Nelson Peacock:
00:00:00
But at the same time we're at an inflection
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:02
point. And so we have to continue to do that we have to
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:04
continue to support entrepreneurs recruit companies,
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:07
diversify the and strengthen the economy. But we're also don't
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:11
want to lose quality of life.
Brent Williams:
00:00:13
Welcome to the be epic podcast, brought to you
Brent Williams:
00:00:15
by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of
Brent Williams:
00:00:18
Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll
Brent Williams:
00:00:23
explore the dynamic landscape of business and uncover the
Brent Williams:
00:00:26
strategies, insights and stories that drive business today. Well,
Brent Williams:
00:00:33
today, I have with me Nelson Peacock. Nelson is President and
Brent Williams:
00:00:38
CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council, and an alum of the
Brent Williams:
00:00:42
Walton College. So Nelson, thank you for being here today.
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:45
Thanks for having me.
Brent Williams:
00:00:46
Well, excited to have you on and talk about the
Brent Williams:
00:00:49
council, which we partner with heavily. That's really making a
Brent Williams:
00:00:55
big difference in our region, in our state. I want to talk some
Brent Williams:
00:00:59
about like, what are the areas you all are focused on. But
Brent Williams:
00:01:03
maybe before that I want, I want our audience to get to know you
Brent Williams:
00:01:07
a little bit. So native of Arkansas, and along with the
Brent Williams:
00:01:11
college. But tell us a little bit about your history.
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:14
when I was you know two, grew up in McCrory,
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:19
Arkansas, which is Woodruff County in Eastern Arkansas, came
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:23
back, went to Fayetteville came to the Business College, of
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:33
course, ended up staying here and going to law school. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:39
after that, you know, the region was a lot different back then
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:42
there weren't as many job opportunities back then. So I've
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:46
moved to Little Rock practiced law for about a year and a half.
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:49
And they told me I was going to be a business lawyer, but I was
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:53
a debt collector. So that was not the way I wanted to spend my
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:58
days. And ultimately, that kind of led me to moving to
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:03
Washington DC. And I found my way into the Department of
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:09
Justice for a few years, ended up on the Senate Judiciary
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:13
Committee following that. And then my Senate experience kind
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:18
of led me to when President Obama won I was in the Senate,
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:25
working for then vice or then Senator Joe Biden on his
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:28
judiciary staff. Through that, I met Janet Napolitano who was the
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:33
governor of Arizona, and she had been nominated for Homeland
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:37
Security Secretary, first woman homeland security secretary. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:41
they assigned me to help her get confirmed in the Senate
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:44
confirmation process. Did that we kind of hit it off. And she
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:48
hired me to run her Legislative Affairs for the Department of
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:52
Homeland Security. So that agency includes TSA includes,
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:59
you know, the Border Patrol, which is gets a lot of attention
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:02
now, ICE, FEMA, cybersecurity, it's the lead domestic agency
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:07
for cybersecurity, so a lot of activity, doing that work with
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:13
her. And it was a lot of fun and getting to see, you know, our
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:17
service members. And, you know, what they sacrifice on behalf of
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:21
the country really, I think, solidified my idea that I enjoy
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:25
public service. And, ultimately, she took the job as the
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:32
president of the University of California. And that oversees
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:37
all the UC campuses, UCLA, and Berkeley and all of them. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:41
she invited me to come out with her out to Oakland, California,
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:45
and did that and was there for about four years.
Brent Williams:
00:03:49
Okay.
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:50
And then I think.
Brent Williams:
00:03:52
Doing government affairs there?
Brent Williams:
00:05:20
Yeah, it seems like knowing you, you and your
Brent Williams:
00:05:54
family have just really kind of invested deeply into this
Brent Williams:
00:05:58
community. And in many, many ways.
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:01
Yeah, I mean, it's been great. It's the kind
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:02
of place where you can plug in, and it's still small enough,
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:07
where you can make a difference or feel you can make a
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:09
difference, even at some of those larger institutions. It
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:12
very senior levels where I worked. You knew you were having
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:16
an impact, but you didn't think that it was you personally able
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:20
to contribute in any way. And here feels like, whatever you're
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:25
interested in, you can find a way to plug in and it's it's
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:29
high enough to make a difference, but granular and low
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:32
enough where you feel like it's you personally making that
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:35
difference. So, so it's kind of a unique place right now, where
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:38
we are in Northwest Arkansas.
Brent Williams:
00:06:40
You know, thinking about Nelson, thinking
Brent Williams:
00:06:42
about the council historically. You know, it seems to me that
Brent Williams:
00:06:47
this, you know, the regional cooperation that's happened in
Brent Williams:
00:06:51
this area, particularly amongst cities, counties, and companies,
Brent Williams:
00:06:56
has really been key, I think, to the story of Northwest Arkansas,
Brent Williams:
00:07:00
I think the the council has played a pretty important role
Brent Williams:
00:07:03
in that, it seems.
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:04
Well that's been the role of the council since
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:06
the early 90s. You know, the story is, is that Sam Walton got
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:10
together with, with Don Tyson, and with JB Hunt, and Mark
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:15
Simmons. And really, basically, they all, you know, kind of
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:19
decided that, you know, the region, these smaller towns,
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:24
which and they were all small towns at the time, have to find
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:27
a way to work together better, we need some key things in this
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:31
region, as far as infrastructure to help our company so that that
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:35
we can grow together. And at the time, it was the airport, it was
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:39
getting I-49 completed and getting 412 out to Siloam
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:43
Springs completed. And those were the projects. Ultimately,
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:48
those happened and the council kind of stayed an institution,
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:54
following that following 1998, when I believe when the airport
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:57
was open, and kind of stayed focused on highways and roads
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:02
and bridges, the airport until around 2010. And that's when
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:07
they hired Mike. And they expanded to workforce
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:09
development, economic development of this kind of
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:12
quality of life bucket that we focused on. And we've kind of
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:15
grown and expanded to meet meet the needs of the region since
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:19
then. But the key thing that we do is we bring together the
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:23
mayors of Fayetteville and Bentonville, we actually had a
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:26
meeting just yesterday, with all the regional mayors to talk
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:30
about growth and how we're going to handle, you know, up to a
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:33
million people over the next 20 plus years. And so that's our
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:39
role that we play, making sure that companies are engaged, you
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:44
know, with their community and vice versa. So all to towards
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:49
whether it's recruiting a company or recruiting talent, or
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:54
a workforce development program. It's like how do you make this
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:56
the most economically viable place that we possibly can? Can
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:00
you recruit a business here? Can you scale your business here?
