Forty Under 40: Leslie Lentz

Don’t call it an overnight success story. Leslie Lentz’s climb to the top was years in the making.

The founder of Lentz & Co., a sales and consulting firm for Walmart and Sam’s Club vendors, Lentz charted out a methodical path and followed it. 

A bachelor’s degree and then an MBA. Proctor & Gamble, Del Monte Foods, Spectrum Brands, and over five years as Walmart team lead for Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprungli.

After 15 years in the trenches, the Decatur native started her own company out of the basement of her home last year. She’s since moved the outfit to a prominent address on Osage Springs Drive in Rogers, and is in the process of expanding the office.

“I wanted to be an entrepreneur since I was little,” she said. “I knew if I didn’t do it now I probably never would. I felt a calling to do something new and unique.”

A big piece of the Lentz & Co. equation is that the firm is woman-owned and provides the flexibility a woman needs. In practice, that means a mother can work there, raise a family and still compete in the high-stakes world of placing products on Walmart’s shelves.

“You shouldn’t have to miss out on soccer because of work,” said Lentz, herself a mother of two.

Of running her own business, Lentz said she’s up for the task.

“I’m all in and I’m not going to worry about it,” she said. “I have no fear.”