This week on the Be Epic podcast, Brent sits down with Nelson Peacock, President and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council. They discuss the council's work in supporting entrepreneurs, recruiting businesses, and diversifying the regional economy. Nelson shares his diverse career path working in government, higher education and economic development and how he made his way back to Arkansas after growing up in Eastern Arkansas and attending the University of Arkansas. During the discussion Nelson his focus and the council's emphasis on prioritizing quality of life as Northwest Arkansas faces growth pressures. Brent and Nelson also explore the opportunities for Northwest Arkansas and the University of Arkansas to continue to fuel the entrepreneurial ecosystem and venture capital investment in the region.
Podcast Episode
Episode Transcript
Nelson Peacock 0:00
But at the same time we're at an inflection point. And so we have to continue to do
that we have to continue to support entrepreneurs recruit companies, diversify the
and strengthen the economy. But we're also don't want to lose quality of life.
Brent Williams 0:13
Welcome to the be epic podcast, brought to you by the Sam M. Walton College of Business
at the University of Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll explore
the dynamic landscape of business and uncover the strategies, insights and stories
that drive business today. Well, today, I have with me Nelson Peacock. Nelson is President
and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council, and an alum of the Walton College. So Nelson,
thank you for being here today.
Nelson Peacock 0:45
Thanks for having me.
Brent Williams 0:46
Well, excited to have you on and talk about the council, which we partner with heavily.
That's really making a big difference in our region, in our state. I want to talk
some about like, what are the areas you all are focused on. But maybe before that
I want, I want our audience to get to know you a little bit. So native of Arkansas,
and along with the college. But tell us a little bit about your history.
Nelson Peacock 1:14
Well I was actually born in Fayetteville, just a few short years ago. My father was
in law school here. And I was born and then we moved to Eastern Arkansas when I was
you know two, grew up in McCrory, Arkansas, which is Woodruff County in Eastern Arkansas,
came back, went to Fayetteville came to the Business College, of course, ended up
staying here and going to law school. And after that, you know, the region was a lot
different back then there weren't as many job opportunities back then. So I've moved
to Little Rock practiced law for about a year and a half. And they told me I was going
to be a business lawyer, but I was a debt collector. So that was not the way I wanted
to spend my days. And ultimately, that kind of led me to moving to Washington DC.
And I found my way into the Department of Justice for a few years, ended up on the
Senate Judiciary Committee following that. And then my Senate experience kind of led
me to when President Obama won I was in the Senate, working for then vice or then
Senator Joe Biden on his judiciary staff. Through that, I met Janet Napolitano who
was the governor of Arizona, and she had been nominated for Homeland Security Secretary,
first woman homeland security secretary. And they assigned me to help her get confirmed
in the Senate confirmation process. Did that we kind of hit it off. And she hired
me to run her Legislative Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security. So that
agency includes TSA includes, you know, the Border Patrol, which is gets a lot of
attention now, ICE, FEMA, cybersecurity, it's the lead domestic agency for cybersecurity,
so a lot of activity, doing that work with her. And it was a lot of fun and getting
to see, you know, our service members. And, you know, what they sacrifice on behalf
of the country really, I think, solidified my idea that I enjoy public service. And,
ultimately, she took the job as the president of the University of California. And
that oversees all the UC campuses, UCLA, and Berkeley and all of them. And she invited
me to come out with her out to Oakland, California, and did that and was there for
about four years.
Brent Williams 3:49
Okay.
Nelson Peacock 3:50
And then I think.
Brent Williams 3:52
Doing government affairs there?
Nelson Peacock 5:52
Yeah I ran leg affairs for the system there, so we did a lot of work in Sacramento
working on kind of, they have the same issues there. You know there's a move to under
fund higher education in all kinds of states across and you know that ultimately raises
tuition and all of the things that I'm sure everyone here talks about a lot. So we
really wanted to make the case across the state about the need for the investment
in that institution. So we did a lot of work in Sacramento, Governor Jerry Brown was
there at the time and then we also had the federal affairs so federal research, you
know academic research, federal funding for that, did a lot of work there which is
you know have helped or at least tried to shine a spotlight on that here in this role.
