Thursday Kudos: Dept. Of Education Chief Of Staff Leaving For School Boards Post

Moves at the Arkansas Department of Education, Walmart.com, Simmons First Trust and the State Board of Election Commissioners.

ADE CHIEF OF STAFF LEAVING FOR SCHOOL BOARDS POST
Phyllis Stewart, the chief of staff at the Arkansas Department of Education, is leaving her job by July 1 to become director of communications for the Arkansas School Boards Association.

Stewart will replace Suellen Vann, who is retiring. Stewart’s hire was announced Thursday in a letter from Dr. Tony Prothro, ASBA’s executive director, to ASBA’s Board of Directors.

Among Stewart’s duties at ADE is directing the department’s communications office, where she supervises eight staff members, and serving as the liaison to the State Board of Education.

Stewart was director of communications for the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators from 2005 until 2009. She previously served as executive assistant to the superintendent for the Pulaski County Special School District from 1987 to 2005.

(Steve Brawner prepared this report.)

WALMART.COM ADDS MARKETING VP
Brian Monahan, managing partner at Interpublic Group’s Magna Global, was named vice president of marketing for Walmart.com, the retailer said Tuesday (May 28).

Monahan will lead overall brand strategy and cross-channel marketing for Walmart.com and reports to Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Walmart.com U.S.

As managing partner heading Magna’s Intelligence Practice, Monahan led forecasting, insights and negotiation strategy across all media channels for IPG clients. He is credited with securing key partnerships with AOL, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.

(Kim Souza with TheCityWire.com prepared this report.)

SIMMONS FIRST TRUST PROMOTES TWO
Simmons First Trust Co. announced the promotions of Karen M. Cash and Glenda L. Dean to the position of Vice President.

Cash serves as a Manager of Retirement Plan Services and previously worked in the Employee Benefits area of the Trust company in Recordkeeping, Operations and Administration. She joined Simmons First in 1997 and has nearly 16 years of experience with the Trust company.

Dean has more than 29 years of experience with Simmons First with nearly half of her time with Simmons First Trust Company. She holds the position of Manager of Corporate Trust. Dean attended Henderson State University and is a graduate of the Cannon Financial Corporate Trust School and is a Certified Corporate Trust Specialist.

PEKRON NAMED TO TWO-YEAR TERM ON ELECTION BOARD
Chad Pekron was named by House Speaker Davy Carter to a two-year term on the State Board of Election Commissioners.

“Chad was one of the few people who expressed an interest to me in serving on the commission. He has an extremely impressive background including a B.A. in economics and political science and a law degree from Yale University. As a fellow attorney who is interested in the election process, I appreciate his willingness to serve our state.”