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:03
Can you have fortune one and get the talent that you need here?
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:07
It's all of those types of things that the Council works
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:11
on. But the main role that we play is kind of the center of
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:14
the wheel getting all the right players at the table.
Brent Williams:
00:09:16
Yeah it's kind of a unique spot that you all
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:16
Well it has been it's been the calling card of
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:19
sit in, in this in this ecosystem. And I know I know
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:20
this region for for the longest time. You know, come here you
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:22
you've done you do traditional what we call economic
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:24
can afford a house if you're moving from the coast. Come here
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:25
development work, but it is interesting to see how how
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:29
involved you all are in the quality of life and seems like
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:33
those two things I'm sure have to balance one another and they
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:36
mixed together I also assume.
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:44
you won't have a ton of traffic. You know you'll have good
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:50
You know, one of the areas at least where I feel the most
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:51
education for your for your kids to go to school. And so that's
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:55
been kind of the calling card for Northwest Arkansas and you
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:59
know is clearly it's worked. You know, there are deficiencies
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:03
with that kind of less urban environment. And you know, we'll
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:07
probably talk around some of that around entrepreneurship and
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:10
venture capital, and things like that. But that is what we've
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:15
always hung our hat on. And I think there's a lot of people
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:20
here that people that move here, and also the people that live
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:22
here, don't want to lose that as we grow and make sure that we
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:25
have an economy that will work for everyone and have an economy
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:28
that will withstand any issues and you know, with any of our
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:32
large industries, and that includes the University of
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:34
Arkansas, you know, what happens, if, if something
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:39
happens in any of these large companies that we rely on along
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:43
so long, not that there will, but we need to have economic
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:46
resilience. And that is really a goal of the council. And it
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:51
helps those companies attract talent, if there's multiple
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:55
opportunities. There is a thought around you know, kind of
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:58
this dinette dynamism, you know, of a place where people can go
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:02
and have a great career have a great quality of life. And we
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:06
try to balance those things out and the things that we focus on.
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:13
connected to what you are doing, it's probably one area where
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:15
we've partnered the most is, is on entrepreneurship. So would
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:20
love to just hear your perspective, because you do sit
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:23
in a unique chair of since you've been here since 2017.
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:28
What are you seeing happening in that ecosystem?
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:31
Well, a lot when I came here, from, from UC, I got to see what
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:37
had happened with some of those institutions, and the impact of,
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:41
of an institution of higher education, working with the
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:44
business community inspiring entrepreneurs, you know, either
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:47
from Berkeley in the Bay Area, or what happened at UC San Diego
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:50
with the biotech industry, and really how those institutions
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:54
engaged with the public. And one of the the main things,
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:58
obviously, the attraction of talent here in providing that
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:02
center, but it was the inspiration of students, and
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:05
faculty that think that they could go out and change the
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:08
world, they're going to get their degree in, whatever, but
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:11
they're going to go change the world. And we saw that across
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:14
the board. And, and, you know, and so when we got here, it was
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:20
really interesting, I knew that the university was going to be
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:24
one of these pillars that we needed to rely upon. And when I
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:29
came in, it was around the same time, that Ross Devol came and
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:32
started Heartland Forward, he had a background in Arkansas in
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:37
the role of innovation and entrepreneurship, and, you know,
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:39
institutions of higher education in that role. And so, you know,
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:45
we really wanted to focus our members on that, and, you know,
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:52
the the university really stood up, and really, you already had
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:57
programs, and each of those have really grown them and developed
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:00
them over the last five years. And I think it's important, not
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:04
only for the institution, and the type of students you want to
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:07
get here, and can get here, but also for the region, the type of
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:11
region that we want to create with this kind of resilience
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:14
economically. So, you know, I think both of those things are
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:19
really important, you know, and the kind of faculty member that
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:21
wants to do research that wants to commercialize, I think that
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:24
creates, in my view, kind of a well rounded institution, a well
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:28
rounded region, well rounded state. And I think and hope that
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:33
we're going to continue to grow those programs, strengthen those
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:37
relationships between the university and the business
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:40
community, and continue to, to do our part, I think, to help
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:45
ensure that, that the University of Arkansas can be the best that
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:48
it can be. And then that turns around and makes the state the
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:51
best that it can be.
Brent Williams:
00:13:52
I couldn't agree more, you know, when I think
Brent Williams:
00:13:53
about our our students, some almost 9,000 of them currently,
Brent Williams:
00:13:58
you know, I think what what our objective really is in the
Brent Williams:
00:14:02
Walton College is to input or develop maybe is the is the
Brent Williams:
00:14:07
better term, an entrepreneurial, innovative mindset, you know,
Brent Williams:
00:14:10
and then those students, right, there's going to be in our
Brent Williams:
00:14:13
region in our state, and companies everywhere, you know,
Brent Williams:
00:14:16
some are going to start companies immediately, some are
Brent Williams:
00:14:19
going to spend their whole career in large enterprises. But
Brent Williams:
00:14:23
when they do that, you know, they can cause those enterprises
Brent Williams:
00:14:26
to grow and morph and be resilient of their own. Some
Brent Williams:
00:14:29
will start in those enterprises and then come out and and start
Brent Williams:
00:14:35
their own businesses. So, but it's this, it's this group of
Brent Williams:
00:14:38
students that I think that really are going to be fuel for
Brent Williams:
00:14:41
the future.
Brent Williams:
00:14:42
Not too long ago, I got to attend a lunch
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:42
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, for
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:44
the college when you look at what you've done in supply chain
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:46
that the Council put on that was really focused on trying to get
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:48
over the years, I mean, those are problems that these large
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:51
enterprises and small are facing every single day. And to have a
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:55
set of students with that skill set and an innovative mindset is
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:59
really is a significant value add of these companies to start
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:03
ups, you know, across the board.