But then after that, did that maybe 4 or 5 years this opportunity came up to come
back and a friend of mine, I did not know Mike Malone, who is my predecesor but someone
called me and said if you ever want to come back to Arkansas the perfect job for you
is opening up and so I looked into it. The only thing I knew about Northwest Arkansas
was it continued to be on the lists of great places to be and every time I would come
back for a football game or basketball game there would be something new. Right? And
so I knew great things were happening here and so I looked into it, I looked hard,
put my name in the hopper, went through the process and ultimately got the job. Had
to tell my wife and young children that we're moving to Arkansas and you know we came
here in I think 2017 so I've been here quite a while now and it's just been a great
opportunity for me to kind of put the skills that I've learned over time to work on
behalf of the people that live here and so it's been a good time.
Brent Williams 5:20
Yeah, it seems like knowing you, you and your family have just really kind of invested
deeply into this community. And in many, many ways.
Nelson Peacock 6:01
Yeah, I mean, it's been great. It's the kind of place where you can plug in, and it's
still small enough, where you can make a difference or feel you can make a difference,
even at some of those larger institutions. It very senior levels where I worked. You
knew you were having an impact, but you didn't think that it was you personally able
to contribute in any way. And here feels like, whatever you're interested in, you
can find a way to plug in and it's it's high enough to make a difference, but granular
and low enough where you feel like it's you personally making that difference. So,
so it's kind of a unique place right now, where we are in Northwest Arkansas.
Brent Williams 6:40
You know, thinking about Nelson, thinking about the council historically. You know,
it seems to me that this, you know, the regional cooperation that's happened in this
area, particularly amongst cities, counties, and companies, has really been key, I
think, to the story of Northwest Arkansas, I think the the council has played a pretty
important role in that, it seems.
Nelson Peacock 7:04
Well that's been the role of the council since the early 90s. You know, the story
is, is that Sam Walton got together with, with Don Tyson, and with JB Hunt, and Mark
Simmons. And really, basically, they all, you know, kind of decided that, you know,
the region, these smaller towns, which and they were all small towns at the time,
have to find a way to work together better, we need some key things in this region,
as far as infrastructure to help our company so that that we can grow together. And
at the time, it was the airport, it was getting I-49 completed and getting 412 out
to Siloam Springs completed. And those were the projects. Ultimately, those happened
and the council kind of stayed an institution, following that following 1998, when
I believe when the airport was open, and kind of stayed focused on highways and roads
and bridges, the airport until around 2010. And that's when they hired Mike. And they
expanded to workforce development, economic development of this kind of quality of
life bucket that we focused on. And we've kind of grown and expanded to meet meet
the needs of the region since then. But the key thing that we do is we bring together
the mayors of Fayetteville and Bentonville, we actually had a meeting just yesterday,
with all the regional mayors to talk about growth and how we're going to handle, you
know, up to a million people over the next 20 plus years. And so that's our role that
we play, making sure that companies are engaged, you know, with their community and
vice versa. So all to towards whether it's recruiting a company or recruiting talent,
or a workforce development program. It's like how do you make this the most economically
viable place that we possibly can? Can you recruit a business here? Can you scale
your business here? Can you have fortune one and get the talent that you need here?
It's all of those types of things that the Council works on. But the main role that
we play is kind of the center of the wheel getting all the right players at the table.
Brent Williams 9:16
Yeah it's kind of a unique spot that you all sit in, in this in this ecosystem. And
I know I know you've done you do traditional what we call economic development work,
but it is interesting to see how how involved you all are in the quality of life and
seems like those two things I'm sure have to balance one another and they mixed together
I also assume.
Nelson Peacock 9:16
Well it has been it's been the calling card of this region for for the longest time.
You know, come here you can afford a house if you're moving from the coast. Come here
you won't have a ton of traffic. You know you'll have good education for your for
your kids to go to school. And so that's been kind of the calling card for Northwest
Arkansas and you know is clearly it's worked. You know, there are deficiencies with
that kind of less urban environment. And you know, we'll probably talk around some
of that around entrepreneurship and venture capital, and things like that. But that
is what we've always hung our hat on. And I think there's a lot of people here that
people that move here, and also the people that live here, don't want to lose that
as we grow and make sure that we have an economy that will work for everyone and have
an economy that will withstand any issues and you know, with any of our large industries,
and that includes the University of Arkansas, you know, what happens, if, if something
happens in any of these large companies that we rely on along so long, not that there
will, but we need to have economic resilience. And that is really a goal of the council.
