Then and Now: McDaniel returns to NWA to run Alice Walton’s foundation

Reuben McDaniel has come full circle. He grew up in Austin, Texas, and in 1995, as a young investment banker with a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas, moved to Fayetteville to head up Alice Walton’s investment bank, Llama Company.

The bank financed investment projects around the state, including the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (now Northwest Arkansas National Airport). In 1997, he was named to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s inaugural Forty Under 40 class.

In 1999, McDaniel left Northwest Arkansas for Atlanta, where he was president and CEO of Jackson Securities for 11 years. He was then elected chairman of the board for Atlanta Public Schools and served there for four years.

A stint at RM Capital Management followed, before moving to New York as managing director at Raymond James. In 2019, he was appointed by then Gov. Andrew Cuomo to be president and CEO of the Dormitory Authority-State of New York (DASNY), New York State’s public finance and construction authority that builds housing and medical facilities for state projects and is a national leader in the municipal bond market. In McDaniel’s tenure, the organization issued bonds worth about $40 billion.

In his work with DASNY, McDaniel reconnected with Alice Walton, and she persuaded him to move back to Northwest Arkansas to run her foundation in Bentonville. In October 2023, he became managing director of the Alice L. Walton Foundation, which is her commitment to “increasing access to the arts, improving education, enhancing health and advancing economic opportunity for all,” according to its website. Her philanthropies include Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Momentary, the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, Art Bridges Foundation and the Heartland Whole Health Institute.

“Alice has always been interested both in the region and in solving some big problems. So back in the ‘90s, I worked with her in solving transportation here, and the airport was the big project at that time,” he said. “Now she’s recognized that people in the Midwest don’t have access to the best health care or to the best art and culture experiences. And so, her goal is to build out a whole world-class medical facility and world-class art community.”

As managing director, McDaniel’s responsibilities include completing Walton’s medical school and its student housing; managing the foundation’s more than $300 million commitment in partnership with Mercy and Cleveland Clinic to expand access to health care in the heartland; Crystal Bridges museum’s expansion; and supporting area nonprofits like the Boys and Girls Club, the women’s shelter and the food bank expansion.

A self-described clear communicator and quick decision-maker, McDaniel is most proud of the work he did in financing and building the airport.

“No one who comes in today knows how fragile it was to get it done and how difficult it was; and what a visionary Alice had to be to buy the property and say, out in the middle of nowhere we’ll build this airport, and things will grow to it. It is one of my proudest financings ever,” he said.

Passionate about K-12 education, he’s also proud of the impact he made leading the Atlanta School Board.

“It’s such a joy to see kids who come from all different backgrounds, coalesce around learning, community and athletics. It really says to me that no matter what walk of life you come from, if you get on the right path education-wise, then really the world is at your feet,” he said. “It’s so important to me to help kids do the best they can do and have opportunities.”

McDaniel credits his success to working hard and treating people with kindness “whether they’re your boss or someone who’s working for you or someone out on the street.”

“The stake I planted here in Northwest Arkansas when I was a Forty Under 40, I never would’ve expected it would have led to running Alice Walton’s foundation 25 years later. So, you can’t predict where you will get in life, but as long as you build those blocks and don’t burn bridges and take the opportunities, good things happen.”