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:13
trying to get, I guess, venture capital, private equity firms to
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:19
the region and investing in firms that are starting to grow
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:24
here. Can you talk a little bit about how you see the capital
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:28
landscape evolving, and maybe even your role in it?
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:30
Sure, you know, as you know, and I don't know if
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:33
the listeners know, but over the last, I don't know, five years,
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:37
there have been a lot of there's been a lot of focus on
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:40
accelerators and incubators. And coming out of the university,
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:44
the Walton Family Foundation has played an instrumental part in
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:48
setting up these programs to help the formation of young
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:52
companies. And we need that that's a priority. But we've
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:55
also found at the same time that that, you know, if they don't
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:59
get that very early stage capital, you know, after they've
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:03
been to friends and family, but kind of the seed round, you
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:06
know, those companies are either going to fall off and they're
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:10
these individuals are going to go work somewhere else, or
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:14
they're going to take their company, wherever that funder
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:17
is, or asks them to go. And so that'd be the worst case
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:21
scenario for us is to spend time and effort, incubating
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:24
entrepreneurs here, getting their ideas out starting a
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:27
company, and then having to go somewhere else. And so we all
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:31
know that outside of a couple places on the coast venture
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:35
capital, especially early stage is difficult to come by. And so
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:39
what we've started at the council, we're not investors,
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:42
obviously. But we have been trying to and have started to
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:46
focus on firms in and around the heartland, primarily because
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:49
there is a coastal bias on what those types of venture
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:53
capitalists see is happening in Arkansas, or other states. So
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:57
places like Tulsa, places like Houston, Dallas Fort Worth,
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:00
Austin, St. Louis, there's a lot of venture capital firms there.
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:04
And we're trying to shine a spotlight on what's happening in
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:08
Northwest Arkansas, at the University and beyond. And so,
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:12
and just basically curating visits for them. And this was
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:15
part of the luncheon that you went to, let's make it as easy
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:19
as possible for these firms to come here experience Northwest
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:23
Arkansas, and meet companies that we think are investable,
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:26
and you know, if they meet their thesis, you know, that's going
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:30
to be great. Let's get them coming back, it may not happen
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:34
after one trip or two. But we're going to try to do that
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:37
quarterly, where we kind of curate these visits from these
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:41
investors. And so far, we've done two. And they've been blown
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:45
away with not only the region and the way it's developing and
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:49
growing and the vision for the future, but also the quality of
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:52
startups that are here. And for them, they can get this at a
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:56
discount of what the same company would be if it were
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:00
located in the Bay Area. So that's exciting for us. We're
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:03
looking for some of these relationships to bear fruit. The
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:07
university is obviously been key to that. When you combine that
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:11
with all the programming that you all do, you know, I think
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:14
we're really going to see a lot of growth in this space over the
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:18
next couple of years.
Brent Williams:
00:18:20
Yeah, you can feel it. And just at least at
Brent Williams:
00:18:22
that one meeting, you could feel the the excitement, the
Brent Williams:
00:18:26
exuberance about the region, some that had never been here
Brent Williams:
00:18:29
before that just were totally blown away.
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:32
Yeah. Yeah.
Brent Williams:
00:18:34
Well, as you as you start to look forward for
Brent Williams:
00:18:37
the council working with with all of your members, what are
Brent Williams:
00:18:41
some of the things that that you're working on as you're
Brent Williams:
00:18:44
going into the future? And then, you know, some of the things
Brent Williams:
00:18:47
you're excited about for the region?
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:49
Yeah, I think you know, what we've been doing.
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:51
And we talked about this two years ago, when we released our
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:54
strategic plan, basically said, we're kind of at this inflection
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:57
point for the region for the last, let's say, 20 years of the
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:01
council's existence is been, whatever, what can we do to
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:05
grow, grow, grow, grow, let's get the road built, let's get
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:08
the airport built. Let's get the workforce programs, let's keep
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:11
continue to grow as fast as we can. And that is, by and large
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:16
worked. We are one of the fastest growing regions in the
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:18
country. And we're going to continue to be as we talked
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:21
about the population projections. But at the same
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:24
time, we're at an inflection point. And so we have to
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:27
continue to do that. We have to continue to support
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:29
entrepreneurs, recruit companies, diversify the
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:32
strengthen the economy, but we're also don't want to lose
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:35
quality of life. We don't want to have what happened to some
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:40
other places. Let's take an Austin for example. A lot of
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:44
people there feel like Austin lost it's character that people
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:48
loved about it, you know, 20 years ago along the way now,
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:50
it's a different place and a lot of people love it, others not so
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:55
much. I think for us, it's like how do we preserve what people
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:59
like about it now? And of course, it's going to change.
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:02
But what people like about it now is, it's easy to get around.
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:06
It's a slower pace of life in it that you don't have a lot of
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:11
hassle factor, you know, you can get to pick up your children
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:14
from school, or you can, you know, get from Bentonville to
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:17
Fayetteville in 15, 20 minutes. How can we maintain that? How
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:21
can our nurses our firefighters our teachers, can they live in
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:26
the community where they serve, and if you go to, like, we lived
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:29
in the Bay Area, teachers would have to commute two hours to get
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:33
to their job. And that's just really the way I think about it,
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:37
there's just really no way you would want to live your life.
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:39
And it's not what we want, here. And so how do we handle the
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:44
growth actually continue to stimulate that growth, but also
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:48
handle the infrastructure needs, the housing needs, that will
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:55
help preserve the character of Northwest Arkansas?
Brent Williams:
00:20:57
Well, it is a wonderful place to live. And,
Brent Williams:
00:21:00
you know, one thing I get to do, I get to meet a lot of
Brent Williams:
00:21:03
prospective students and their families and, you know, get to
Brent Williams:
00:21:07
tell them about not only what's great about the Walton College
Brent Williams:
00:21:10
and University, but what a place to live for these four years and
Brent Williams:
00:21:16
start your career. And, you know, just the overall set of
Brent Williams:
00:21:20
opportunities for our students, both quality of life while
Brent Williams:
00:21:23
they're here, career opportunities is like I just
Brent Williams:
00:21:26
maybe couldn't even imagine when I was first time I was here in
Brent Williams:
00:21:29
2004.
