See more of this week’s Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers-Shakers.
Agriculture
Matt Smith has been elected vice chairman of the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board of Little Rock. He is a third-generation farmer in Mississippi County.
Architecture & Engineering
Brittany Pylant has been named vice president of technology and digital innovation at HFA Architecture & Engineering of Bentonville. In this newly created role, she will collaborate with clients and internal teams with the goal of reimagining design and construction workflows.
Banking & Finance
Austin Simpson, senior vice president and senior regional lender for northwest Arkansas at First Community Bank of Batesville, has graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. He also earned the affordable housing micro-credential.
Daniel Fuentes and Amanda Key have joined Stone Bank of Mountain View as customer service representatives and tellers. Fuentes is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway and Key attended Remington College of Lafayette, Louisiana.
Joe Reynolds has been hired as vice president of business development at ACC Capital of Little Rock. He will be based in Fishers, Indiana, and brings over a decade of SBA lending experience.
Jason Thomas has been appointed managing director, chief tax and wealth planning strategist at Stephens Inc. of Little Rock. He has 26 years of experience working with high-net-worth individuals.
Kelly Davis has been hired as chief trust officer at Farmers & Merchants Bank of Stuttgart. He has nearly 15 years of financial services experience and spent the last decade with the Arkansas State Bank Department of Little Rock. Nuvia Morton has been hired by the bank as vice president, business development and consumer lending for the Rogers market. She has 28 years of banking experience and is a Rogers High School graduate. Abby Adkins has been promoted to assistant vice president, treasury management sales officer. She will serve businesses in the Little Rock and Conway markets from the bank’s Little Rock office on Chenal Parkway.
Construction
Michael Saucedo has joined Prospect Steel of Irvine, California, a division of Lexicon Inc. of Little Rock, as sales executive for the western region. His career in steel construction spans more than 25 years. Steve Henderson has been promoted to director of site operations. He will lead sites in Pittsboro, Butler and Crawfordsville, Indiana, as well as in Blytheville, Osceola and Hickman. William Roach Jr. has been promoted to director of site operations for the southern and eastern regions. A U.S. Navy veteran, he has more than 36 years in the steel industry.
Education
Michal Vaněk, director of the Museum of Jewish Culture in Bratislava, Slovakia, will serve as a visiting Fulbright scholar at John Brown University in Siloam Springs for six months. He had previously partnered with a JBU professor on an award-winning exhibit.
Health Care
Cindy Jo Allen, a registered nurse, has been named vice president and assistant chief operating officer at Washington Regional Medical Center of Fayetteville. She has more than 18 years of experience in health care. Katie Allen, a physician assistant, has joined the hospital system’s brain and spine surgery clinic in Fayetteville. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and her master’s in physician assistant studies from Harding University in Searcy.
Dr. Jordan Walters, an orthospine surgeon, has been hired by Conway Regional Health System. He will join the system’s Conway Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center. Earning his medical degree in 2016 from UAMS, Walters completed his residency and fellowship there in 2022. Dr. Lillian Jones, an audiologist, has joined Conway Regional’s ear, nose and throat clinic. She received her doctor of audiology degree in 2025 from UAMS and completed her clinical externship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital of Memphis. Dr. Trey McClain has joined the hospital system’s Clinton Medical Clinic. He earned his medical degree from UAMS in 2022 and completed his family medicine residency in 2025 at Conway Regional.
Dr. Mark Feger, an orthopaedic spine surgeon, has joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. He completed his residency at Washington University in St. Louis and fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Hamilton Newhart, a board-certified sports medicine physician, has also joined the department. He completed his residency at the Baptist Health/UAMS Family Medicine program in North Little Rock and fellowship at Henry Ford Health in Detroit.
Dr. Sabrina Doffing, an obstetrician-gynecologist, has joined Baptist Health of Little Rock’s women’s clinic in North Little Rock. She earned her degree from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Medical School in Edinburg, Texas, and completed her residency through UAMS.
Legal
Three new associates have joined Quattlebaum Grooms & Tull PLLC of Little Rock: Madison Dedrick, Jacob James and Carter Wade.
Marketing & Public Relations
Kassie Booker has been promoted to vice president, director of account services at The Communications Group of Little Rock. She oversees client account teams, new business initiatives and project performance. Carson Horn has been promoted to vice president, director of public relations. He is accredited in public relations and a certified crisis communications professional.
Brooke Wilson has launched Storyline Solutions, a communications consulting firm based in Little Rock. She brings more than a decade of experience in strategic communications and is accredited in public relations. She previously served as director of communications at Camp Aldersgate of Little Rock.
Real Estate
Greg Hay, senior advisor for Arkansas at Saunders Real Estate of Little Rock, has been awarded the Gifford Pinchot Medal by the Society of American Foresters of Washington, D.C. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to forestry practice.
Utilities
Brad Curtis has been promoted to operations system coordinator in the engineering department at Conway Corp. He joined the company in July 2024 as an electric systems engineer 2.
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