Darin Gray Named President of CJRW

Springdale businessman Darin Gray was announced Wednesday morning as president of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, the state’s largest advertising, marketing, and public relations firm.

The appointment is effective immediately, according to a news release.

Gray, 49, resigned as CEO of Gray Matters LLC on Feb. 10. Gray Matters is the parent company of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, which became solely owned by Gray Matters in August after operating under joint ownership since 2004.

Wayne Woods, who made the announcement at CJRW headquarters in downtown Little Rock, will continue as chairman and CEO of the firm. Woods had been president of the agency since December 2003, and was also named chairman and CEO in December 2010.

“When we learned that Darin was looking to explore other opportunities beyond the success he has had with the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal and Gray Matters, we approached him to gauge his interest in joining us,” Woods said in a news release. “We were thrilled that he was as interested in the opportunity as we were with him. This is a great day in our history and a great day for our clients and professional staff.”

CJRW, founded in 1961, also has offices in Dallas and in Johnson in Washington County. Gray will continue to live in Springdale with his wife, Tami, and son, Caleb, according to the release, and split his time between Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas.

In addition to the Business Journal, Gray Matters publishes Northwest Arkansas Guest Guide, Northwest Arkansas Newcomers Guide and the Northwest Arkansas Book of Lists; seasonal supplements include the Northwest Arkansas How To Guide, Northwest Arkansas Business Resource Guide and the Northwest Arkansas Outsource Guide.

Gray Matters owns nwabusinessjournal.com, hosts prominent annual events for best-in-class professionals — Forty Under 40 and Fast 15 — as well as the A-List, an event designed to honor excellence in the residential real estate industry.

“The cliché that ‘timing is everything’ certainly applies in this case,” Gray explained in the news release. “At the time my family and I were talking through ‘what’s next?’ CJRW reached out to me. A casual conversation became a serious discussion and here we are today. I have long had deep respect for the agency, its founders and principals, and what it has meant to the business community and the entire state. They have been involved in every business sector and have set the standard for communications excellence. I am honored to become part of its executive leadership team.”

Woods said naming a president of the firm was part of a process that was on-going for several months.

He added that it was difficult to imagine someone more widely respected and admired around the state than Gray.

“During the process, we identified a number of qualities that we wanted in a president,” Woods said. “Chief among them are executive experience in managing a multi-faceted business, proven leadership qualities, a working knowledge of Northwest Arkansas, and a deep understanding of the Arkansas business community and the state in general. We knew what we wanted; we just didn’t know who that was.

“But we came to realize that we were not just describing the qualities we wanted in a president, but we were describing Darin Gray.”

As president, Gray becomes a member of CJRW’s executive committee and its board of directors. Continuing to serve on the executive committee will be Wayne Woods, chairmen emeriti Wayne Cranford and Shelby Woods, and Steve Allen, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

The Woods brothers will continue to be involved in day-to-day operations of the agency, but fully anticipate that Gray will take on an expanding leadership role moving forward.

Gray began his professional career in the economic development arena while working for the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission. He also spent several years working in the chamber of commerce industry including a stint as the economic developer for the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce.

While serving in the economic development sector, Gray attended and graduated from the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute and the Arkansas Community Development Institute.

Gray is a past chairman of the Arkansas State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission. He is also a founding member of the Northwest Arkansas CEO Forum and currently serves as a board member of the Center for Missions Mobilization.

He previously served as a board member of the Roger-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce as well as the secretary/treasurer of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce.

In 2007, Gray earned his private pilot’s license and later added his instrument and multi-engine ratings. In 2012, Gray served as the moderator for the first ever Arkansas/Oklahoma joint Aerospace Conference.

Gray has cultivated a long list of professional relationships for more than three decades, beginning in high school, when he was elected governor of Arkansas Boys State in 1982, and continuing at the University of Arkansas, where he was elected president of the Associated Student Government and president of the Statewide Student Government Association.

At the UA, he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and a minor in political science.