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Weekly UpdatesDear Readers,
For the 16th time, Arkansas Business is pleased to introduce its readers to "40 Under 40"--40 young business and professional leaders from across our state. Some of this year's honorees had barely reached puberty when the first group was honored, but in the ensuing years, they have grown up and 40 Under 40 has only become more popular.
Besides being a reader-pleaser, 40 Under 40 is an excellent exercise in reporting. I can't count the number of times we've been able to pull photos and information from our archives because one of our former honorees is making news again.
The 2009 class is as fascinating as ever, but not quite as varied. We ended up with a lot more young bankers than usual, which may be a combination of the nomination process and these historic times for the banking industry. But the list also includes lawyers, a judge, political operatives, a jeweler and--of personal interest to me since I married a baseball fan--a guy who owns a Honus Wagner baseball card.
The young men and women you see profiled in these pages were selected by Arkansas Business staffers from hundreds of nominations. We make no claim that these are "the most" impressive or "the most" promising young leaders in Arkansas, but we do think they are awfully impressive and their futures exceedingly bright. We think that, once again, we have compiled a list of up-and-comers whom Arkansas Business readers need to get to know.
These 40 newcomers are invited to identify themselves with a new alumni group on LinkedIn, the online social networking service for professionals. And so are the 600 people who have been Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 honorees in the past--even if they are long past 40 by now. The easiest way to get there is ArkansasBusiness.com/40alumni.asp.
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 2010 at ArkansasBusiness.com/nomihate.
Sincerely,
Gwen Moritz
Editor
John Keeling Baker
37
Member
Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard PLLC
Little Rock
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After obtaining his law degree from the University of Arkansas in 1996, John Keeling Baker started to make his mark on the legal world one case at a time.
Baker, a member of Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard in Little Rock, provides counsel to clients on matters regarding contract, real estate and class action defense litigation.
Baker's most groundbreaking lawsuit was a 2001 federal court injunction he obtained against the U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services on behalf of a nonprofit nursing home. He also obtained a Freedom of Information Act ruling for his client before the Arkansas Court of Appeals in 2000.
Chambers USA and Best Lawyers in America have named Baker as a leading lawyer.
Baker is also fiercely devoted to helping his community. In 1997, he co-founded Tree Streets Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to adding to and restoring the natural canopy of Little Rock's downtown neighborhoods. Since the organization's launch, 1,000 trees have been planted.
"It's a tangible thing to keep your city from suffering," Baker said. "You can see the fruit of your work."
Baker also serves on the board of Camp Aldersgate and is a former president of the nonprofit's board.
Austin Brightop
37
Senior Vice President
Summit Bank
Little Rock
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With parents who worked in banking and mortgage lending, Austin Brightop was predisposed toward becoming a loan officer. But it took 18 months stuck in a cubicle to redirect his career path after college.
A neighbor offered to help him get an interview at Regions Bank in Little Rock, and he was off and running.
"He helped me get my foot in the door," Brightop said.
After working as an accountant and financial analyst at Alltel, he joined Regions in November 1999. By the time he left in April 2005, Brightop had advanced from commercial lending trainee to vice president of private banking.
Since moving to Summit Bank as an assistant vice president, he has risen to senior vice president, achieving that title in April 2008.
Brightop graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
He is on the Camp Aldersgate board of directors and the Arkansas Children's Hospital Committee for the Future. Brightop also works to raise money for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Department of Neurology and volunteers at the Arkansas Foodbank Network. Past service includes volunteering for Junior Achievement and coaching Junior Deputy Baseball.
Josh Blakeman
33
Vice President
Blakeman' s Fine Jewelry
Rogers
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After graduating from high school in 1994, Josh Blakeman faced two career choices--work at the family jewelry store or become a plumber.
He eventually chose diamonds over plungers, taking a position at Blakeman's Fine Jewelry in Rogers.
Blakeman's father founded the jewelry store in 1987 with $5,000 in savings. Blakeman had worked there as a sales associate while finishing high school.
After deciding to embark on the family business path, Blakeman trained to become a bench jeweler at the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology.
Blakeman worked at a jewelry store in Colorado shortly before returning home in 2001.
"It was a good opportunity to get started in the family business," Blakeman said. "We needed a bench jeweler in the store. That was always the plan--to come back."
He was soon promoted to vice president of Blakeman's Fine Jewelry, where he now oversees all buying and merchandising at the store.
Blakeman also participates in community work. As a member of the Springdale Rotary Club, he has gone on mission trips to Mexico and Central America to provide wheelchairs to the disabled. He also coaches youth soccer teams for the Fayetteville Parks & Recreation Department and the Arkansas Comets Soccer Club.
Michael Cook
36
Chief of Staff to Lt. Gov. Bill Halter
Little Rock
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Michael Cook was 19 years old in 1991 and knew he wanted to work in politics. Gov. Bill Clinton knew he wanted to run for president. It's unsurprising that Cook found a volunteer job working for Clinton's exploratory committee on Seventh Street in downtown Little Rock.
"It was a small place with only a couple of paid staffers," Cook said about Clinton's operation. "I said ... 'I'm here and I'd like to volunteer.'"
Before long, he was Clinton's national college coordinator, and "in New Hampshire, during that fight, I just fell in love" with politics.
Since then he has worked off and on in politics, spending off time managing his parent's Little Rock restaurant, Cafe Prego.
Cook has worked on more than 25 campaigns and became executive director of the Democratic Party of Arkansas in February 2001.
"The thing I'm most proud of is the thing we just finished: the scholarship lottery," said Cook, who was Halter's 2006 campaign manager. "The lieutenant governor pledged that if he was elected, he would somehow bring it to the people to vote on. He just kept pushing and pushing, and I really admire that."
Cook has a life outside politics, however. He was part of the Leadership Greater Little Rock program and participates in the Little Rock School District's Arkansas Scholars Program, speaking to eighth-grade students about the importance of attending college.
Sarah Cotton
34
Partner
Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP
Little Rock
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Sarah Cotton graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1997 with a degree in accounting and financial management. She went on to earn a law degree from the UA School of Law and a master of laws degree in taxation from New York University in 2001.
"I went back and forth and then started to think, 'Do I want to be a CPA?' I really liked estate planning and taxes. My father encouraged me to be a tax lawyer."
Cotton specializes in the areas of estate planning, probate, trusts and estates, tax planning, and nonprofit corporations and foundations.
She has been recognized by Best Lawyers in the area of nonprofit/charities law.
"I live by my father's rule--the 'Do Right' rule," Cotton said. "It's important to build relationships on a personal level when you're providing legal counsel to clients about end-of-life issues."
She serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas and on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation Inc. board.
She also serves on the board of the Arkansas Law Review Inc., where she is currently secretary, and on the board of Candlelighters of Central Arkansas, an organization that helps with the expenses of families with children who have cancer and who are being treated at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
Jane Duke
38
U.S. Attorney
Eastern District of Arkansas
Little Rock
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Jane Weisenfels Duke stepped up to the plate when Tim Griffin resigned as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas on June 1, 2007. And as soon as a political appointee of President Obama's choosing is installed, she'll step back down again.
Duke became a federal prosecutor in 2002 and was elevated to first assistant U.S. Attorney in 2006 by then-U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins. She kept that management-level position under Griffin, but she doesn't know what her title will be when a Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney is sworn in.
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