Episode 239: Reflecting on a Successful Tenure as Dean with Matt Waller

August 9 , 2023  |  By Brent Williams

Share this via:

This week on the podcast, we turn the mic to Matt as he is interviewed by incoming interim dean and new podcast host, Brent Williams. They reflect on Matt's transformative 8-year tenure as dean and how they initially met when Brent was a student of Matt's. They discuss key highlights during Matt's time as dean and then look to the future. Looking ahead, Matt shares his plans to return to research and teaching, while also supporting entrepreneurs across Northwest Arkansas. Stay tuned for next week's episode where Matt will interview Brent about the future of the Walton College in his final episode as host. 

Episode Transcript

Matt Waller  0:00  
That difficult time I had made us better. We trusted each other more, because we had to trust each other more. And we were able to just work so efficiently and effectively. It was a it's a memorable time in my life.

Excellence, professionalism, innovation, and collegiality. These are the values the Sam M. Walton College of Business explores in education, business and the lives of people we meet every day. I'm Matt Waller, Dean of the Walton College, and welcome to the be epic podcast.

Brent Williams  0:20  
Well, I have with me today, Matt Waller for this audience. He probably needs absolutely no introduction. But you've been listening to him for some time as the moderator of this podcast. But Matt, as you know, is the outgoing dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, has been a professor at the University of Arkansas for many, many years, and has just been a valued member of the community here. So Matt, thank you for being willing to join me today.

Matt Waller  0:51  
Thank you for having me. This is the first time I've been a guest on the be epic podcast. Thanks for taking it over.

Brent Williams  0:58  
Yeah, you're on. You're on the other side of the of the table. Well, the last eight years that you have been dean at, I think, has truly been remarkable for the Walton College, I think the college has gone through in its history, you know, a couple of real transformational periods. But in, you know, being able to be around the Walton College for at least the last 20 years and understand a lot of its history. I I do think that the last eight years that you've been dean has been transformational. So, you know, well, one. And so I want to, I want to get to some of the highlights. But, you know, I was thinking that this audience with you, as the moderator may not have really gotten to hear your story. So I mentioned, you know, you've been a faculty here, but you've also been a founder, you're clearly an entrepreneur. So maybe tell us a little bit about your background? 

Matt Waller  1:54  
Sure. Well, when I came here, in 1994, I came as a visiting assistant professor, that means I had a job for a year, essentially, I didn't know exactly what I was going to do after that. But I, after I moved here, well, even before I moved here, I had been following what was going on with Walmart and the suppliers moving to town. And I remember even when I was a doctoral student at Penn State, I read an article about Walmart. I think this would have been in 1989. I can't remember, somewhere around there. I read an article about Walmart, sharing point of sale data with Procter and Gamble, and they were planning on rolling it out to all of their suppliers. So that means sales data by store by day on hand inventory, many other variables. And I got to thinking about it. And you know, part of this story really well. I was very fortunate at Penn State, I had some amazing classes and professors, I really did. And they were just leaders in their fields and research. But in one of the classes, it was a economics like an advanced economics class in macroeconomics class, we read a paper. I think it was called something like information substitutes for inventory. And it was just the idea that the more information you have, the less inventory you really need. Because inventory can help you still need some because you can economize by having more inventory. Anyway, I won't go into all of it, but you don't need as much safety stock. In other words, if you knew exactly what was gonna happen, then you could just have that that amount of inventory and you'd satisfy demand. You may still have some cycle stock for economizing on the inventory, transportation, for example, but I thought okay, this makes sense. Walmart would share this information to substitute for inventory. And in retail inventory is so critical. It's like, you can't live with it and you can't live without it. If you have too much inventory, your return on assets is going to go down your return and that will affect your stock price. If and you'll also have more inventory going bad if you have not enough inventory, you're gonna miss sales and you may miss the margin on those sales. You may have customers leave the store, eventually you may lose the customer altogether. And I believe based on my research that and experience that is part of the reason Kmart failed, you know Kmart, Walmart and Target all started in 1962. And Walmart just grew so fast. It's unbelievable. And I won't go into all of this, but I remember so before I came here, Kmart was bigger than Walmart. Yet again, through some I took a class in. And we didn't talk necessarily about Walmart, specifically, but I would happen to find articles on it. But we talked about economies of scope and economies of scale and how you build your network. And, you know, the Walmart idea of using distribution centers close to stores, was a unique idea. You know, the competitors to Walmart would just put stores in the best location. And Walmart would say, let's build the stores within a certain distance of a distribution center. Because by having them close, you can have a shorter lead times to the store, meaning you need less inventory at safety stock in the stores. But you can also have full truckloads to the stores. Heterogeneous truckloads. I won't go on and on about all this stuff. But my point is the seed had been planted for Northwest Arkansas. And I kept reading more about what was going on here. And I was fascinated by it. But I also talked to my doctoral peers, I would talk to my professors about it, they knew very little about, I knew more about Walmart than they did. But I was always using Walmart as an example of what I was learning. And Walmart, again, you could argue, well, okay, great. They're in a small part of the country. They're probably not going to do very well, given where they are, you know. But once the economies of scale kicked in, Walmart blew past everybody. And of course, Walmart is really good at pivoting, which is a whole nother story. So when I first came here, I was very fortunate. I got to have lunch with Lee Scott, who was Executive Vice President of logistics, for Walmart. I had no idea who was going to become a CEO. We had a long lunch. And he agreed to he got me involved in a project at Walmart. And I, my co author was a industrial engineering professor. And we worked on this cool optimization problem. And I got to know a bunch of people there and loved it. And I won't go on and on. But I've always been involved with Walmart to some degree, and the vendors and the carriers. And so my knowledge of the retail value chain just kept going up. Because I kept, I started doing lots of research and I, I did research and, you know, on the intersection of merchandising and logistics, and lots of other areas, but so I came here, there was only, I had a year. And I met some business people, some retired people from Walmart. And there were four of them. And we started a consulting firm, early on in my time here, doesn't exist anymore. But it was called Bentonville Associates, which is a cool name you know. 