And it helps those companies attract talent, if there's multiple opportunities. There
is a thought around you know, kind of this dinette dynamism, you know, of a place
where people can go and have a great career have a great quality of life. And we try
to balance those things out and the things that we focus on.
Brent Williams 9:50
You know, one of the areas at least where I feel the most connected to what you are
doing, it's probably one area where we've partnered the most is, is on entrepreneurship.
So would love to just hear your perspective, because you do sit in a unique chair
of since you've been here since 2017. What are you seeing happening in that ecosystem?
Nelson Peacock 11:31
Well, a lot when I came here, from, from UC, I got to see what had happened with some
of those institutions, and the impact of, of an institution of higher education, working
with the business community inspiring entrepreneurs, you know, either from Berkeley
in the Bay Area, or what happened at UC San Diego with the biotech industry, and really
how those institutions engaged with the public. And one of the the main things, obviously,
the attraction of talent here in providing that center, but it was the inspiration
of students, and faculty that think that they could go out and change the world, they're
going to get their degree in, whatever, but they're going to go change the world.
And we saw that across the board. And, and, you know, and so when we got here, it
was really interesting, I knew that the university was going to be one of these pillars
that we needed to rely upon. And when I came in, it was around the same time, that
Ross Devol came and started Heartland Forward, he had a background in Arkansas in
the role of innovation and entrepreneurship, and, you know, institutions of higher
education in that role. And so, you know, we really wanted to focus our members on
that, and, you know, the the university really stood up, and really, you already had
programs, and each of those have really grown them and developed them over the last
five years. And I think it's important, not only for the institution, and the type
of students you want to get here, and can get here, but also for the region, the type
of region that we want to create with this kind of resilience economically. So, you
know, I think both of those things are really important, you know, and the kind of
faculty member that wants to do research that wants to commercialize, I think that
creates, in my view, kind of a well rounded institution, a well rounded region, well
rounded state. And I think and hope that we're going to continue to grow those programs,
strengthen those relationships between the university and the business community,
and continue to, to do our part, I think, to help ensure that, that the University
of Arkansas can be the best that it can be. And then that turns around and makes the
state the best that it can be.
Brent Williams 13:52
I couldn't agree more, you know, when I think about our our students, some almost
9,000 of them currently, you know, I think what what our objective really is in the
Walton College is to input or develop maybe is the is the better term, an entrepreneurial,
innovative mindset, you know, and then those students, right, there's going to be
in our region in our state, and companies everywhere, you know, some are going to
start companies immediately, some are going to spend their whole career in large enterprises.
But when they do that, you know, they can cause those enterprises to grow and morph
and be resilient of their own. Some will start in those enterprises and then come
out and and start their own businesses. So, but it's this, it's this group of students
that I think that really are going to be fuel for the future.
Nelson Peacock 14:42
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, for the college when you look at what you've done
in supply chain over the years, I mean, those are problems that these large enterprises
and small are facing every single day. And to have a set of students with that skill
set and an innovative mindset is really is a significant value add of these companies
to start ups, you know, across the board.
Brent Williams 15:06
Not too long ago, I got to attend a lunch that the Council put on that was really
focused on trying to get trying to get, I guess, venture capital, private equity firms
to the region and investing in firms that are starting to grow here. Can you talk
a little bit about how you see the capital landscape evolving, and maybe even your
role in it?
