided against it. While a member of the UT Board of Trustees, he established the Horne Professorship in the College of Business and made other gifts both to academics and athletics.