Forty Under 40: Shelley Simpson

Like a lot of University of Arkansas graduates in the mid-1990s, Shelley Simpson targeted the “big three” when she went looking for a job.

She ended up at J.B. Hunt.

“I didn’t really know that I would be here long term,” Simpson said. “But doors opened.”
One door changed Simpson’s life. That was in 2006, when J.B. Hunt’s executive leadership team was searching for ways to promote long-term growth.

Thus, Integrated Capacity Solutions was born. The offshoot division connects customers with carriers.

“When we looked at the industry and what was available,” Simpson said, “it was just a huge marketplace that we weren’t in.”

ICS began with 18 employees. Now there are 350, including 50 in 11 field offices spread across the United States, and its recent success is staggering. Revenues of more than $200 million in 2008 reflected a jump of more than 100 percent from 2007.

J.B. Hunt executive vice president Kay J. Palmer deemed Simpson “an exemplary model for business leaders of any age.”

Simpson, 37, balances her business duties with those that come with being the mother of six children, including three under the age of nine. Like their mother, Simpson’s children maintain a busy calendar, filled with youth sports activities.

“You name it,” Simpson said, “they’re in it.”