Forty Under 40: Jennifer Travis

When Jennifer Travis joined Tyson Foods as a University of Arkansas student, the Springdale native didn’t think she would have remained with the company for 18 years.

Travis started with the Springdale-based meat company as an intern. She earned bachelor’s degrees in marketing and transportation and logistics in December 2005.

“Tyson has been a really good organization, and I’ve had a lot of great opportunities,” she said. “I’m driven and passionate about continued learning, growth and development. I’ve had the opportunity to move with the organization to Charlotte [N.C.], central Pennsylvania, New Jersey and then back to Arkansas now for six years.”

In 2006, she became a marketing assistant in Springdale before transitioning to business development manager in Charlotte in August 2007. She moved back to work as a customer category planning manager before relocating to become category insights manager in Pennsylvania. She was customer development manager and team leader in New Jersey. In August 2015, she returned to Springdale as senior customer development manager and director of customer development.

In May, she was promoted to her current role, leading a team of 12 employees responsible for account management of sales to Walmart of fresh beef, pork and poultry. Internally, she also leads groups on mentorship and people development strategies.

Adaptability, receptiveness and taking risks to achieve growth have been keys to her success. “‘To be successful, sometimes you have to get uncomfortable,’” someone told her early in her career.

While she expects to remain in her current role for several years, her next position might be outside of retail or direct customer teams.

Travis supports the Northwest Arkansas Metsquerade and CASA of Northwest Arkansas. She enjoys live music and Broadway shows.