Forty Under 40: Michelle Fittro

After graduating with an advertising degree in 2002, Michelle Fittro said finding a job at an ad agency was nearly impossible. So, she went to work as a bank teller.

From 2003 to 2004, the Chicago area native worked at National City Bank, now PNC Bank, in Illinois, and worked her way up to handling branch operations.

Between 2004 and 2007, she lived in Springfield, Missouri, and worked as resource development and marketing manager for Ozarks Area Community Action Corp., a nonprofit organization. She created and coordinated a poverty summit aimed at raising awareness about those living in poverty and providing information about resources for those in need.

In 2007, she moved to Northwest Arkansas and landed a position as marketing manager for Arvest Bank’s Bentonville market.

In 2009, she started handling marketing for the Kansas City area after Arvest purchased a 50-year-old bank there. A career highlight was establishing a marketing department there, reaching out to a market with 3 million people.

“Everything we tried was new,” she said. “No one really knew what an Arvest was.” But that changed by the time she’d returned to Northwest Arkansas as vice president and marketing manager.

Since summer 2014, she has overseen marketing for the Benton County area, which also includes Carroll County, McDonald County, Missouri, and Barry County, Missouri.

Some of her favorite volunteer work includes being an executive board member for Bentonville Library Foundation, Northwest Arkansas Emerging Leaders and Northwest Arkansas YP Summit.

Fittro enjoys taking day trips to go exploring and checking out new restaurants and area farmers markets.