Walmart executive appointed chairman of Northwest Arkansas Technology Council

Bill Groves, chief data and analytics officer for Walmart, has been named chairman of the Northwest Arkansas Technology Council. The Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, which manages the Northwest Arkansas Technology Council, announced the appointment Tuesday (April 23).

Groves sees the potential for Northwest Arkansas to become a national hub for technologists from all disciplines, particularly data scientists, according to a news release. As chairman, Groves will have the opportunity to create a community group in which globally influential tech executives from the region and from all business levels can come together to discuss strategic initiatives to help him realize his vision.

“Northwest Arkansas is ripe to become a hub for deep technologists and data scientists because of the diverse group of large employers — Walmart, Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt, Arvest Bank, Mercy, Simmons Foods and multiple startups in retail, finance and supply chain tech — with operations in need of digital and analytical talent to grow their businesses,” Groves said. “Along with the major employers, the [Northwest Arkansas] Council and the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber recognize both the need for tech talent across the region and the opportunity that our region’s high quality of life, low cost of living equation offers.”

The Northwest Arkansas Technology Council is in its sixth year and has been focused on grassroots community education related to technology. Before Grove became chief data and analytics officer for Walmart he worked at FICO, comScore, D&B, Solera Holdings and Honeywell. He’s also served on boards of Buro de Credito and BizEquity. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from the University of Delaware.