Soderquist Elected to NWACF Board

Don Soderquist was recently elected to Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation’s board of directors. Soderquist is the retired senior vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville.

“NWACF is pleased to have Don bring his talent and leadership experience to our board,” said Gene Groseclos, chairman of NWACF.

“He is well-known for being able to make organizations grow and expand their visions.”

In 1980, Soderquist joined Wal-Mart Stores as executive vice president and served in several other executive positions until his appointment in early 1988 to vice chairman and chief operating officer. In January 1999, he was promoted to senior vice chairman of the corporation. Before joining Wal-Mart, Soderquist served for 16 years with Ben Franklin stores, including six years as its president and CEO.

Soderquist continues to serve on the boards for Wal-Mart,the International Mass Retail Association, Arvest Bank in Rogers and ServiceMaster Inc.

He created the Soderquist Center for Business Leadership and Ethics in 1999 at John Brown University and also serves on JBU’s board of trustees.

NWACF was founded in 1998 as the Community Foundation of Bentonville, Bella Vista. In November, 1999, its purpose was expanded to include all of Northwest Arkansas and to serve as the lead public foundation operated in connection with CommunityCare Foundation Inc.