Brent Williams  8:44  
Yeah. 

Matt Waller  8:45  
It it signals what it is pretty quickly. And within the first year, we I think we did $650,000 year one, and we had no overhead. And we didn't even have to rent the space because one of my partners owned the first real major office park here, Bo Terre. And so we use space there. We even used his admin. So I mean, it was, you know, that's the thing about Walmart. They think let's do things efficiently. And it was a good lesson for me in life. I live that way personally, as you know. And but I thought, wow, it makes so much sense. You can make better decisions when you're frugal. You're not dependent on every dollar, you know, you can say let's do what's best. But so I Doyle Williams was dean at the time, and he was unbelievably good dean, great dean.

Brent Williams  9:56  
I think he was the other period of transformation by the way. 

Matt Waller  9:59  
Oh my gosh, he was remarkable. And I was fortunate in that similar to you, he let me get involved in things I had no business being involved in, including the first gift, the big gift we got from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, the $50 million that resulted in us being the Walton College of Business, I got involved in that process a little bit early on, and I was an assistant professor, so I did, Doyle, the other thing is Doyle believed in me. And so he took a position an existing position from the finance department and moved it to the marketing department, because we didn't have our own department back then, it was marketing and transportation. And and I got that position.

Brent Williams  10:50  
Well, you know, I don't know that I've thought about this, Matt. But it's kind of a funny story, Doyle believed in you, and found a position and made it happen. And I don't know if you remember this. When I was transitioning from the master's program to the Ph D program, there was not a slot for me. And you believed in me, and you had to go find that slot and made it happen. I've never thought about the parallel between those stories.

Matt Waller  11:16  
Boy, that's true. And I had to go to another department, I actually went to, well, I had to do a bunch of things. But one, one thing was funding. And so, Bill Hargrave, who's now the president of the University of Memphis, was running the RFID Lab. And there was a project we were working on, and I said, hey, could we fund this doctoral student? He said, absolutely. He's a great guy to collaborate with.

Brent Williams  11:45  
Well, Bill reminded me of that many years ago, when I was at Auburn, and told him, I was coming to Arkansas. He was my dean at Auburn. And he reminded me of that story.