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:30
Yeah, yeah. Well, when I left in 98, or
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:33
whatever it was, there weren't really that many opportunities
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:37
here in the same way. And that's what we want is a region and as
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:42
a state and when you attract students here, in state out of
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:46
state, whatever, we need to keep them here,
Brent Williams:
00:21:49
That's right.
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:50
And that is a function of, I think, their
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:53
experience here and what they grow to love here, but also the
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:56
opportunities that they have, and we have to do both.
Brent Williams:
00:21:59
That's right. Well, you've had a kind of
Brent Williams:
00:22:01
switching back to a maybe almost where we started. So we started
Brent Williams:
00:22:05
with your background. And it's it's quite very, you know, you
Brent Williams:
00:22:10
know, you spent time in DC, around the political ecosystem,
Brent Williams:
00:22:15
you've been in higher ed, you're now in economic development, you
Brent Williams:
00:22:20
know, so I might get you to think about our students, you
Brent Williams:
00:22:23
know, that are beginning, you know, the next phase of their
Brent Williams:
00:22:26
life, kind of what have you, what have you learned by moving
Brent Williams:
00:22:31
throughout your career, and any just lessons learned that you
Brent Williams:
00:22:34
would share with them?
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:36
Well, I would say, you know, I am a jack of
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:38
all trades and master of none really, you know, when I look at
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:42
our different work streams, whether it's housing or health
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:45
care, or economic development, I'm not I'm not an expert in any
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:49
of those. But I think what I've learned to do over my career,
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:53
and I think this is the lesson for anyone is, you know, I was
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:56
very lucky growing up, or I did, I learned to be a very, pretty
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:00
good writer. So I can communicate with people I
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:04
learned over time, how to be comfortable with who I am, and
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:12
not try to be someone else. If I'm not an expert. And I know
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:15
this is really, really hard for me when I was young and moved to
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:17
DC. How do you admit what you don't know? So you can seek that
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:23
knowledge and get it in for yourself without just pretending
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:26
that you don't and, you know, when Joe Biden was a senator and
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:31
I worked for him, he taught me a lesson about people's positions.
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:37
And like, you know, there is a and this is particularly
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:41
instructive now, is like, you know, if someone takes a
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:45
position, whether it's political or whatever, that's opposite of
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:48
yours, you should never assume bad intent on their part.
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:52
Because you don't you don't know where they're coming from. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:55
he tells a story. I forget, I think I was some senator from
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:01
North Carolina, maybe. But at some point, when Senator Biden
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:04
was a young senator, they wanted to pass the Americans with
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:09
Disabilities Act at the time. So this was, I don't know, early
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:12
80s, late 70s. He had just gotten there. And there was a
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:16
powerful senator from North Carolina that wanted that
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:18
opposed it and was blocking it. So Senator Biden then ascribed
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:24
all this, ill intent toward that he doesn't know he doesn't care
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:31
where, the other senator was just saying, hey, you know, I
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:34
don't believe the federal government should be doing this
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:36
thing. So turns to find out that that senator has a disabled
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:41
child that is in a wheelchair. And so it was totally his view
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:47
was not about empathy for someone with this disability or
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:52
condition. It was about the role of government as he saw it. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:57
so that said, you know, he taught him a lesson about trying
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:01
to work through issues and meeting people where they are.
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:06
And he says that really helped him over time have all the
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:10
legislative successes that he did have, because he tried to,
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:15
tries to do that in every situation. So I would just say
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:19
that story just as a way of, for your students, if they're facing
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:24
a problem or challenge, like, don't take everything at
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:28
superficial value, like dig in and figure out why someone is,
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:32
you know, doing what they're doing or proposing what they're
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:34
proposing, it's probably a really good reason that you
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:37
need, whether you agree or not, it's different, but there's
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:39
probably a really good reason why they are taking the position
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:44
that they are. So I think that's really important, especially as
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:48
you grow, and you get on a career path. You know, it's a
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:52
small world, and the way you treat people in any situation is
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:59
going to follow you, no matter what. I mean, I'm still working
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:03
with people I met in Washington. You know, I met some in Boston
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:07
the other day, and I needed I needed help from them. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:11
because I, they always saw me someone that I treated them
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:16
fairly, I was actually above them in the org chart. And now I
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:19
need their help. Because I treated them the right way.
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:23
They're willing to help.
Brent Williams:
00:26:24
Yeah, what some good lessons one, treat people
Brent Williams:
00:26:28
around you well,
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:29
Yeah.
Brent Williams:
00:26:30
But then two that first, the first thing you
Brent Williams:
00:26:32
said, I think is really important as well, particularly,
Brent Williams:
00:26:35
you're right, particularly when you're early career, you know,
Brent Williams:
00:26:39
you feel this need to prove yourself, but sometimes proving
Brent Williams:
00:26:42
yourself is, you know, being willing to say what you don't
Brent Williams:
00:26:46
know, but that you are wanting and willing to learn. And that
Brent Williams:
00:26:49
learning mindset is something that is important for all of us
Brent Williams:
00:26:53
in a future that is going to require learning more than ever
Brent Williams:
00:26:56
before.
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:57
Yeah. And if you have a mentor at your work, or
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:59
wherever that person wants to help me or they wouldn't be in
Nelson Peacock:
00:27:04
that role. So you know, be willing to ask.
Brent Williams:
00:27:11
Well, Nelson, thanks for the work that you're
Brent Williams:
00:27:13
doing in Northwest Arkansas and in our state and, and for the
Brent Williams:
00:27:18
partnership with the University of Arkansas and the Walton
Brent Williams:
00:27:20
College. I deeply appreciate it.
Nelson Peacock:
00:27:23
Thanks for having me.
Brent Williams:
00:27:25
On behalf of the Walton College thank you for
Brent Williams:
00:27:27
joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected
Brent Williams:
00:27:31
and never miss an episode. Simply search for be epic on
Brent Williams:
00:27:34
your preferred podcast service.
00:00:00
But at the same time we're at an inflection
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:02
point. And so we have to continue to do that we have to
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:04
continue to support entrepreneurs recruit companies,
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:07
diversify the and strengthen the economy. But we're also don't
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:11
want to lose quality of life.
