Profiles

A directory of Profiles for Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Awards

Forty Under 40: Preston Stewart

Preston Stewart’s parents like to cook. Growing up he was exposed to all sorts of homemade dishes. He liked to watch cooking shows on television, and by the time he…

Forty Under 40: Ian Starnes

Ian Starnes was a star quarterback in high school, and he knew his career path would lead him into business. His father, Rodger, was vice president of marketing and customer…

Forty Under 40: Kayla Spradling

Kayla Spradling appreciates the opportunities she was given when she started in banking and values being able to do the same for others. “I was given the chance to prove…

Forty Under 40: Dr. Keller Sims

The impact health care professionals had on Keller Sims and his nephew led him to pursue a career in physical therapy. When Sims was younger, his nephew had a brain…

Forty Under 40: Morgan Scholz

Morgan Scholz used a negative experience with human resources at a company to spur her desire to change the entire profession. “I realized what an important role [HR] is in…

Forty Under 40: Kyle Reynolds

Happenstance led Kyle Reynolds into the oil and gas industry. The Sheridan native was in law school at the University of Arkansas when Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. recruited him…

Forty Under 40: Stephanie Quillen

At 7 Brew, Stephanie Quillen is building a long-term human resources strategy with an employee culture rooted in growth, capability, and care for the 1,200 corporate employees in 34 states…

Ashley Pifer has spent her career ensuring water quality for the communities in which she’s worked. A Fayetteville native, Pifer specializes in disinfection and distribution system water quality and has…

Forty Under 40: Dr. Stephen Nix

Stephen Nix is not the doctor or even medical school professor that immediately comes to mind when imagining either. He earned a medical degree from the University of Arkansas for…

Forty Under 40: Zach Moore

Zach Moore was working toward a general business degree when he decided he wanted to get a specialized degree instead. His mother urged him to get a construction management degree,…

Forty Under 40: Matthew Mitchell

Baseball has provided Matthew Mitchell with many of the tools he uses in his professional life. During his childhood and teen years, he was an outfielder. Executing strategies, knowing…

Forty Under 40: Megan Lahay

Megan Lahay realized she wanted a future in banking at the young age of 18, going to college and working at Taco Bell. “I thought to myself, I need a…

Forty Under 40: Jayson Krisell

Jayson Krisell hurt his ankle his senior year of high school, and it prevented him from the sports he loved to play. He soon became interested in sports medicine and…

Forty Under 40: Dr. Joseph Pride Korkames

Joseph Pride Korkames has greatly expanded Famous Chili Co.’s national retail, food service and private label initiatives of the fourth-generation, family-run, Arkansas company, growing cases sold by 20% and revenue…

Forty Under 40: Dr. Adrienne Koder

Dr. Adrienne Koder tore her ACL when she was a teenager, fueling her desire to help people by becoming a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., Koder graduated from…

Forty Under 40: Zack Kifer

Zack Kifer got an early start in commercial real estate, starting when he was a junior in high school. He later worked for Flake & Kelley in Little Rock for…

Forty Under 40: Ali Johnson

Ali Johnson helped launch a mobile app at Fayetteville-based technology company Field Agent before taking a role in the nonprofit sector. “That’s where I started dipping my toe in the…

Forty Under 40: Dr. “Bow Tie” Todd Jenkins

Dr. “Bow Tie” Todd Jenkins was working on his dissertation when he noticed a phenomenon. He wore bow ties everywhere he went, and often people would ask him about them….

Forty Under 40: Anna Jacobs

Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Anna Jacobs always assumed she’d own a business. Her mother owns a family business that Jacobs’ grandfather started almost 70 years ago. Throughout her…

Forty Under 40: Alexander “Alex” Rollins Hoge

Alex Hoge’s leadership and commitment to leadership and innovation have been evident throughout his 13-year career at ArcBest. Hoge, who has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, started his career…