Forty Under 40: Heath Ward

Even though he grew up around plenty of chicken houses in Murfreesboro, Heath Ward never planned to work in the poultry industry. After graduating from the University of Arkansas in 1991 with a degree in political science, Ward entered the U.S. Army as a tank officer. During his first six months of service as a newly minted lieutenant, Wards battalion ranked his tank first in the battle group.

After his military service ended in 1996, Tyson Foods of Springdale hired Ward as a maintenance supervisor for its plant in Sedalia, Mo. He returned to Northwest Arkansas in 1998 as a preventive maintenance manager for Cargill in Springdale.

Ward applied the operational readiness and reliability principles he learned in the Army to Cargills maintenance processes, and in 2004 Cargill recognized his department as one of six world-class maintenance and reliability programs out of all the companys operations in 61 countries.

Ward, who volunteers with the Childrens Safety Center, on the Springdale Chamber of Commerce board of directors. He likes to spend much of his free time hunting outdoors. Wards long-term goal is to one day become a general manager of a Cargill facility.