Matt Waller  11:58  
Well, you know, and it gets this gets back to this concept of being frugal, too. Okay, we didn't have enough resources for it. But we figured out how to make it work. I think that sometimes, being a little scarce on resources teaches you to be more creative, more innovative, more entrepreneurial, you know. And, boy, when I look at, you know, the resources we have today, compared to what we had, then it's so different. I remember, as a new professor here, there used to be this rule that. So we have the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, but it used to be called West Ark Community College. And there were some rule that we had to teach an MBA class there every year, at least one per year. And I had the fortune of being selected because I was the newbie, I think I did it while I was a visiting assistant professor. Yeah. So I had to teach this course in Fort Smith. And back then we didn't have I 49. And the road was very dangerous. And I taught it on Monday nights, from six to 10, six to 10. And you know, Brent, I'm a morning person. I'm in bed by nine o'clock. And so I had to drive down this really dangerous road. And I found out later, it was the sixth most dangerous road in the United States based on deaths per mile per year. And I was, so I struggling you know I would teach. And it took a long time. Now, it's pretty quick to get to Fort Smith. But back then it took a long, long drive.

Brent Williams  13:41  
Well, I mean, quite a departure, you know, from where the Walton College is and the, you know, the, I guess, and you've, you've been a huge part of finding ways to I think you have infused an entrepreneurial spirit into into us as a college that I think existed, but you really helped to accelerate that. And, you know, when you look back over the last eight years, that you've served as dean, and while I know hard at times, I truly believe you've loved it and given it absolutely everything you had. What are some of the highlights that really stand out to you during that period?

Matt Waller  14:26  
Well, that's a good, good question. I'm gonna bring up one that's very personal. And it shows the importance of having a good team. So you are an Associate Dean, Anne O'Leary Kelly, Alan Ellstrand. And we had Tanya and the whole team and in 2017, I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer that had spread and yeah, it didn't look good. I had to go through radiation and chemo and the fall in the fall, spring of 17, surgeries in the summer of 17 more chemo in the fall, and then a final surgery in November of 2017. And, you know, when I was, I had only been dean for two years by that point. And I talked to some people and I said, Matt, you're gonna, you're gonna really feel tired after the chemo and the radiation and weak. And I thought, oh my gosh, because you're right, I love I love being dean. And I loved great being an entrepreneurial dean and being starting new things and growing them. And I thought, well, I'm not going to have the energy for that. You know? And, but, so I started thinking about delegating more. So this was a great lesson for me. But it's a lesson to anyone, the importance of delegation. Okay, so I had to delegate a bunch of stuff to my entire team, because I thought that I was gonna be weak, and not be able to operate fully. And, of course, I was in the hospital for a month in Dallas, and, and you and I was in the hospital for 10 days in Northwest Arkansas, in November, I think, or October, no November. But, but I delegated all this work to you all. And it turns out, I didn't have as bad a reaction to the radiation and chemo, as a lot of people do. And I was able to function quite well, I, I worked every day, I never missed one day of work, due to chemo and radiation, at least in the spring. Now, in the fall, there was one exception where I did. But you know, we got a lot done in 2017. And I wouldn't have got as much done, had I not delegated. So my sickness, forced me to delegate, but that delegation wouldn't have worked if I wouldn't have had a good team. So people that are listening to this, I can say one leadership takeaway that I've learned, is build a great team and delegate to them. And don't micromanage them.

Brent Williams  17:46  
Well, and I think maybe that connects to you know, what I would have added to that, which was empowerment, you know, so when I think about being a part of that, one, we were a close team, in a really short period of time, we had bonded, and we're all on the same page, and all understood the mission and what we were trying to accomplish. But I think Anne and Alan would agree with me that we all felt empowered. And we felt empowered to make decisions. We felt supported when we made those decisions, even if they weren't, right. And there's absolutely no doubt that we I'm sure made mistakes and might have made decisions that you wouldn't have made. But I think that boy that period really created trust. And it it just gave us more bandwidth in a really short period of time that seemed to launch us into that next phase, even though it came from, you know, something terrible.

