The induction ceremony is set for Oct. 18 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Also being inducted is Rod Canion, co-founder of Houston-based Compaq Computer Corp. and current chairman of Insource Technology Group, a Houston-based eServices consulting firm, and chairman of Houston-based Questia Media Inc., a comprehensive research service site for high school and college students. Rounding out this year's high-profile inductees' roster are Don Jordan, former board chairman and CEO of Houston's Reliant Energy Inc., and Chuck Watson, chairman and CEO of Dynegy Inc.

The 73-year-old Alexander, a graduate of the University of Texas and Harvard, joined the then-J. Weingarten team in the mid-1950s. At the time, it was a family-owned, 87-store supermarket chain. In 1962, Alexander became the company's second president and CEO and today is the board chairman. Alexander was instrumental in propelling the operation, founded in 1948, to its present-day REIT status and a portfolio of more than 282 income-producing properties in the southern US.

Alexander is by far no newcomer to business and civic accolades on the national and local levels. Just two years ago, he was inducted into the Houston Association of Realtors Hall of Fame. He was the 1990 recipient of the Houston Businessman of the Year from the Stanford Business School Alumni Association. Between 1986 and 1993, he copped top honors from the Wall Street Transcript as a leading CEO of a public real estate company. In 1987, Alexander was one of 25 Houstonians credited with changing the city from a sprawling prairie into the nation's seventh largest metropolis.