Forty Under 40: Kay Palmer

Realizing the impact her department has in day-to-day operations on both her employer and her customers makes every day an exciting one for Kay Palmer.

Palmer, 38, is the chief information officer at J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. in Lowell. She has been with the company since 1988 and has seen her department grow during that period from 45 employees to about 300.

“We have a very good management team to work with,” Palmer said, “and having been able to develop that team over the years, I am real confident in their abilities.”

Palmer, a Newport native and 1985 computer science graduate of Harding University in Searcy, is currently working toward her MBA at the University of Arkansas. She worked in Dallas for three years with Electronic Data Systems.

“At EDS, you didn’t see an immediate impact you had on the whole company or the result your work had on your customers,” Palmer said. “[At Hunt], you can see the direct impact you have on the company. And you work directly with customers you have impacted.

“I like making people here happy with their job. Having employees that want to work here is what it’s all about.”

Palmer is happy to make her career in Northwest Arkansas where she can enjoy her hobbies of hiking and canoeing.