Profiles

A directory of Profiles for Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Awards

Forty Under 40: Brent McGruder

Brent McGruder, 39, grew up in southwest Missouri and earned a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Arkansas in 1984. As a college junior, McGruder went to work…

Forty Under 40: Milan Milatovic

Milan Milatovic, 32, was born and raised in the former Yugoslavia. After studying French in school, he moved to the United States in 1987 with a vocabulary of about 200…

Forty Under 40: Julie Mitchell

Julie Mitchell, 39, has spent all but two years of her adult life in the travel business in Northwest Arkansas. A month-long backpacking trip in Europe during her senior year…

Forty Under 40: David Mix

David Mix, 39, has approached the real estate business like a golf tournament. He’s in it to win. And though he’s been very successful on the links of Northwest Arkansas,…

Forty Under 40: Gregg Ogden

Gregg Ogden returned to Fayetteville to run the family business in 1996, following stints in Dallas and Atlanta as a hole-in-one insurance salesman. But his greatest ace was yet to…

Forty Under 40: Corey Osborne

Corey Osborne, 30, moved the headquarters of Shakey’s Frozen Custard from Joplin, Mo., to Fayetteville in March. This fall, he plans to begin an expansion that will eventually take the…

Forty Under 40: Kay Palmer

Realizing the impact her department has in day-to-day operations on both her employer and her customers makes every day an exciting one for Kay Palmer. Palmer, 38, is the chief…

Forty Under 40: Jonell Sabbe

Jonell Sabbe says traveling is her favorite hobby, but the best trip she’s taken may have been the one where she returned to Northwest Arkansas. Sabbe, 33, lived out of…

Forty Under 40: Phil Schoettlin

As chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas’ 3rd District Committee, Phil Schoettlin has seen a metamorphosis in Northwest Arkansas. Since 1990 when he got involved in local politics, the…

Forty Under 40: Jim Singleton

A native of Gravette, Jim Singleton knows farming. And after nearly 18 years in banking, he knows a little bit about that, too. Singleton’s combined talents are why Arvest Bank…

Forty Under 40: Jim Smith

Jim Smith took a huge career step in 2000 when he moved from Little Rock to Northwest Arkansas to open the first Friday, Eldridge, and Clark Law Firm office outside…

Forty Under 40: Tonya Smith

When Dr. Tonya Smith opened her pediatric dental office in May 1999, she permanently filled her dance card. Every month, more than 500 patients ages 1-18 swivel in and out…

Forty Under 40: Arthur Thurman

Arthur Thurman earned a bachelor’s degree in finance management from the University of Arkansas in 1984. He had already started graduate school in 1985, when the U.S. Comptroller of the…

Forty Under 40: J. Max Van Hoose

J. Max Van Hoose’s title as director of construction and equipment at Harps Foods Stores Inc. hardly tells the story. Van Hoose, 33, is a versatile player for the Springdale…

Forty Under 40: Steve Voyak

In 1996, after three years of talk-news radio and nine years of newspaper reporting, Steve Voyak switched journalistic gears. Rather than report news to the public, Voyak became the director…

Forty Under 40: Tina Waggener

As executive director of The Cancer Challenge in Northwest Arkansas, Tina Waggener said she sees the best side of people. “There couldn’t be more satisfaction than working with people who…

Forty Under 40: Kerry Watkins

It took Kerry Watkins only three years to become a chartered financial analyst, a feat that takes most analysts another year or two. Raised on her family’s Greenland farm, the…

Forty Under 40: Karen Williams

As owner of a State Farm insurance agency, Karen Williams works with folks from every industry. The 37-year-old said her outgoing personality helps her communicate with customers from different backgrounds….

Forty Under 40: Bart Allard

As a partner at Lundy, Allard and Co., Bart Allard oversees all the company’s accounts and helps inform and educate his clients. Allard, 34, said he always knew he wanted…

Forty Under 40: Shannon Boyd

As senior vice president of integration for one-year-old Transplace.com, Shannon Boyd’s goal at work is to relieve the stress and concerns of his company’s clients. Transplace is an Internet-based supply…