Founder & Principal Consultant, Insight Leadership Group

Michael Brown is a husband, father, leadership practitioner, entrepreneur, and church planter. Michael has extensive experience coaching, training, facilitating and developing leadership programs for some of the world’s largest organizations and best-known brands. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University. Michael is a certified TotalSDI Facilitator, Core Strengths Facilitator and DiSC Certified. He has also served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Arkansas, Ozark Christian College, and Cincinnati Christian University.

Michael has developed customized leadership training programs and curriculum for the past seven years for senior level leadership. Michael also launched Thrive Christian Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In his spare time, he makes divots in fairways, tries to fly fish, mountain bikes and coaches his kids’ U8 and U12 world championship soccer teams. Okay, they might not be world champions yet.

Strategic Partner, Insight Leadership Group

Chris Case, Chris is a wife of a coach, mother of four and grandmother of one precious little girl. Chris is passionate about inspiring individuals to peak. She has achieved this over the last 22 years through assessing, speaking, coaching and consistent re-evaluation.

Chris’s vision and entrepreneurial spirit has allowed her to partner in several successful start-up businesses including a company that developed and produce training products and courses, a speaker’s bureau and a motivational seminar company. Chris has spent the last 22 years training individuals and organizations on the basic skills that businesses need to operate successfully.

In 1994, Chris founded Case Training, Inc. on the premises that computer education could be fun, exciting and educational. Since then she expanded her training to include communication skills, time management, change management, customer service, teamwork, and attitude. In all of her presentations, Chris uses examples from her past experiences as a business owner, mother of four and a cancer survivor.

Chris has her BA in Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa. She uses her education and caring attitude to mentor high-risk new mothers and helps teenagers build confidence.

Strategic Partner, Insight Leadership Group

Stephen Caldwell, born just in time to qualify as a Baby Boomer, is a veteran writer, consultant, and entrepreneur whose work has appeared in a variety of platforms across a variety of markets—from the sports and family sections of a statewide daily newspaper to an award-winning business magazine; from leadership development training for the world’s largest company to the New York Times bestseller list for business books.

As the founder and chief word architect for WordBuilders Communications, Stephen lives out his passion for helping people grow personally and professionally. He has more than 30 years of experience with a broad background that includes projects with ministries, start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, pastors, and CEOs. He has been a ghostwriter for multiple best-selling leadership books and written and designed training and development for some of the world’s largest companies. He has served as a consulting editor or ghostwriter on 16 books and is the author Grow Like Jesus: Practicing Luke 2:52 Discipleship and co-author of Forging Grit: A Story of Leadership Perseverance.

Stephen and his wife Audrey share a blended family that includes seven children and thirteen (at last count) grandchildren. They enjoy spending time together however possible, but especially when it involves traveling or spoiling their grandkids.

President/CEO, Southwest Power Pool

Nick Brown Was Elected President And CEO Of SPP In 2003. In His Current Position, He Serves In The Board Of Directors And Is Responsible For Ensuring That SPP Achieves Its Mission And Goals.

Prior To This Position, Mr. Brown Served SPP Members As Senior Vice President And Corporate Secretary From 1999-2003; Vice President And Corporate Secretary From 1998-1999; Director, Engineering And Operations From 1993-96; Manager, Engineering Services From 1989-1993; And In Several Engineering Positions Since Joining The SPP Staff In 1985. Mr. Brown Began His Career As A Planning Engineer At Southwestern Electric Power Company.

Nick Received Bachelor Of Science Degrees In Physics And Math From Ouachita Baptist University And In Electrical Engineering From Louisiana Tech University. He Is A Graduate Of Harvard Business School’s Advance Management Program. A Registered Professional Engineer And Master Electrician, Nick Is A Member Of Tau Beta Pi And Eta Kappa Nu Engineering Honor Societies, The Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers And The National Society Of Professional Engineers.

Nick Has Served On The Board Of Directors Of The Electric Power Research Institute And Has Served On Numerous Organizational Groups Of The North American Electric Reliability Corporation Over The Past 30 Years.

Principal, Sage Partners

R. Mark Saviers has more 35 years of experience in developing and leasing office buildings, business parks, datacenters, warehouses, and corporate headquarter/campuses. He began his real estate career in 1982, and spent the first ten years in the development, property management, construction, and disposition of commercial real estate with the Trammell Crow Company. Experience with the company spanned four cities – Dallas, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Chicago. In Chicago, Mark was the Division Partner in charge of all industrial properties and related companies.

Currently Mark is a Partner with Sage Partners, a commercial real estate firm he co-founded with offices in Northwest Arkansas and in Little Rock. He is also a partner in Tempus Realty Partners, a Little Rock based real estate investment firm.

Mark, current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arkansas Children’s Inc., is the author of the newly published book, Flipped, which tells the story of how faith, family, friends and community came together to create triumph over tragedy.

CEO, Cameron Smith & Associates

Since Cameron Smith founded CSA in 1994, he and his team have been credited with luring hundreds of Walmart supplier offices into Northwest Arkansas, creating thousands of high-paying jobs.

A leader in the supplier community, Cameron is actively involved in efforts to enhance technology, international trade opportunities, and higher educational resources available to world-class companies working in conjunction with Walmart. He was recognized by Arkansas Business as the 2014 Business Executive of the Year.

A California native and former professional fast-pitch softball pitcher, Cameron spearheaded conversion of girls’ softball from slow-pitch to fast-pitch in the state of Arkansas.

Cameron is married to Monica Smith, who is also the CFO of the company. Smith serves on the board of America’s CarMart.

Tyson Foods CEO (2009-2016)

Donnie Smith’s passion for leadership has been the hallmark of his 36-year career in the food business. As president and CEO of Tyson Foods from 2009 to 2016, he led the company to focus on feeding the world great, affordable food, while also making a positive difference in people’s lives. Under his leadership, Tyson Foods achieved four straight years of record profits, multiplying stock value six times in seven years.

Throughout his career, Donnie worked to learn every angle of Tyson Foods’ business. He joined the company in 1980, working in poultry operations for seven years in Tennessee before moving to the company’s headquarters in Springdale, Ark., where he started as a commodity buyer. He was named director of commodity purchasing in 1991 and during the next several years added complementary responsibilities to his management portfolio: logistics, purchasing and information systems in 2006; and engineering, food safety and quality assurance, and environmental health and safety in 2007. He moved into the company’s consumer products division in 2008 and was named senior group vice president of poultry and prepared foods in early 2009, the same year he was appointed as president and CEO.

He now serves as a consultant for Tyson Foods, while also focusing on his continued work to feed the world. He and his wife Terry are native Tennesseans and have three children and one grandchild.

Donnie earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and continues to be involved in his alma mater.

Chairman of the Board, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.

Thompson was elected to the Board in 1985 and was elected Chairman of the Board in 2010 after serving 23 years as President and Chief Executive Officer.

J.B. Hunt grew from $63 million in revenue to $400 million in revenue from 1983 to 1988, during which time Thompson was promoted to president and CEO. Today, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has revenues of $7 billion making it one of the largest publicly held transportation logistics companies in North America.

Thompson, an Arkansas Business Hall of Fame inductee, joined the company as CFO at just 26 years old and three years later he guided J.B. Hunt through its initial public offering.

A graduate of the University of Arkansas and a Certified Public Accountant, serves on the board of directors for Rand Logistics.