Matt Waller  18:48  
Well, that's right. And I was really sad about it. Because I probably get too much of my identity from my job. And at my accomplishments, you know, I thrive in that and probably too much, but I was so sad when this diagnosis came. I was not scared. Even though I had heard I may have only a 10% chance of living five years. That didn't scare me as much as the thought of not being able to do a good job by far, and I was sad for a long time. And so once I started getting the radiation and chemo, I realized, oh, I can do okay, I'd already delegated a bunch of stuff. And I was supposed to be in the hospital for three days in June of that year and I wound up being there a month. Thank goodness I delegated. And you really took the ball and ran with the McMillon Studio. We had already had the gift but you know we got that going. We got the Brewer Hub up and running that year. We got a $7 million gift for the supply chain policy initiative. We got the online accounting degree created, the online undergraduate supply chain management degree. And then in the next year, you know, the Blockchain Center of Excellence was started, which was terrific. And we started the Dean's roundtable of entrepreneurs and market makers. And then we got the Walton College at 2nd and main going, we got another million dollar gift from Doug and Shelly McMillon, and then things just started rocketing from there. That's, I really think 2020 is when all of the fruit of that started being manifested because in 2020, we started a brand new department, the department of strategy, entrepreneurship, and venture innovation, which has been great. The supply chain undergraduate program got ranked number one in North America by Gartner, the Dillard the the accounting department got endowed with a $10 million gift William Dillard Department of Accounting, we created the Master of Science in economic analytics, the Master of Professional Accounting, the Master of Applied Business Analytics, master of supply chain management, Master of Science in finance. We started the business integrity leadership Initiative, with Cindy Moehring, who used to be the chief ethics officer at Walmart for 20 years, we started the supply chain hall of fame in Rogers, the we got a gift from JB Hunt for 2.2 million. All of that really happened in 2020. But it was based on work that had already really been done, it just came to fruition. And I do think you're right, that that difficult time I had made us better. We trusted each other more, because we had to trust each other more. And we were able to just work so efficiently and effectively. It was a it's a memorable time in my life. This doesn't happen much in leadership teams. There's very few times throughout history, where you get to experience that kind of productivity as a team really.

Brent Williams  22:32  
I couldn't agree more. You're right. And and then you get that really creates joy out of the work. 

Matt Waller  22:40  
It does.

Brent Williams  22:41  
You know. So, as Dean, you know, when I think back to what you just read us, I mean, there truly was an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, I guess, mindset that was really at hand. And in doing that, I think that wasn't about us. It was about really serving our stakeholders, right, it was about bettering our students, it was about getting them better jobs and helping them succeed in life. And then, you know, it's about serving our state better by bringing expertise. It truly was about building things that built up our stakeholders.

Matt Waller  23:22  
Well you know, the entrepreneur mindset. Really, it's about saying, what are the problems out there? And how can we overcome those problems? If you look at what we did over the past eight years, as a team, we focused on that we see an issue. We try to address it. And we don't I mean, you look at all these things we did. We didn't have the resources to do it. But we did it. And it generated more resources than we could have ever imagined. The budget of the college has just grown dramatically. And we're contributing back to the university a lot of resources as well.

Brent Williams  24:04  
Yeah, a virtuous cycle. 

Matt Waller  24:06  
It is. 

Brent Williams  24:07  
Well, let me switch gears to the podcast. You know, you've had, you've had some dedicated listeners for the last several years. And I think that as of your last podcast, I think it's around 240 episodes, if not maybe a touch more. So, you know, for those that have been dedicated listeners following along, what is the podcast experience been for you? Why did you think it was so important because you've clearly dedicated a lot of your time and resources to it. But I think it's made a tremendous impact for expanding the reach of the college.

Matt Waller  24:53  
First of all, there's no other dean of a business school that has 240 podcasts. So I, you know, we, our college podcast episodes, usually universities, and Dean's or whoever start them and they quit, or they start them and then handed off to someone else. I felt it was important to stick with it. And I'm glad you want to do it and continue it. Because if you think about it, one of the most important variables in leadership is setting the direction of whatever entity it is gaining alignment of people, motivating people. And the podcast can do that in so many different ways. You know, you you wind up, of course, I have talked to faculty, staff, alumni, and other people. Sometimes I read a book and I think I really liked this, I call the author and say, can I interview you for this book, I've done that maybe four or five times maybe more than that. But with alumni, and not just alumni, but people somehow who might be related to the college in some way or should be related. It forms a bond between between them and the college, when they finally do a podcast. And then me as the dean, I've actually had people asked me, you know, why don't you just have someone else do the podcast rather than you? And the answer is, I'm the leader of the college I, I'm the one that takes responsibility for boundary spanning and for sense making. And boundary spanning and sense making are two important functions of a leader. And so in a way, this allows me to span the boundaries, but it also allows me to make sense to to engage in sense making I hear something, and in the podcast, I'll start talking about how it relates to the college. And so people say, oh, that's how it relates to the college. And I think as you know, we've actually had, I remember a few years ago, there was a student who was a freshman at KU. And he started listening to our podcast. KU, University of Kansas. And he thought, there's more going on at Arkansas, and Walton College than I'm seeing going on here. No offense to KU, but it's a this is what he said. And he switched. his sophomore year, he was here in the Walton College, he's graduated.

