Rob Walton, the oldest son of Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton, has been a fixture on Walmart’s board of directors for more than four decades. But he is not seeking re-election, according to his son-in-law, board chairman Greg Penner. Penner made the announcement in the company’s annual proxy report filed Thursday (April 25) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Walton, 79, joined Bentonville-based Walmart Stores in 1969 and worked as the company’s corporate secretary and general counsel after working as a private attorney. Walton was board vice chairman and chairman of the bo ..read more

When a person in the Dallas metroplex is cooking dinner and needs a particular spice to complete the recipe, Walmart can have a drone deliver it in as little as 10 minutes. If only the Cowboys’ offense could deliver with such precision and speed. The spicy anecdote is just more proof that artificial intelligence, drone delivery, robotics, autonomous vehicles, smart data analytics, and other technology is transforming the entire retail supply chain. Cosmetics giant Coty has improved in-stocks and greatly reduced overstocks and markdowns with techn innovation from startup BOPS. PepsiCo is invest ..read more

A startup fund of Little Rock-based Winrock International will back a project to build a high-tech telecommunications laboratory in southern Washington County. The investment amount was not disclosed. According to a Wednesday (April 24) news release, the Startup Recruiting Fund at Winrock, which is supported by the Walton Family Foundation in Bentonville, will provide money to tech startup Xtremis for the development of its Devil’s Den Proving Ground. Xtremis, in collaboration with the University of Arkansas, plans to build a first-of-its-kind innovation campus for the rapid advancement of ele ..read more

The Northwest Arkansas Food Insecurity Community of Practice will receive a $750,000 award from the Walmart Foundation. The funding will help develop strategies to reduce hunger in Northwest Arkansas over the next 18 months. The Community of Practice is a collaboration between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and more than 20 regional organizations. By sharing skills and experiences, the members of the Northwest Arkansas Food Insecurity Community of Practice work together to cultivate new strategies to address recurring problems related to food insecurity in Northwest Ark ..read more

Twenty Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) entrepreneurs and industry leaders from across Arkansas are participating in the inaugural AAPI Achieve program, a statewide mentorship opportunity produced by The Venture Center in Little Rock. The Venture Center facilitates a statewide program that connects emerging AAPI entrepreneurs with experienced professionals. Building on the success of The Venture Center’s VCWoman Achieve program, which has effectively scaled more than 50 women-owned businesses in Arkansas, AAPI Achieve attracted over 40 applications for the inaugural program. The sele ..read more

The Arkansas Center for Data Sciences (ACDS) is rebranding under a new name, Apprenticely. The nonprofit has operated for five years with the mission of growing the IT workforce throughout Arkansas. “ACDS, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, was launched in 2019 through the recommendation of Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Blue Ribbon Commission, formed to devise a plan for Arkansas to capitalize on the burgeoning data analytics and computing market – primarily through the use of the model of registered apprenticeship – an employer-driven model that combines on-the-job training with related classroom instruction ..read more

New York-based Hillcrest Acquisitions has acquired Wolf Creek Apartments in Jonesboro for $12 million. The 192-unit multifamily property, located on Caraway Road, has served as student housing for attendees of Arkansas State University. The property is now being converted to a commercial multifamily site. A timeline for morphing the property from one that caters to college students to one that caters to families was not released. Eastern Union ‘s senior managing director Marc Tropp was able to acquire the financing for the deal, according to a statement from the firm. Tropp secured a five-year ..read more

The advance estimate of U.S. first quarter real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 1.6%, and the fourth quarter GDP was revised up to 3.4% from 3.3%, according to Thursday’s (April 25) report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The first quarter advance estimate, which will be revised May 30, was below the estimate range of 2.2% and 2.5%. “The increase in real GDP primarily reflected increases in consumer spending, residential fixed investment, nonresidential fixed investment, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in private in ..read more

Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. hosted its annual shareholders meeting on Thursday (April 25) in less than nine minutes. Shareholders approved three items, including President Shelley Simpson’s appointment to the company’s board of directors. Shareholders also reelected eight existing board members to the company’s nine-member board, approved the company’s executive pay for 2023 and appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC as the company’s accounting firm for 2024. After the shareholders meeting, Simpson discussed company highlights in 2023 and 2024 priorities. Simpson will ..read more

At Heartland Forward, we advance economic success, being a resource to state and local governments in four focus areas: innovation and entrepreneurship, human capital and workforce development, health and wellness and regional competitiveness. We anticipate our research, programs and policy will transform the heartland, making it THE place to start a business and secure startup capital, educate and train the next generation of workers, live long and active lives and drive the world’s largest economy. It may seem ambitious, but transformational visions always are. Heartland Forward focuses the ..read more