Jeff Hankins Resigns As President, Publisher of Arkansas Business Publishing Group

by Talk Business & Politics ([email protected]) 148 views 

Olivia Farrell, chairman and CEO of Arkansas Business Publishing Group of Little Rock, announced today that Jeff Hankins, president and publisher, has submitted his resignation.

Farrell said that Hankins, who joined Arkansas Business as editor in 1993, will help ABPG as it transitions to new leadership. The company’s senior management will assume Hankins’ responsibilities as the search begins to fill his position.

“We respect Jeff’s decision to leave the company and begin a new chapter in his career,” Farrell said. “Jeff’s contributions to Arkansas Business Publishing Group have been groundbreaking and important, and we’re grateful for the leadership he has provided.”

“My 19 years with Arkansas Business have been an amazing experience, but I decided it was time for a change in my life and career,” Hankins said. “This is a tough business. I’m going to miss working with this very talented group of professionals who produce some of the best publications and websites in the country.”

Hankins, a Pine Bluff native who became publisher of Arkansas Business in 1996 and president of ABPG in 1999, said he will remain in Little Rock to pursue opportunities outside publishing.

ABPG is a niche publishing group with a web development company that produces 20 publications, including magazines and websites.

Its products include Arkansas Business, a weekly business journal launched in 1984; Little Rock Family, a monthly parenting magazine launched in 1994; Little Rock Soirée, a monthly magazine covering nonprofits, fashion, food and events in Little Rock, launched in 2002; and ArkansasSports360.com, a daily website covering sports in Arkansas launched in 2007.

Other publications include Arkansas Bride, Guest Guide to Greater Little Rock, Arkansas Next: A Guide to Life After High School and InArkansas.com.