Our Founder

Ali Sharaf was born in 1957 near Damascus, Syria. His father was a farmer/merchant and his mother was a homemaker. Ali graduated from Damascus University with a Civil Engineering degree in 1980. He then founded and ran his own successful engineering/construction company for six years before moving to the United States. Ali Sharaf moved to the United States in 1986 and purchased his first convenience store that same year. Over the next 10 years, with hard work and determination, he expanded his holdings to 11 stores. In 1997, Ali purchased H&H Oil Co., Inc., which was a premier Exxon Fuel Distributorship with annual sales of approximately twenty million gallons. He continued to build and acquire convenience stores for another nine years.

In 2006, he changed the name of H&H Oil Co., Inc. to Victron Energy, Inc., and built new headquarters in Waxahachie, Texas. Victron Energy, Inc. has expanded to distribute fuel for not only ExxonMobil, but also Shell, Chevron, Texaco, Conoco, Valero and other, unbranded fuels. Victron Energy, Inc. now boasts close to three hundred million gallons in annual sales and is still growing with new construction and acquisition of properties.

Another strength of Ali lies in his associations with 13 different food franchises. In 2006, Victron debuted its own brand, Texas Best Smokehouse. The unique facilities of Texas Best Smokehouse feature barbecue, jerky, smoked meats, and cheeses, as well as its own private brand of candies, jams, nuts, wine and energy drinks. Victron Energy, Inc. is best described as being creative and ahead of the curve.

With all the success of Victron, Ali is especially proud of the positive impact he has had on the lives of the people of North Texas. He recognizes the honest, hard-working values of small-town America as similar to those of his own rural upbringing. In every location, Ali gives back to the community with the creation of jobs and opportunities. Ali’s philosophy is to try to fill a void, to build what people need while giving them security for the present and hope for the future. Though based in Waxahachie, Victron has created over 5,000 jobs directly or indirectly in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Ali’s affinity for community and his knack for construction are leading him to branch out into other developments. He developed a 40-acre shopping plaza around I-45 in Seagoville, and a 60-acre plaza in Red Oak, Texas. He developed a seven acre shopping center, with a Sonic restaurant in Royce City, and has completed a similar project in Carthage, Texas. Moreover, he has finished a high-end,312-unit apartment complex near I-35 and Ovilla Road in Red Oak. The same store is repeated in so many towns in Texas, including but not limited to Tyler, Longview, Kilgore, Venus, Burleson, Carthage, Italy, Balch Springs and many more. Ali’s accomplishments continue to contribute to the overall economy of the region, bringing more and more opportunities to the people he serves.

Ali’s passion is construction and building. There is nothing he likes better than to take a raw piece of land and turn it into a successful project that can bring economic growth to North Texas, creating additional jobs and enhancing the tax base of the local communities. Ali believes in small town American values like hard work, integrity and honesty because these same values were instilled in him as a young man. He realizes that small towns hold the opportunity, the necessity and the values for major growth and success.