innovate arkansas

The Power List draws primarily from the nearly 50 business-related lists that appear in this publication during the course of a year. It is a collection of personal information on the people who run the largest or most influential companies or institutions in 20 different industries or professions.

The individuals are listed alphabetically within their industry groups. No attempt was made to ensure women and minorities were well represented or that the breadth of the state's geography was covered. Instead, we simply identified the largest institutions in each industry and profiled the person - or, in a few cases, people - running them.

The Power List debuted in 2006 with 171 names and grew to 176 last year. This year it has expanded to 187 thanks to some new hires and some new-found influence. (For instance, the power Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, founder of the Crystal Bridges museum that will open in Bentonville in 2010, has over the arts community nationwide has become undeniable.)

Despite Arkansas' relatively small population, this list is hardly parochial. Scores of these Arkansans wield influence on a national - even global - level.

Sometimes power and title go together: Pat Lile's retirement as executive director of the Arkansas Community Foundation also means her retirement from the Power List and the addition of her successor, Heather Larkin Eason. Sometimes power and title are two different things; Frank Broyles is no longer the University of Arkansas' athletic director, but he's still on the Power List while his successor, Jeff Long, is not. At least not yet.

The vast majority of the biggest businesses are still being run by white males, and most are in the population centers of Pulaski, Benton and Washington counties. While their ages range from 32-89, most of those on our Power List are in their 40s and 50s.

Click here to to see the Power List. Input on additional names that should be included in future lists is eagerly solicited; e-mail suggestions to Editor Gwen Moritz at gmoritz@abpg.com.