This week on the podcast Matt sits down with Barbara Marchini-Ellis, Partner at EY. They begin the episode with Barbara discussing her journey through the accounting field, from her diverse background in Silicon Valley to leading EY’s work with Walmart in Northwest Arkansas. Barbara then walks through how the accounting industry has changed during her 35 years of experience, touching on the importance of business ethics and integrity. The conversation concludes with Matt asking Barbara what has kept her at EY for the entirety of her career and Barbara’s work with the Endeavor Board in Northwest Arkansas. 

This week on the podcast, Matt sits down with Jared Greer and Spencer Jones to discuss their entrepreneurial ventures in the medical space at Lapovations, Jared is the Co-Founder and CEO and Spencer is the Chief Technology Officer and VP of Sales at Lapovations. They begin with the story of how Lapovations came to be with a problem that needed to be solved for surgeons who perform laparoscopic procedures. Spencer also touches on his solution that he created at his previous company for IVs that led him into the healthcare entrepreneur space after working as a nurse. They then discuss how the Walton College, University of Arkansas and local entrepreneurial support organizations has impacted their company with a focus on customer discovery, validation of your product and pivoting to meet what your customer needs. Learn more about Lapovations: https://lapovations.com/

This week on the podcast Matt sits down with Tom Ward, EVP and Chief eCommerce Officer of Walmart U.S. They discuss a variety of topics starting with what Tom does in his current role and his past experience in customer product management. They then delve deeper into product management with the idea that product management is really problem solving at the deepest level. Tom touches on how Walmart is solving a variety of problems for customers to create a seamless, personalized shopping experience whether they are shopping in-store or online. They finish the discussion with Tom sharing what he looks for in future associates who would like to join his team.

On this week’s episode, Matt sits down with Quentin Smith, Jr. Quentin has over 40 years of experience providing management service to publicly and privately held businesses and is Chairman of the Board of Banner Health, and President of Cadre Business Advisors, LLC, a consulting firm that focuses on strategic planning, performance improvement and crisis management. This episode begins with a detailed description on Quentin’s life growing up in Gary, Indiana and his path in getting to where he is today. He specifically talks about the connections that he made throughout his life that propelled him forward in his career, even personal connections from college that later influenced his career. Quentin also discusses what it takes to be a good board member for corporate boards, the Fleischer Scholars Program at the Walton College, and Mort Fleischer and his concept of the mental balance sheet.

This week on the podcast Matt sits down with Allie Hazelwood, Walton College alum and Senior Vice President, Fulfillment Operations at Walmart U.S. The podcast starts with Allie recapping how she came to Walmart after graduation and her involvement at the University when she was on campus including being a member of the women's tennis team, student ambassadors and Walton Honors. Matt and Allie discuss that experience and the importance of finding balance, a healthy sleep schedule, and exercise and keeping a positive mindset in everything that you are doing to keep you motivated. Allie then moves into her time working for Walmart and her keys to success including finding a workplace that fulfills you and curiosity. They close the conversation with a discussion around the importance of mentorship and how Allie has developed her leadership skills over time. Please note: Allie's title has changed since the recording of this episode. The updated title has been reflected in the description.

This week on the podcast Matt sits down with Wes Schroll, CEO and founder of Fetch Rewards, Inc. They begin the episode with an overview of Fetch Rewards, which is a mobile shopping platform that rewards shoppers for buying the brands they love. Wes shares insight into how they utilize consumer data from the app to help consumers connect with brands, retailers and restaurants. He also shares how brands work with the company and how they generate ROI for the brands for working with them. He then moves into how they capture and analyze the receipt data that is uploaded from customer receipts to turn it into usable insights on buying behavior, price analysis and more. Wes also highlights the importance of letting the consumer guide you into the future of your business as he touches on how their users led them into the restaurant and gas business. They wrap up the conversation with Wes telling the story of how his company was founded as a sophomore in college and how their first funds were raised through entering and winning higher education business competitions. Wes also lays out the four pillars of their company culture that help them continue this tremendous growth and where they are focused for the future.

This week on the Be Epic podcast Matt sits down with Jonathan Caldwell, SVP and Chief People Officer at Valvoline. They discuss a wide range of topics in HR including human resource management and how it integrates into an organization, Jon's keys to success for leading his team, the importance of mentorship and how to create stickiness with an organization for employees to want to stay.

This week on the Be Epic Podcast Matt sits down with Dan Andrews, Managing Partner and CEO at Tempus Realty Partners, a real estate investment firm specializing in commercial property in the Southeast and Midwest. Dan shares how he finds good opportunities to invest in and the variables that are considered in that equation. He also touches on the benefits of working in the Southeast and Midwest for the real estate market in the long term. Matt and he then discuss how remote work and e-commerce is effecting the commercial and industrial real estate market as well as the move to more suburban vs. urban offices. They end the episode with Dan sharing advice for students who want to be entrepreneurs.

This week on the podcast Matt wraps up the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame series with Ross M. Whipple, 2023 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Inductee, President and CEO - Horizon Capital Partners, LLLP, President - Horizon Timber Services, Inc. and Chairman of the Board - The Ross Foundation. During the episode Ross dives into how he got his start in the banking and timber industry and highlights the importance of his early mentor, Jane Ross, on his career. Ross further discusses how he was able to turn around struggling banks to a positive ROA and they finish the discussion with Ross highlighting one of his favorite business books.

This week on the Be Epic Podcast Matt sits down with E. Fletcher Lord, Jr., Chairman of the Board for Bumper-to-Bumper/Crow Burlingame Company and 2023 inductee to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. During the episode, they discuss the history of the company that Fletcher’s grandfather founded with J.G. Burlingame in 1919 along with their growth across a 12 state market area. The company started in Little Rock, Arkansas and continued expanding across the state and then to neighboring states even through the Great Depression and World War Two. They wrap up their discussion with a focus on the technological evolution of the automobile industry including their company focus now on data just as much as auto parts.