Nelson Peacock 15:30
Sure, you know, as you know, and I don't know if the listeners know, but over the
last, I don't know, five years, there have been a lot of there's been a lot of focus
on accelerators and incubators. And coming out of the university, the Walton Family
Foundation has played an instrumental part in setting up these programs to help the
formation of young companies. And we need that that's a priority. But we've also found
at the same time that that, you know, if they don't get that very early stage capital,
you know, after they've been to friends and family, but kind of the seed round, you
know, those companies are either going to fall off and they're these individuals are
going to go work somewhere else, or they're going to take their company, wherever
that funder is, or asks them to go. And so that'd be the worst case scenario for us
is to spend time and effort, incubating entrepreneurs here, getting their ideas out
starting a company, and then having to go somewhere else. And so we all know that
outside of a couple places on the coast venture capital, especially early stage is
difficult to come by. And so what we've started at the council, we're not investors,
obviously. But we have been trying to and have started to focus on firms in and around
the heartland, primarily because there is a coastal bias on what those types of venture
capitalists see is happening in Arkansas, or other states. So places like Tulsa, places
like Houston, Dallas Fort Worth, Austin, St. Louis, there's a lot of venture capital
firms there. And we're trying to shine a spotlight on what's happening in Northwest
Arkansas, at the University and beyond. And so, and just basically curating visits
for them. And this was part of the luncheon that you went to, let's make it as easy
as possible for these firms to come here experience Northwest Arkansas, and meet companies
that we think are investable, and you know, if they meet their thesis, you know, that's
going to be great. Let's get them coming back, it may not happen after one trip or
two. But we're going to try to do that quarterly, where we kind of curate these visits
from these investors. And so far, we've done two. And they've been blown away with
not only the region and the way it's developing and growing and the vision for the
future, but also the quality of startups that are here. And for them, they can get
this at a discount of what the same company would be if it were located in the Bay
Area. So that's exciting for us. We're looking for some of these relationships to
bear fruit. The university is obviously been key to that. When you combine that with
all the programming that you all do, you know, I think we're really going to see a
lot of growth in this space over the next couple of years.
Brent Williams 18:20
Yeah, you can feel it. And just at least at that one meeting, you could feel the the
excitement, the exuberance about the region, some that had never been here before
that just were totally blown away.
Nelson Peacock 18:32
Yeah. Yeah.
Brent Williams 18:34
Well, as you as you start to look forward for the council working with with all of
your members, what are some of the things that that you're working on as you're going
into the future? And then, you know, some of the things you're excited about for the
region?
Nelson Peacock 18:48
Yeah, I think you know, what we've been doing. And we talked about this two years
ago, when we released our strategic plan, basically said, we're kind of at this inflection
point for the region for the last, let's say, 20 years of the council's existence
is been, whatever, what can we do to grow, grow, grow, grow, let's get the road built,
let's get the airport built. Let's get the workforce programs, let's keep continue
to grow as fast as we can. And that is, by and large worked. We are one of the fastest
growing regions in the country. And we're going to continue to be as we talked about
the population projections. But at the same time, we're at an inflection point. And
so we have to continue to do that. We have to continue to support entrepreneurs, recruit
companies, diversify the strengthen the economy, but we're also don't want to lose
quality of life. We don't want to have what happened to some other places. Let's take
an Austin for example. A lot of people there feel like Austin lost it's character
that people loved about it, you know, 20 years ago along the way now, it's a different
place and a lot of people love it, others not so much. I think for us, it's like how
do we preserve what people like about it now? And of course, it's going to change.
But what people like about it now is, it's easy to get around. It's a slower pace
of life in it that you don't have a lot of hassle factor, you know, you can get to
pick up your children from school, or you can, you know, get from Bentonville to Fayetteville
in 15, 20 minutes. How can we maintain that? How can our nurses our firefighters our
teachers, can they live in the community where they serve, and if you go to, like,
we lived in the Bay Area, teachers would have to commute two hours to get to their
job. And that's just really the way I think about it, there's just really no way you
would want to live your life. And it's not what we want, here. And so how do we handle
the growth actually continue to stimulate that growth, but also handle the infrastructure
needs, the housing needs, that will help preserve the character of Northwest Arkansas?
Brent Williams 20:58
Well, it is a wonderful place to live. And, you know, one thing I get to do, I get
to meet a lot of prospective students and their families and, you know, get to tell
them about not only what's great about the Walton College and University, but what
a place to live for these four years and start your career. And, you know, just the
overall set of opportunities for our students, both quality of life while they're
here, career opportunities is like I just maybe couldn't even imagine when I was first
time I was here in 2004.
Nelson Peacock 21:30
Yeah, yeah. Well, when I left in 98, or whatever it was, there weren't really that
many opportunities here in the same way. And that's what we want is a region and as
a state and when you attract students here, in state out of state, whatever, we need
to keep them here,
Brent Williams 21:49
That's right.
