|
Article Excerpt
Jay Barber
Eric Barnes
Mark Bethell
Tom Carlson
Joe Carter
David Cassinelli
J.J. Childers
Boyd Corley
W. Cary Curzon
C. Ann Fleming
James Gardner
Michael Garrett
Rick George
J. C. Halsell
Paul Hart
Colette Honorable
Alan Jessup
Aaron Jones
Walter Kimbrough
Stephen I. LaFrance Jr.
Craig Lair
Kimberly Lane
Ed Lynck
Mike J. Lloyd
Clay Mercer
John R. Monroe
Lena Moore
Tevian Rose
Robert "Bo" Ryall Jr.
Patrick Schueck
Julie Sill
Derrick Smith
Sylvester Smith
Jeff Stinson
David Straessle
Cindy Thyer
Pattie Weed
Chris Wewers
Jay Wisener
Jeff Yates
Dear Readers,
They get younger every year, don't they? For the past 13 years, Arkansas Business has used "40 Under 40" to introduce you to young business and professional leaders from across our state. This is one of our most popular features, and I guarantee nominations for next year will be flowing in before the end of the week.
This year's class is as varied and fascinating as ever, ranging from a 27-year-old who started a networking organization for other young professionals to a 39-year-old who is running a historic college. Some are the children of prominent business names; others are modern-day Horatio Alger stories.
The young men and women you see profiled in these pages were selected by the Arkansas Business editorial staff from hundreds of nominations. We make no claim that these are "the most" impressive or "the most" promising young leaders in the state, but we do think their accomplishments are impressive and their futures exceedingly bright. And we think these are players that Arkansas Business readers should be getting to know.
As you read through these short profiles, you may think of someone who would fit right in. If so, you can go ahead and drop a nomination for 2007 at www.arkansasbusiness.com/nominate.
Jay Barber
39
Senior Vice President
First Arkansas Bank & Trust
Jacksonville
Jay Barber began looking at banking as a career while in college. Having family friends and family members in the business helped influence his decision. "It dawned on me that banking would be a way to help people, to interact with all sorts of people and learn about a lot different kinds of businesses," he said.
Barber joined National Bank of Commerce in Memphis in 1989 after graduating from Harding University at Searcy with a bachelor's degree in economics/management.
After a five-year stint with NBC as vice president of leasing, he went to work for First Security Bank of Searcy as vice president of lending.
The White County native worked at First Security Bank until he left in 1994 to acquire his own business.
When that deal fell through, Barber returned to banking, joining First Arkansas Bank & Trust in Jacksonville. He is senior vice president and chief credit officer at the bank.
He is a 1998 recipient of the Outstanding Young Men of America Award. His civic and volunteer work includes serving as a board member at White County Group Homes and a youth sports coach.
Eric Barnes
32
Controller, Chief Accounting Officer
Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc.
Springdale
In 1997, after getting an accounting degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and then a master's degree in economics, Eric Barnes was looking for an economics job. A friend told him of a need at AERT, and he's been there ever since.
He has seen the company overcome its early financial challenges by persevering with quality products to the point that today the company is trying to keep up with the demand. The company has grown, and so has Barnes' accounting department--from three when he joined AERT to the current 12. And he's seen company sales rise to $87 million last year from $8 million in 1997.
A member of the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants, Barnes does volunteer accounting work for the Association of Baptist Students at the UA. He also has been an instructor of economics at NorthWest Arkansas Community College at Bentonville.
An assistant Sunday school teacher, he strives to follow Jesus' commandments to love God first and then love others.
"It's not just about machinery or products, but people," Barnes said. "Our focus on people will drive our success."
Mark Bethell
36
Administrator/Chief Operating Officer
Northwest Medical Center
Bentonville
Mark Bethell wanted to be a doctor, but he couldn't get past chemistry. he did the next best thing: He became a hospital administrator. 2005, the 36-year-old Austin, Texas, native left a 255-bed hospital in Monroe, La., as chief operating officer to come to Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville, a 127-bed facility with about $75 million in annual revenue.
As administrator/COO, Bethell can often be found strolling the hospital's halls and chatting with some of the hospital's 550-member staff.
His management philosophy is to lead by example and manage by walking around. Bethell said staff members have great ideas and the only way to "pick their brains is to actually go visit them."
He has expanded the hospital's cardiovascular program and overseen several programs that target childhood obesity and peripheral vascular disease.
