Profiles

A directory of Profiles for Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Awards

Forty Under 40: Jake Haak

Jake Haak recently accepted the position of chief financial officer for Rogers Public Schools, after spending five years in a similar role with Gravette Public Schools. He is one of…

Forty Under 40: Kellie Holmes

Kellie Holmes’ role as a vice president and credit analyst manager is not only critical to loan operations at Legacy National Bank, she is also founder of the bank’s “Legacy…

Forty Under 40: Rex Holstein

The scale of Rex Holstein’s job is difficult to grasp. He leads teams to make sure Tyson Foods procures the best market prices for commodity items — grains, cooking oil,…

Forty Under 40: Sarah Hood

Sarah Hood surprised her parents when the natural-born storyteller with a lifelong love of the English language opted to pursue an accounting degree. Not long into her academic career at…

Forty Under 40: John M. James

John James wrote his first computer program when he was 6 years old. Yeah, he was that kid. His self-deprecating way of describing his teen years is that he wasn’t…

Forty Under 40: Eileen Jennings

After high school, Eileen Jennings’ only career aspiration was to be a clothing designer. The St. Paul, Arkansas, native had been sewing since age 9 and could not imagine she…

Forty Under 40: Erin Kyle

Erin Kyle was 16 when her father died from complications due to a stroke, in part due to poor lifestyle choices. Watching him struggle, she said, opened her eyes. “I…

Forty Under 40: Melisa Laelan

Melisa Laelan is the nation’s only certified court interpreter for Marshallese. She served 10 years in the U.S. Army and reached the rank of sergeant before she settled in Northwest…

Forty Under 40: Meredith Lowry

Meredith Lowry doesn’t see any limit to what Northwest Arkansas can become. As one of the area’s leading intellectual property lawyers, Lowry helps inventors, entrepreneurs and companies obtain patent, trademark…

Forty Under 40: Matthew McClure

Frozen dinners and Pop-Tarts were never served in Matthew McClure’s childhood home. Both parents liked to cook and used fresh foods. McClure always had a comfortable grip on cooking as…

Forty Under 40: J.R. Meeks

During the dozen years J.R. Meeks has worked at Chambers Bank, the peaks have been magnificent and the valleys deep. He joined the bank, which his great-grandfather founded, while finishing…

Forty Under 40: Dean Morris

Dean Morris learned about the credit card industry from the bottom up. When he was just a teenager, he sat in the back office at his dad’s company, Community Bankers…

Forty Under 40: Misty Murphy

Misty Murphy’s longtime passions for public service and biking came together last September when she started her work at the Northwest Arkansas Council. And the crowning achievement of her career…

Forty Under 40: Marcus Necessary

Marcus Necessary enjoyed a quick rise in the Northwest Arkansas real estate market to become the top overall agent at Weichert Realtors-The Griffin Co. in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. He…

Forty Under 40: Sach Oliver

Sach Oliver grew up on a cattle farm in north Arkansas, graduated as valedictorian from Viola High School and was later student government president at Arkansas State University. It was…

Forty Under 40: Rafael “Buck” Ortega Jr.

You know you’ve made it when you have your own Wikipedia page. Just ask Buck Ortega. The former NFL journeyman and University of Miami tight end has had a charmed…

Forty Under 40: Jonathan Perrodin

He was told to “do what you do” by a man he respected, and took the advice. For Jonathan Perrodin, that meant giving himself the freedom and flexibility to follow…

Forty Under 40: Mike Rush

Mike Rush didn’t make the cut for his eighth grade basketball team, so his coach told him to try track. He went out and beat the ninth-graders in sprints and…

Forty Under 40: Thuy Rushing

Thuy (pronounced “twee”) Rushing knows a thing or two about big brands. Her entire career in retail has been built on The Hershey Co., the largest chocolate manufacturer in the…

Forty Under 40: Hamilton Seale Moriarty

On the surface, learning the Russian language and representing a global brand have nothing in common. But having done both, Hamilton Seale Moriarty knows better. Being good at either one…