Forty Under 40: Marilyn Gottsponer

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) 309 views 

Marilyn Gottsponer, 36, grew up in Plainview (Yell County) and earned a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness from Arkansas Tech University in 1989.

For the next five and a half years, Gottsponer worked at Tyson Foods’ poultry processing facility in Dardanelle, where she served as training and development manager.

In 1994, Gottsponer and her family moved to Siloam Springs, and she went to work as a staffing supervisor for Brewer Personnel Services. She later became a branch manager.

In 1996, Brewer and five other companies merged to form StaffMark Inc.

The following year, Gottsponer became area manager for StaffMark’s Rogers and Siloam Springs’ offices. In 1998, she was promoted to general manager for Northwest Arkansas.

In June of 2000, StaffMark Inc. sold its commercial staffing division to Stephens Group Inc. of Little Rock.

In August 2000, Gottsponer became director of operations for Staffmark LLC overseeing Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. A year later, she became vice president of operations over the central division, which encompasses much of the central United States.

Gottsponer, who is now a certified “professional in human resources,” said passion and balance are essential to success.