Fast 15: Johnny Galloway

Johnny Galloway may be a born-and-bred Texan, but he has heeded Northwest Arkansas’ call twice. The first time to earn a degree. The second time to reinvent his career during a global pandemic.

Galloway was born and raised in Houston proper, but when it was time to go to college, he chose the University of Arkansas. His father’s side of the family is from Stuttgart, and he recalled spending many holidays in south Arkansas.

“I grew up sort of an auxiliary Razorback fan,” he quipped.

Galloway graduated magna cum laude from the UA in 2019 with finance and accounting degrees. His girlfriend and high school sweetheart graduated the same year from Ole Miss, and they both moved back to Houston to begin their careers.

Galloway parlayed a college internship into full-time work as an Ernst & Young (EY) analyst, performing due diligence for collateral as part of the commercial mortgage-backed securities team.

He said he learned several hard skills working for EY that broadly apply to jobs across many fields. When the pandemic arrived, he worked from home. His girlfriend-turned-fiancée worked in the hospitality sector. Not surprisingly, Galloway began rethinking their situation.

“I loved working at EY, but I was thinking about changing careers,” he recalled. “But the main thing was [I wanted] to move back to Northwest Arkansas. When the pandemic hit, we were like, ‘Let’s get outta here.’”

Sage Partners, one of the state’s key commercial real estate players, hired Galloway as a brokerage analyst in August 2021. He was promoted to broker in January 2022, and his star is rising. In his first year, Galloway sold or leased approximately 230,000 square feet and sold more than 80 acres in land transactions. His most notable deal was representing the buyer in a $14.05 million purchase of a Bentonville office park.

His colleagues say his most significant value is understanding how to underwrite deals while being a creative thinker. Galloway said he always wants to be prepared and dedicates most of his time studying the market.

His best business advice to other young professionals?

“If you think something is a good opportunity, go for it. Even if you’re unsure it’s exactly what you want to do. Every job is going to give you valuable experience.”