McLaughlin Named SBDC Director at UA

The Small Business Development Center in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas has named Gary McLaughlin as center director. He replaced Lance Sexton, who left that job after six years to become a vice president/commercial loan officer at Simmons First Bank in Springdale on Jan. 1.

McLaughlin spent the last six years working for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, serving for the last year as vice president, international tax.

“I had a great job at Wal-Mart,” McLaughlin said. “I just thought it would be a great opportunity to come down and help small businesses.”

Prior to Wal-Mart, he worked for 25 years for Conoco Inc. and affiliates, with two and one-half years as director and general manager of administration and executive management for Conoco (UK) Ltd. and subsidiaries in London, England.

After his career with Conoco, McLaughlin returned to his hometown of Woodward, Okla., “and farmed for awhile.” He then earned an MBA from the Walton College, where he worked as a graduate assistant in the SBDC.

The Arkansas SBDC, which consists of seven centers, is part of a national network of more than 1,000 offices that provide training, information and consulting services to existing and potential business owners.

The SBDC network is the largest small business assistance program in the United States.