In 1998, Bethell received a master's of health services administration from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Bethell serves on the board of directors of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce. He also is on the board of directors for the YMCA.
"I like to get out and be a part of the community," Bethell said.
Tom Carlson
36
Executive Vice President
Waschka Capital Investments
Little Rock
Tom Carlson was on his way to an engineering degree from Iowa State University at Ames, but a field trip his junior year caused him to decide the engineering workplace wasn't for him.
Instead, Carlson channeled his love of numbers into a new major: finance. "I have always liked math," he said.
In 1993, Carlson joined John Hancock Financial Services in West Des Moines, Iowa. In Des Moines, he moved to Smith Barney as an investment consulting analyst from 1994-97 and LMC Co. as a portfolio manager from 1997-99.
Carlson, who grew up in Grinnell, Iowa, came to Little Rock in 1999 as a vice president and portfolio manager with Banc of America Capital Management. He also served as a team leader of the Little Rock private bank investments office.
In 2004, Carlson was hired by Waschka Capital Investments, now a division of Metropolitan National Bank. He serves as executive vice president, treasurer and senior portfolio manager with the firm.
His volunteer resume includes work with Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers, the Arthritis Foundation of Arkansas, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Arkansas and the Central Arkansas Rescue Effort.
Joe Carter
37
President
Cornerstone Insurance Group
Little Rock
Conversation during a church ski trip helped reroute Joe Carter's career track. The Little Rock native was weighing a job offer from Xerox when the topic shifted to the insurance business.
"One thing led to another," Carter said. In 1995, he joined Little Rock's Newell & Co. as a benefits specialist and two years later moved to Guardian Life Insurance Co., rising to Little Rock district manager.
In 2001, Guardian named Carter regional group pension specialist in Birmingham, Ala. He left Alabama in 2002 to become vice president of marketing for Sherwood-based Delta Dental Plan of Arkansas.
Carter was hired as vice president of sales and marketing with NovaSys Health in 2003. In 2005, he formed his own firm, Cornerstone Insurance Group.
Over the years, Carter has taught employee benefits classes as an instructor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Little Rock native graduated from UALR in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in management.
Carter served in the Arkansas Air National Guard from 1988-97, ending his military stint as a crew chief on F-16 fighters. He supports the Arkansas Foodbank Network and is an active volunteer for Camp Aldersgate.
David Cassinelli
35
President and Owner
Interstate Vending Inc.
North Little Rock
David Cassinelli, 35, said he always knew he wanted to own a business. After all, he began working for his father in the 65-year-old family business when he was just 14 years old, spending his summers and school breaks driving trucks and anything else he could do to help out.
"I grew up in the business," he said.
In 1941, Interstate Vending Inc. was originally Little Rock Amusement, which sold jukeboxes and pool tables locally and was headed by Cassinelli's grandfather. His father then led the company when, in 1980, it became a full-line vendor for snack, beverage and food programs serving central Arkansas offices and campuses.
The North Little Rock native graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and worked at Interstate Vending until purchasing the business when his father retired in 2003. He took over as president and owner of the company, which has grown to 18 employees. Cassinelli enjoys handling everything involved in the business.
"I wear a lot of different hats," Cassinelli said. "It keeps me on my toes."
His key to success has been building relationships with customers and ensuring good service, he said.
He coaches American Legion baseball in his spare time.
J.J. Childers
36
President and Owner
Profit Publishing Group Inc.
Little Rock
J.J. Childers, 36, always wanted to be a teacher. Following the lead of his father, who worked in real estate investing before teaching it, Childers went to law school intent on someday educating small-business owners.
He earned a bachelor's degree from Harding University at Searcy in 1992, then a law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
After school, he landed his first teaching job with Seattle-based Wade Cook Financial Corp., where he taught individual investors and small-business owners about tax and asset protection planning.
He left the company in 1998 and a year later formed his own company, Profit Publishing Group Inc. of Little Rock, which produces and markets educational materials for small businesses and investors.
More than 3,000 people have attended his work shops, and he has clients in almost every state.
Childers said he particularly enjoys "bringing difficult-to-understand information to the masses."
Childers also is involved in real estate, building a handful of Chenal Valley homes and developing about a dozen commercial properties since the late 1990s.
He is an active member of Chenal Valley Church, where he has served as a teacher, ministry leader, deacon and chairman of the board of trustees.
Boyd Corley
38
Co-owner
Bell-Corley Construction...
|
