Forty Under 40: Ross Phillips

Ross Phillips grew up in Greenland and attended the University of Central Arkansas. He never imagined returning to Northwest Arkansas after graduating college, but that attitude softened over time while making several trips home during his time in Conway.

“You could start to see some of the talent and the quality of life taking shape,” he said. “I could see myself raising a family and putting down some roots here.”

Phillips earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations and marketing from UCA in 2011. Then he moved back and worked in director/manager roles for My Brother’s Salsa and Mount Sequoyah before landing the chamber of commerce job in 2017.

He initially interviewed for a job as special events coordinator — a role for which chamber officials told him he was overqualified. They steered him toward a career in community development, where he’s earned two promotions and joined the chamber’s senior leadership team in November 2020.

Phillips’ strategic role is to help the chamber stay relevant through current and future planning. He organizes and manages the chamber’s various leadership programs. Implementing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives into the chamber’s planning is a significant focus right now.

He describes leadership like this: “I would never ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself.”

Phillips said he feels a stronger personal connection to his work since August 2020, when he and his wife welcomed their first child.

“By making a better place for my family, it’s going to make it a better place for other families as well,” he said.

In 2020, the Association for Chamber of Commerce Executives awarded Phillips with its 40 Under 40 Award, meant to highlight emerging leaders in the chamber of commerce industry.