Forty Under 40: Carson Roncketto

Carson Roncketto was looking for a change when she joined Creative as chief operating officer in August 2017.

After working in the nonprofit sector, the North Little Rock native sought a role in which she could have an impact and be on a team with creative people. Through a leadership program in Fayetteville, she connected with a Creative owner before joining the branded merchandise agency.

In her role, she oversees the daily and strategic operations of the company. She supports the team of seven employees to ensure they have the resources to be at their best when serving its nearly 200 clients, such as Walmart, Ropeswing Hospitality Group and Simmons Foods. She also works directly with clients.

The company produces branded merchandise programs, such as retail collections for e-commerce or uniform programs for grocery stores and custom work, including graduation kits for University of Arkansas graduates.

In 2018, Roncketto helped to re-engineer the 20-year-old company.

“We didn’t want to produce cheap promotional products that ultimately ended up being tossed in the trash, ending up in a landfill,” she said. “Our tagline is product with purpose.”

The company spent about six months making changes, including restructuring, moving into a new office and evaluating client mix. In 2020, it received the Gold Pyramid Award for creative excellence, the top award of Promotional Products Association International.

Before Creative, Roncketto was chief learning officer of nonprofit Circles USA and worked there for three years. She also was a program director for the University of Phoenix for nearly four years and received an MBA while there.

Roncketto serves on the board of directors for PromoKitchen and is involved with Accelerate Leadership Forum.