Brent Williams:
00:00:13
Welcome to the be epic podcast, brought to you
Brent Williams:
00:00:15
by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of
Brent Williams:
00:00:18
Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll
Brent Williams:
00:00:23
explore the dynamic landscape of business and uncover the
Brent Williams:
00:00:26
strategies, insights and stories that drive business today. Well,
Brent Williams:
00:00:33
today, I have with me Nelson Peacock. Nelson is President and
Brent Williams:
00:00:38
CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council, and an alum of the
Brent Williams:
00:00:42
Walton College. So Nelson, thank you for being here today.
Nelson Peacock:
00:00:45
Thanks for having me.
Brent Williams:
00:00:46
Well, excited to have you on and talk about the
Brent Williams:
00:00:49
council, which we partner with heavily. That's really making a
Brent Williams:
00:00:55
big difference in our region, in our state. I want to talk some
Brent Williams:
00:00:59
about like, what are the areas you all are focused on. But
Brent Williams:
00:01:03
maybe before that I want, I want our audience to get to know you
Brent Williams:
00:01:07
a little bit. So native of Arkansas, and along with the
Brent Williams:
00:01:11
college. But tell us a little bit about your history.
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:14
when I was you know two, grew up in McCrory,
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:19
Arkansas, which is Woodruff County in Eastern Arkansas, came
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:23
back, went to Fayetteville came to the Business College, of
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:33
course, ended up staying here and going to law school. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:39
after that, you know, the region was a lot different back then
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:42
there weren't as many job opportunities back then. So I've
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:46
moved to Little Rock practiced law for about a year and a half.
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:49
And they told me I was going to be a business lawyer, but I was
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:53
a debt collector. So that was not the way I wanted to spend my
Nelson Peacock:
00:01:58
days. And ultimately, that kind of led me to moving to
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:03
Washington DC. And I found my way into the Department of
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:09
Justice for a few years, ended up on the Senate Judiciary
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:13
Committee following that. And then my Senate experience kind
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:18
of led me to when President Obama won I was in the Senate,
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:25
working for then vice or then Senator Joe Biden on his
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:28
judiciary staff. Through that, I met Janet Napolitano who was the
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:33
governor of Arizona, and she had been nominated for Homeland
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:37
Security Secretary, first woman homeland security secretary. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:41
they assigned me to help her get confirmed in the Senate
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:44
confirmation process. Did that we kind of hit it off. And she
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:48
hired me to run her Legislative Affairs for the Department of
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:52
Homeland Security. So that agency includes TSA includes,
Nelson Peacock:
00:02:59
you know, the Border Patrol, which is gets a lot of attention
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:02
now, ICE, FEMA, cybersecurity, it's the lead domestic agency
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:07
for cybersecurity, so a lot of activity, doing that work with
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:13
her. And it was a lot of fun and getting to see, you know, our
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:17
service members. And, you know, what they sacrifice on behalf of
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:21
the country really, I think, solidified my idea that I enjoy
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:25
public service. And, ultimately, she took the job as the
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:32
president of the University of California. And that oversees
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:37
all the UC campuses, UCLA, and Berkeley and all of them. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:41
she invited me to come out with her out to Oakland, California,
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:45
and did that and was there for about four years.
Brent Williams:
00:03:49
Okay.
Nelson Peacock:
00:03:50
And then I think.
Brent Williams:
00:03:52
Doing government affairs there?
Brent Williams:
00:05:20
Yeah, it seems like knowing you, you and your
Brent Williams:
00:05:54
family have just really kind of invested deeply into this
Brent Williams:
00:05:58
community. And in many, many ways.
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:01
Yeah, I mean, it's been great. It's the kind
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:02
of place where you can plug in, and it's still small enough,
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:07
where you can make a difference or feel you can make a
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:09
difference, even at some of those larger institutions. It
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:12
very senior levels where I worked. You knew you were having
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:16
an impact, but you didn't think that it was you personally able
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:20
to contribute in any way. And here feels like, whatever you're
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:25
interested in, you can find a way to plug in and it's it's
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:29
high enough to make a difference, but granular and low
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:32
enough where you feel like it's you personally making that
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:35
difference. So, so it's kind of a unique place right now, where
Nelson Peacock:
00:06:38
we are in Northwest Arkansas.
Brent Williams:
00:06:40
You know, thinking about Nelson, thinking
Brent Williams:
00:06:42
about the council historically. You know, it seems to me that
Brent Williams:
00:06:47
this, you know, the regional cooperation that's happened in
Brent Williams:
00:06:51
this area, particularly amongst cities, counties, and companies,
Brent Williams:
00:06:56
has really been key, I think, to the story of Northwest Arkansas,
Brent Williams:
00:07:00
I think the the council has played a pretty important role
Brent Williams:
00:07:03
in that, it seems.
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:04
Well that's been the role of the council since
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:06
the early 90s. You know, the story is, is that Sam Walton got
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:10
together with, with Don Tyson, and with JB Hunt, and Mark
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:15
Simmons. And really, basically, they all, you know, kind of
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:19
decided that, you know, the region, these smaller towns,
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:24
which and they were all small towns at the time, have to find
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:27
a way to work together better, we need some key things in this
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:31
region, as far as infrastructure to help our company so that that
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:35
we can grow together. And at the time, it was the airport, it was
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:39
getting I-49 completed and getting 412 out to Siloam
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:43
Springs completed. And those were the projects. Ultimately,
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:48
those happened and the council kind of stayed an institution,
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:54
following that following 1998, when I believe when the airport
Nelson Peacock:
00:07:57
was open, and kind of stayed focused on highways and roads
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:02
and bridges, the airport until around 2010. And that's when
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:07
they hired Mike. And they expanded to workforce
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:09
development, economic development of this kind of
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:12
quality of life bucket that we focused on. And we've kind of
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:15
grown and expanded to meet meet the needs of the region since
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:19
then. But the key thing that we do is we bring together the
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:23
mayors of Fayetteville and Bentonville, we actually had a
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:26
meeting just yesterday, with all the regional mayors to talk
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:30
about growth and how we're going to handle, you know, up to a
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:33
million people over the next 20 plus years. And so that's our
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:39
role that we play, making sure that companies are engaged, you
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:44
know, with their community and vice versa. So all to towards
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:49
whether it's recruiting a company or recruiting talent, or
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:54
a workforce development program. It's like how do you make this
Nelson Peacock:
00:08:56
the most economically viable place that we possibly can? Can
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:00
you recruit a business here? Can you scale your business here?