Nelson Peacock 21:50
And that is a function of, I think, their experience here and what they grow to love
here, but also the opportunities that they have, and we have to do both.
Brent Williams 21:59
That's right. Well, you've had a kind of switching back to a maybe almost where we
started. So we started with your background. And it's it's quite very, you know, you
know, you spent time in DC, around the political ecosystem, you've been in higher
ed, you're now in economic development, you know, so I might get you to think about
our students, you know, that are beginning, you know, the next phase of their life,
kind of what have you, what have you learned by moving throughout your career, and
any just lessons learned that you would share with them?
Nelson Peacock 22:36
Well, I would say, you know, I am a jack of all trades and master of none really,
you know, when I look at our different work streams, whether it's housing or health
care, or economic development, I'm not I'm not an expert in any of those. But I think
what I've learned to do over my career, and I think this is the lesson for anyone
is, you know, I was very lucky growing up, or I did, I learned to be a very, pretty
good writer. So I can communicate with people I learned over time, how to be comfortable
with who I am, and not try to be someone else. If I'm not an expert. And I know this
is really, really hard for me when I was young and moved to DC. How do you admit what
you don't know? So you can seek that knowledge and get it in for yourself without
just pretending that you don't and, you know, when Joe Biden was a senator and I worked
for him, he taught me a lesson about people's positions. And like, you know, there
is a and this is particularly instructive now, is like, you know, if someone takes
a position, whether it's political or whatever, that's opposite of yours, you should
never assume bad intent on their part. Because you don't you don't know where they're
coming from. And he tells a story. I forget, I think I was some senator from North
Carolina, maybe. But at some point, when Senator Biden was a young senator, they wanted
to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act at the time. So this was, I don't know,
early 80s, late 70s. He had just gotten there. And there was a powerful senator from
North Carolina that wanted that opposed it and was blocking it. So Senator Biden then
ascribed all this, ill intent toward that he doesn't know he doesn't care where, the
other senator was just saying, hey, you know, I don't believe the federal government
should be doing this thing. So turns to find out that that senator has a disabled
child that is in a wheelchair. And so it was totally his view was not about empathy
for someone with this disability or condition. It was about the role of government
as he saw it. And so that said, you know, he taught him a lesson about trying to work
through issues and meeting people where they are. And he says that really helped him
over time have all the legislative successes that he did have, because he tried to,
tries to do that in every situation. So I would just say that story just as a way
of, for your students, if they're facing a problem or challenge, like, don't take
everything at superficial value, like dig in and figure out why someone is, you know,
doing what they're doing or proposing what they're proposing, it's probably a really
good reason that you need, whether you agree or not, it's different, but there's probably
a really good reason why they are taking the position that they are. So I think that's
really important, especially as you grow, and you get on a career path. You know,
it's a small world, and the way you treat people in any situation is going to follow
you, no matter what. I mean, I'm still working with people I met in Washington. You
know, I met some in Boston the other day, and I needed I needed help from them. And
because I, they always saw me someone that I treated them fairly, I was actually above
them in the org chart. And now I need their help. Because I treated them the right
way. They're willing to help.
Brent Williams 26:24
Yeah, what some good lessons one, treat people around you well,
Nelson Peacock 26:29
Yeah.
Brent Williams 26:30
But then two that first, the first thing you said, I think is really important as
well, particularly, you're right, particularly when you're early career, you know,
you feel this need to prove yourself, but sometimes proving yourself is, you know,
being willing to say what you don't know, but that you are wanting and willing to
learn. And that learning mindset is something that is important for all of us in a
future that is going to require learning more than ever before.
Nelson Peacock 26:57
Yeah. And if you have a mentor at your work, or wherever that person wants to help
me or they wouldn't be in that role. So you know, be willing to ask.
Brent Williams 27:11
Well, Nelson, thanks for the work that you're doing in Northwest Arkansas and in our
state and, and for the partnership with the University of Arkansas and the Walton
College. I deeply appreciate it.
Nelson Peacock 27:22
Thanks for having me.
Brent Williams 27:25
On behalf of the Walton College thank you for joining us for this captivating conversation.
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