Brent Williams  27:46  
As dean, you're certainly the chief executive. But I think in watching you in the role, you also served as chief learner for the college. And I think that this podcast was probably a way for you to learn from more than 240 people.

Matt Waller  28:10  
I've learned something from every podcast, some podcasts, I've learned a lot. And one thing I noticed, when you do a podcast recording interview of someone, you remember more content, than if you just have a discussion with someone. At least that's been true for me, it anchors it in your brain. And so then when you see them the next time you remember all this content, and it allows you to connect to them better, but it also has actually made me start, some of the initiatives I've started in part have been a result of things I've learned through the podcasts. And also you learn things that people don't want public. There's been times I've interviewed faculty, staff, students, alumni, and they'll say, let me tell you something, Matt, I'm not gonna say this on the podcast, but I've been wanting to tell you this. So it gives people a opportunity to share things with you that they wouldn't normally share. And I think that the fact that you're inviting someone to be on the podcast, it starts. It shows that, you know, trust has three components. And one component is that you have the person's best interests in mind. And that component, like if you if you, if you have someone on as to interview them, it shows you care about them to some degree, or you wouldn't have mind. So trust starts building as a result of that.

Brent Williams  29:39  
Well, I'm excited to keep the podcast going. I think it's very important. And I look forward to meeting all the future guests and learning from them. This is a tremendous opportunity for me. So thank you for making it a reality. And I know for those of us that have been dedicated listeners, we've all learned from you and from your guests. So here's a question that I think you we've got to be of interest to those that have followed you and followed the podcast. Well so you've been dean for eight years, well, one, why are you going back to faculty? And but you know, after you explain that, tell us a little bit more about what's in your plans.

Matt Waller  30:25  
Sure. So, you know, I believe in rotational leadership, there's this concept called rotational leadership. And I've encouraged it in our college, I like to take people out of positions, they're comfortable in after a few years and put them somewhere else. I mean, amongst the associate, deans, we've mixed up all kinds of thing. But I do think, you know, it's like for department chairs, I don't think department chairs should be in that position for 10, more than 10 years for sure. Eight years is probably enough. Now, there's some cases where you need to keep them going. So I want to say this. And I've said this publicly before, if you were not wanting to be Dean, I wouldn't step down right now. Because even though I think it's better for me to rotate out, I wouldn't do it unless I knew there was someone really good to take my place. And in your case, I think you will excel as dean, I think you're gonna take us to new levels. 

Brent Williams  31:41  
Thank you. 

Matt Waller  31:44  
I wouldn't step down right now. Now. And usually they don't let Dean's be a part of the search process to replace them, which I think is a mistake. Who else? I mean, you definitely want the input of the sitting dean or the former dean. I don't understand that at all. But but that's what I would do. And but you're ready. There's no question in my mind. And I've used a lot of my entrepreneurial spirit has been important during this phase. I think you bring things that I don't have, that we need. And I think that, and I know you do, because I've worked with you for 20 years, so I know what your strengths are. And I think it's time for a change. I've given my best to this organization. But I'm also a little bit like that I I prefer new things now that this I'm so if you would have asked me year one, do you think you'll stay in this job for eight years? I would have said no.

Brent Williams  33:02  
I would have agreed with that, knowing you eight years ago. Yeah.

Matt Waller  33:05  
It's just not me to do that. I've been very loyal to the university. I've stayed here for 30 years, but I come into 1994. I quickly be you know, I'm a very loyal person. And it would be hard for me to leave the University of Arkansas, all my friends are here. I mean, I know so many people in all the colleges of our campus. We have lots of wonderful people. And especially, of course, I know a lot of people in the Walton College. And I wouldn't want to leave, it's just not in me. I've had lots of opportunities to do so. But I would feel I just wouldn't feel good about it at this point. I, this is my university, that I'm part of, this my college. And so that's part of the reason I think it's time for me to leave. I also think I can help Northwest Arkansas and the state as a professor, more than I can as Dean now I've got, I've become aware of some things I'll share some ideas of what's going on.