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:03
Can you have fortune one and get the talent that you need here?
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:07
It's all of those types of things that the Council works
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:11
on. But the main role that we play is kind of the center of
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:14
the wheel getting all the right players at the table.
Brent Williams:
00:09:16
Yeah it's kind of a unique spot that you all
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:16
Well it has been it's been the calling card of
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:19
sit in, in this in this ecosystem. And I know I know
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:20
this region for for the longest time. You know, come here you
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:22
you've done you do traditional what we call economic
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:24
can afford a house if you're moving from the coast. Come here
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:25
development work, but it is interesting to see how how
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:29
involved you all are in the quality of life and seems like
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:33
those two things I'm sure have to balance one another and they
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:36
mixed together I also assume.
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:44
you won't have a ton of traffic. You know you'll have good
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:50
You know, one of the areas at least where I feel the most
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:51
education for your for your kids to go to school. And so that's
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:55
been kind of the calling card for Northwest Arkansas and you
Nelson Peacock:
00:09:59
know is clearly it's worked. You know, there are deficiencies
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:03
with that kind of less urban environment. And you know, we'll
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:07
probably talk around some of that around entrepreneurship and
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:10
venture capital, and things like that. But that is what we've
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:15
always hung our hat on. And I think there's a lot of people
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:20
here that people that move here, and also the people that live
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:22
here, don't want to lose that as we grow and make sure that we
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:25
have an economy that will work for everyone and have an economy
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:28
that will withstand any issues and you know, with any of our
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:32
large industries, and that includes the University of
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:34
Arkansas, you know, what happens, if, if something
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:39
happens in any of these large companies that we rely on along
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:43
so long, not that there will, but we need to have economic
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:46
resilience. And that is really a goal of the council. And it
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:51
helps those companies attract talent, if there's multiple
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:55
opportunities. There is a thought around you know, kind of
Nelson Peacock:
00:10:58
this dinette dynamism, you know, of a place where people can go
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:02
and have a great career have a great quality of life. And we
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:06
try to balance those things out and the things that we focus on.
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:13
connected to what you are doing, it's probably one area where
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:15
we've partnered the most is, is on entrepreneurship. So would
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:20
love to just hear your perspective, because you do sit
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:23
in a unique chair of since you've been here since 2017.
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:28
What are you seeing happening in that ecosystem?
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:31
Well, a lot when I came here, from, from UC, I got to see what
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:37
had happened with some of those institutions, and the impact of,
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:41
of an institution of higher education, working with the
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:44
business community inspiring entrepreneurs, you know, either
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:47
from Berkeley in the Bay Area, or what happened at UC San Diego
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:50
with the biotech industry, and really how those institutions
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:54
engaged with the public. And one of the the main things,
Nelson Peacock:
00:11:58
obviously, the attraction of talent here in providing that
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:02
center, but it was the inspiration of students, and
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:05
faculty that think that they could go out and change the
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:08
world, they're going to get their degree in, whatever, but
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:11
they're going to go change the world. And we saw that across
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:14
the board. And, and, you know, and so when we got here, it was
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:20
really interesting, I knew that the university was going to be
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:24
one of these pillars that we needed to rely upon. And when I
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:29
came in, it was around the same time, that Ross Devol came and
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:32
started Heartland Forward, he had a background in Arkansas in
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:37
the role of innovation and entrepreneurship, and, you know,
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:39
institutions of higher education in that role. And so, you know,
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:45
we really wanted to focus our members on that, and, you know,
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:52
the the university really stood up, and really, you already had
Nelson Peacock:
00:12:57
programs, and each of those have really grown them and developed
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:00
them over the last five years. And I think it's important, not
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:04
only for the institution, and the type of students you want to
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:07
get here, and can get here, but also for the region, the type of
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:11
region that we want to create with this kind of resilience
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:14
economically. So, you know, I think both of those things are
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:19
really important, you know, and the kind of faculty member that
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:21
wants to do research that wants to commercialize, I think that
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:24
creates, in my view, kind of a well rounded institution, a well
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:28
rounded region, well rounded state. And I think and hope that
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:33
we're going to continue to grow those programs, strengthen those
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:37
relationships between the university and the business
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:40
community, and continue to, to do our part, I think, to help
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:45
ensure that, that the University of Arkansas can be the best that
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:48
it can be. And then that turns around and makes the state the
Nelson Peacock:
00:13:51
best that it can be.
Brent Williams:
00:13:52
I couldn't agree more, you know, when I think
Brent Williams:
00:13:53
about our our students, some almost 9,000 of them currently,
Brent Williams:
00:13:58
you know, I think what what our objective really is in the
Brent Williams:
00:14:02
Walton College is to input or develop maybe is the is the
Brent Williams:
00:14:07
better term, an entrepreneurial, innovative mindset, you know,
Brent Williams:
00:14:10
and then those students, right, there's going to be in our
Brent Williams:
00:14:13
region in our state, and companies everywhere, you know,
Brent Williams:
00:14:16
some are going to start companies immediately, some are
Brent Williams:
00:14:19
going to spend their whole career in large enterprises. But
Brent Williams:
00:14:23
when they do that, you know, they can cause those enterprises
Brent Williams:
00:14:26
to grow and morph and be resilient of their own. Some
Brent Williams:
00:14:29
will start in those enterprises and then come out and and start
Brent Williams:
00:14:35
their own businesses. So, but it's this, it's this group of
Brent Williams:
00:14:38
students that I think that really are going to be fuel for
Brent Williams:
00:14:41
the future.
Brent Williams:
00:14:42
Not too long ago, I got to attend a lunch
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:42
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, for
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:44
the college when you look at what you've done in supply chain
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:46
that the Council put on that was really focused on trying to get
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:48
over the years, I mean, those are problems that these large
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:51
enterprises and small are facing every single day. And to have a
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:55
set of students with that skill set and an innovative mindset is
Nelson Peacock:
00:14:59
really is a significant value add of these companies to start
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:03
ups, you know, across the board.
