Forty Under 40: Lisa Fowler

Lisa Fowler, 31, grew up in Little Rock and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1992.

Fowler’s first job after college was with Alltel, and she has remained with the company ever since. She began working with Alltel in customer service and worked her way up to general sales manager in Little Rock before moving to Fayetteville last November to head the office here.

Fowler said Alltel is now a full-service communications company, providing wireless, paging, Internet, long-distance and local telephone services. Alltel initially brought its wireless service to Northwest Arkansas in 1988.

Fowler oversees operations for 12 Alltel stores and 17 kiosks (many of them in Wal-Mart stores) in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The company has about 150 employees in Fayetteville and Fort Smith.

“My philosophy is to do what is right for the customer,” she said. “I believe it is very important to hire the most qualified people and to give them the tools and resources to make the right decisions for our customers.”