Forty Under 40: Jacob Roberts

Jacob Roberts says his life’s purpose is to help other people become successful and achieve their dreams, and he accomplishes this through mentoring, serving the community and focusing on relationships.

Now a senior executive recruiter at Stout Executive Search, Roberts says his work ethic and personal tenacity are the outgrowth of having observed the life of his 97-year-old grandfather, who survived as a prisoner of war during World War II and was married for more than 70 years.

“I believe if you’re genuinely interested in people’s lives and career, and doing things for the right reasons, things happen in a good way,” Roberts said. “I learned these values from my grandfather and have modeled myself after him.”

Roberts was raised in Fort Smith. While studying biology at the University of Arkansas, he took a job at the Dillard’s store in Rogers, where one of his customers was Marvelyn Stout.

After his graduation, Stout offered him a position at her firm, which recruits exclusively for supplier teams serving Wal-Mart Stores. Roberts was Rookie of the Year in 2011 and has since been named top producer three times. He earned pacesetter status to rank in the top 20% of recruiters nationally.

Through the firm’s inaugural sponsorship of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Roberts said he developed an artistic knowledge and appreciation, and is now an active supporter and promoter of the arts.

He is a career coach and since 2012 has served on the Northwest Arkansas Paint the Town Red committee, benefiting the American Heart Association. Roberts also has a friend with cystic fibrosis, which led to his being named one of the 2017 Finest Honorees for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a designation given to influential and successful young leaders in Northwest Arkansas.

Roberts is also a volunteer basketball coach at the Boys & Girls Club of Benton County.