Forty Under 40: Max Shaw

Max Shaw plans to build Infinity Worlds to be synonymous with the top-tier sales agencies in Northwest Arkansas. He envisions the parent company, The Bar Code Group, as synonymous with national retail excellence.

“We’re just getting started,” he said. “We’ve got private equity money now. We’ve made multiple acquisitions over the past two years, and we’re looking to buy more.”

High-capacity and action-oriented, Shaw oversees the health and wellness division, has grown the business by 84%, manages $500 million in revenue and helped take the company from seven to 25 employees.

Shaw was 12 when he moved to Springdale from Dallas with his grandparents, who raised him. Working to put himself through the University of Arkansas, he graduated in 2006 in supply chain management with a minor in real estate finance.

Shaw worked as a logistics engineer and senior implementation manager for J.B. Hunt. Wanting to break into the supplier community, he became a sales analyst for Rich Products in 2013, senior category analyst, and key account manager in 2016, where he managed over $20 million across multiple categories.

He closed the company’s single-largest deal, a Take ’N Bake Pizza program to Sam’s Club. In 2017, he became a national account manager for Pinnacle Foods before joining Infinity Worlds as a national account manager in 2018.

“I wanted a more entrepreneurial, fast-paced brokerage model where I represented a lot of companies,” he said. In 2020, he became vice president of sales.

He develops his entrepreneurial skills running a $5 million rental property business.

Shaw is a board member for Rogers nonprofit Micah’s House and volunteers with the American Diabetes Association.