Josh Brown

Closing his first real estate transaction lit a fire under Joshua Brown, co-founder and principal of Haag Brown Commercial Real Estate & Development of Jonesboro. That fire steered him away from law school and into real estate development.

Brown and his firm have lit a fire under Jonesboro development since Brown and partner Greg Haag started the firm in 2010. Last year, Brown was named the Business Executive of the Year by the Arkansas State University College of Business, and he’s the only broker in northeast Arkansas to win the Triple Diamond Award of Excellence for sales volume of more than $21 million.

Brown has led the firm to annual revenue of more than $10 million, an average revenue growth rate of more than 15 percent since 2012 and been responsible for much of the retail growth of Jonesboro, the de facto capital of northeast Arkansas. His eyes now are set on the entire state.

“We are moving several companies through the state of Arkansas as fast as we can,” he said. “We expect to have small, high-profile retail projects in every major Arkansas city in the next two years. We also expect to launch a new software company that is specialized for the real estate industry in the coming months.”

Brown, a member of the 2011 Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 class, credits his faith as the key to his success. For him, it all boils down to the Golden Rule.

“I feel like treating others with respect and looking into the interests of others is fundamental in running a successful business,” he said. “Leading is not pushing or driving others but guiding them to use the skills, creativity and insight they possess to produce a common goal, something bigger than themselves.”

Previous Honorees