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:13
trying to get, I guess, venture capital, private equity firms to
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:19
the region and investing in firms that are starting to grow
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:24
here. Can you talk a little bit about how you see the capital
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:28
landscape evolving, and maybe even your role in it?
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:30
Sure, you know, as you know, and I don't know if
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:33
the listeners know, but over the last, I don't know, five years,
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:37
there have been a lot of there's been a lot of focus on
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:40
accelerators and incubators. And coming out of the university,
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:44
the Walton Family Foundation has played an instrumental part in
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:48
setting up these programs to help the formation of young
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:52
companies. And we need that that's a priority. But we've
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:55
also found at the same time that that, you know, if they don't
Nelson Peacock:
00:15:59
get that very early stage capital, you know, after they've
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:03
been to friends and family, but kind of the seed round, you
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:06
know, those companies are either going to fall off and they're
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:10
these individuals are going to go work somewhere else, or
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:14
they're going to take their company, wherever that funder
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:17
is, or asks them to go. And so that'd be the worst case
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:21
scenario for us is to spend time and effort, incubating
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:24
entrepreneurs here, getting their ideas out starting a
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:27
company, and then having to go somewhere else. And so we all
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:31
know that outside of a couple places on the coast venture
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:35
capital, especially early stage is difficult to come by. And so
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:39
what we've started at the council, we're not investors,
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:42
obviously. But we have been trying to and have started to
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:46
focus on firms in and around the heartland, primarily because
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:49
there is a coastal bias on what those types of venture
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:53
capitalists see is happening in Arkansas, or other states. So
Nelson Peacock:
00:16:57
places like Tulsa, places like Houston, Dallas Fort Worth,
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:00
Austin, St. Louis, there's a lot of venture capital firms there.
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:04
And we're trying to shine a spotlight on what's happening in
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:08
Northwest Arkansas, at the University and beyond. And so,
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:12
and just basically curating visits for them. And this was
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:15
part of the luncheon that you went to, let's make it as easy
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:19
as possible for these firms to come here experience Northwest
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:23
Arkansas, and meet companies that we think are investable,
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:26
and you know, if they meet their thesis, you know, that's going
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:30
to be great. Let's get them coming back, it may not happen
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:34
after one trip or two. But we're going to try to do that
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:37
quarterly, where we kind of curate these visits from these
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:41
investors. And so far, we've done two. And they've been blown
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:45
away with not only the region and the way it's developing and
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:49
growing and the vision for the future, but also the quality of
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:52
startups that are here. And for them, they can get this at a
Nelson Peacock:
00:17:56
discount of what the same company would be if it were
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:00
located in the Bay Area. So that's exciting for us. We're
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:03
looking for some of these relationships to bear fruit. The
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:07
university is obviously been key to that. When you combine that
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:11
with all the programming that you all do, you know, I think
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:14
we're really going to see a lot of growth in this space over the
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:18
next couple of years.
Brent Williams:
00:18:20
Yeah, you can feel it. And just at least at
Brent Williams:
00:18:22
that one meeting, you could feel the the excitement, the
Brent Williams:
00:18:26
exuberance about the region, some that had never been here
Brent Williams:
00:18:29
before that just were totally blown away.
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:32
Yeah. Yeah.
Brent Williams:
00:18:34
Well, as you as you start to look forward for
Brent Williams:
00:18:37
the council working with with all of your members, what are
Brent Williams:
00:18:41
some of the things that that you're working on as you're
Brent Williams:
00:18:44
going into the future? And then, you know, some of the things
Brent Williams:
00:18:47
you're excited about for the region?
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:49
Yeah, I think you know, what we've been doing.
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:51
And we talked about this two years ago, when we released our
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:54
strategic plan, basically said, we're kind of at this inflection
Nelson Peacock:
00:18:57
point for the region for the last, let's say, 20 years of the
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:01
council's existence is been, whatever, what can we do to
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:05
grow, grow, grow, grow, let's get the road built, let's get
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:08
the airport built. Let's get the workforce programs, let's keep
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:11
continue to grow as fast as we can. And that is, by and large
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:16
worked. We are one of the fastest growing regions in the
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:18
country. And we're going to continue to be as we talked
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:21
about the population projections. But at the same
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:24
time, we're at an inflection point. And so we have to
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:27
continue to do that. We have to continue to support
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:29
entrepreneurs, recruit companies, diversify the
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:32
strengthen the economy, but we're also don't want to lose
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:35
quality of life. We don't want to have what happened to some
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:40
other places. Let's take an Austin for example. A lot of
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:44
people there feel like Austin lost it's character that people
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:48
loved about it, you know, 20 years ago along the way now,
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:50
it's a different place and a lot of people love it, others not so
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:55
much. I think for us, it's like how do we preserve what people
Nelson Peacock:
00:19:59
like about it now? And of course, it's going to change.
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:02
But what people like about it now is, it's easy to get around.
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:06
It's a slower pace of life in it that you don't have a lot of
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:11
hassle factor, you know, you can get to pick up your children
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:14
from school, or you can, you know, get from Bentonville to
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:17
Fayetteville in 15, 20 minutes. How can we maintain that? How
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:21
can our nurses our firefighters our teachers, can they live in
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:26
the community where they serve, and if you go to, like, we lived
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:29
in the Bay Area, teachers would have to commute two hours to get
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:33
to their job. And that's just really the way I think about it,
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:37
there's just really no way you would want to live your life.
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:39
And it's not what we want, here. And so how do we handle the
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:44
growth actually continue to stimulate that growth, but also
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:48
handle the infrastructure needs, the housing needs, that will
Nelson Peacock:
00:20:55
help preserve the character of Northwest Arkansas?
Brent Williams:
00:20:57
Well, it is a wonderful place to live. And,
Brent Williams:
00:21:00
you know, one thing I get to do, I get to meet a lot of
Brent Williams:
00:21:03
prospective students and their families and, you know, get to
Brent Williams:
00:21:07
tell them about not only what's great about the Walton College
Brent Williams:
00:21:10
and University, but what a place to live for these four years and
Brent Williams:
00:21:16
start your career. And, you know, just the overall set of
Brent Williams:
00:21:20
opportunities for our students, both quality of life while
Brent Williams:
00:21:23
they're here, career opportunities is like I just
Brent Williams:
00:21:26
maybe couldn't even imagine when I was first time I was here in
Brent Williams:
00:21:29
2004.
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:30
Yeah, yeah. Well, when I left in 98, or
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:33
whatever it was, there weren't really that many opportunities
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:37
here in the same way. And that's what we want is a region and as
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:42
a state and when you attract students here, in state out of
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:46
state, whatever, we need to keep them here,
Brent Williams:
00:21:49
That's right.
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:50
And that is a function of, I think, their
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:53
experience here and what they grow to love here, but also the
Nelson Peacock:
00:21:56
opportunities that they have, and we have to do both.
Brent Williams:
00:21:59
That's right. Well, you've had a kind of
Brent Williams:
00:22:01
switching back to a maybe almost where we started. So we started
Brent Williams:
00:22:05
with your background. And it's it's quite very, you know, you
Brent Williams:
00:22:10
know, you spent time in DC, around the political ecosystem,
Brent Williams:
00:22:15
you've been in higher ed, you're now in economic development, you
Brent Williams:
00:22:20
know, so I might get you to think about our students, you
Brent Williams:
00:22:23
know, that are beginning, you know, the next phase of their
Brent Williams:
00:22:26
life, kind of what have you, what have you learned by moving
Brent Williams:
00:22:31
throughout your career, and any just lessons learned that you
Brent Williams:
00:22:34
would share with them?
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:36
Well, I would say, you know, I am a jack of
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:38
all trades and master of none really, you know, when I look at
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:42
our different work streams, whether it's housing or health
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:45
care, or economic development, I'm not I'm not an expert in any
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:49
of those. But I think what I've learned to do over my career,
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:53
and I think this is the lesson for anyone is, you know, I was
Nelson Peacock:
00:22:56
very lucky growing up, or I did, I learned to be a very, pretty
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:00
good writer. So I can communicate with people I
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:04
learned over time, how to be comfortable with who I am, and
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:12
not try to be someone else. If I'm not an expert. And I know
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:15
this is really, really hard for me when I was young and moved to
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:17
DC. How do you admit what you don't know? So you can seek that
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:23
knowledge and get it in for yourself without just pretending
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:26
that you don't and, you know, when Joe Biden was a senator and
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:31
I worked for him, he taught me a lesson about people's positions.
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:37
And like, you know, there is a and this is particularly
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:41
instructive now, is like, you know, if someone takes a
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:45
position, whether it's political or whatever, that's opposite of
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:48
yours, you should never assume bad intent on their part.
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:52
Because you don't you don't know where they're coming from. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:23:55
he tells a story. I forget, I think I was some senator from
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:01
North Carolina, maybe. But at some point, when Senator Biden
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:04
was a young senator, they wanted to pass the Americans with
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:09
Disabilities Act at the time. So this was, I don't know, early
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:12
80s, late 70s. He had just gotten there. And there was a
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:16
powerful senator from North Carolina that wanted that
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:18
opposed it and was blocking it. So Senator Biden then ascribed
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:24
all this, ill intent toward that he doesn't know he doesn't care
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:31
where, the other senator was just saying, hey, you know, I
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:34
don't believe the federal government should be doing this
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:36
thing. So turns to find out that that senator has a disabled
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:41
child that is in a wheelchair. And so it was totally his view
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:47
was not about empathy for someone with this disability or
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:52
condition. It was about the role of government as he saw it. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:24:57
so that said, you know, he taught him a lesson about trying
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:01
to work through issues and meeting people where they are.
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:06
And he says that really helped him over time have all the
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:10
legislative successes that he did have, because he tried to,
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:15
tries to do that in every situation. So I would just say
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:19
that story just as a way of, for your students, if they're facing
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:24
a problem or challenge, like, don't take everything at
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:28
superficial value, like dig in and figure out why someone is,
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:32
you know, doing what they're doing or proposing what they're
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:34
proposing, it's probably a really good reason that you
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:37
need, whether you agree or not, it's different, but there's
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:39
probably a really good reason why they are taking the position
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:44
that they are. So I think that's really important, especially as
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:48
you grow, and you get on a career path. You know, it's a
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:52
small world, and the way you treat people in any situation is
Nelson Peacock:
00:25:59
going to follow you, no matter what. I mean, I'm still working
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:03
with people I met in Washington. You know, I met some in Boston
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:07
the other day, and I needed I needed help from them. And
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:11
because I, they always saw me someone that I treated them
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:16
fairly, I was actually above them in the org chart. And now I
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:19
need their help. Because I treated them the right way.
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:23
They're willing to help.
Brent Williams:
00:26:24
Yeah, what some good lessons one, treat people
Brent Williams:
00:26:28
around you well,
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:29
Yeah.
Brent Williams:
00:26:30
But then two that first, the first thing you
Brent Williams:
00:26:32
said, I think is really important as well, particularly,
Brent Williams:
00:26:35
you're right, particularly when you're early career, you know,
Brent Williams:
00:26:39
you feel this need to prove yourself, but sometimes proving
Brent Williams:
00:26:42
yourself is, you know, being willing to say what you don't
Brent Williams:
00:26:46
know, but that you are wanting and willing to learn. And that
Brent Williams:
00:26:49
learning mindset is something that is important for all of us
Brent Williams:
00:26:53
in a future that is going to require learning more than ever
Brent Williams:
00:26:56
before.
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:57
Yeah. And if you have a mentor at your work, or
Nelson Peacock:
00:26:59
wherever that person wants to help me or they wouldn't be in
Nelson Peacock:
00:27:04
that role. So you know, be willing to ask.
Brent Williams:
00:27:11
Well, Nelson, thanks for the work that you're
Brent Williams:
00:27:13
doing in Northwest Arkansas and in our state and, and for the
Brent Williams:
00:27:18
partnership with the University of Arkansas and the Walton
Brent Williams:
00:27:20
College. I deeply appreciate it.
Nelson Peacock:
00:27:23
Thanks for having me.
Brent Williams:
00:27:25
On behalf of the Walton College thank you for
Brent Williams:
00:27:27
joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected
Brent Williams:
00:27:31
and never miss an episode. Simply search for be epic on
Brent Williams:
00:27:34
your preferred podcast service.