Brent Williams  34:18  
I was about to say for most that's probably a counterintuitive statement. I believe it's true. I understand for you why it may be true, but share a little more.

Matt Waller  34:30  
Sure. And so I want to say this over the next year. As I continue to prepare for teaching and I'm already doing research again, by the way, I was way behind on research, I had no pipeline and I just remember I just noticed the other day I've got to be careful now because I've got like seven major projects going. But I do I you know if you look at if you look at professors by citations on Google Scholar. I'm in the top 20 at the University of Arkansas. I want to maintain that I want, I'm 58. I'm going to turn 59 in August. I hope to be able to be a great contributor for at least 10 more years, maybe 12. Maybe, maybe till I'm 70 or 71, or 72, I don't know. But tell me, Brent, when, I when I am doing terrible in the classroom, I hope you tell me to leave. But my goal is to be one of the top researchers in the Walton College and in the country in supply chain management. And I having been dean, I've seen it all. I actually know how to do it now. I did, I did pretty well before. But I know way more about how to do it now. And I'm young enough to where I can still do it.

Brent Williams  35:59  
There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that you will be tremendous in the faculty role. And I'm thrilled that you've chosen to stay as a faculty member in the Walton College of Business. I know you're going to do some other things too, what's what's in what's in the works? To really drive the you know, you mentioned, continuing to advance Northwest Arkansas and the state of Arkansas. And that's, you know, I think so appealing to me to hear you say that.

Matt Waller  36:34  
I will I want to talk about an elephant in the room before I get on to that, 

Brent Williams  36:39  
Okay. 

Matt Waller  36:40  
And the elephant is many people know, I applied to be chancellor and I didn't get it. And I just want to say this, and I mean it I'm not Brent knows this, and people who work with me know this. I'm glad I didn't get it. I mean, this is not a way of just dealing with something. There was a part of me that was disappointed, I was ready for something new. And I thought I had some ideas that could really advance the the university actually some of the things I did at the college I wanted to do at the university, it would have been very hard to do but but I think I fully support Charles, he's doing a great job and Terry, I'm behind them, and I will help them if they call upon me for help. I'll be there. There's no sour grapes. I'm really blessed in that it's just not a part of my wiring. I think it's one of the reasons why I've been a successful entrepreneur, I can try something, if it doesn't work, I can go on to the next thing and I don't dwell on it, I go to the next thing I didn't become chancellor, I was not selected. I don't think I did as good a job in the interview process, as my competitors did. I'm not sure that I even have the background necessary for it. So I'm thankful. And now that it had quite a few months, I guess almost a year since I found that I wasn't in the running. I have discovered. wow the opportunities are unbelievable. I mean, I've always you know, Brent, I've always at the university as a professor, you're allowed to do one day per week outside of the university of consulting or working with industry or whatever. And I and we have to fill out a conflict of interest form and come up with a plan and fill out an outside employment form if that's necessary. And I've done it every year I've been here. I've always been engaged. And there's many summers. I took note most of the summers before I was an administrator. I took no compensation, because I wanted to be fully outside. And I did. And in fact, I took a leave of absence one semester with Bentonville Associates. I left the university for a few years, gave up my tenure, because of Mercari technologies. My software company came back in 2002. So I am an entrepreneur, I've got things going on already. And I'm very blessed with my network, which is off the charts incredible. Now, one thing I'm doing again, that I think will help this will be announced more fully soon. But, you know, we've got lots of entrepreneurs support organizations in Northwest Arkansas. We have the big companies here have venture arms. We have a few venture capital companies. We've got some private equity companies. We've got seed funding going on, and we have small businesses. And so I'm going to be helping bring focus to companies that fall into the retail value chain, in Northwest Arkansas, we're going to do this through the Northwest Arkansas Council, but I'm going to be leading that through the council. That is, all these organizations, plug and play, and many others are engaged in these things. But there's no one that is bringing a focus to it. But if you look at it, there is nothing in Northwest Arkansas, or the state of Arkansas in my opinion, that has more brand equity, more talent, than the retail value chain, that includes logistics, supply chain, retail, CPG, and technology associated with that. That's been my career here, too. It's been my research, it's been my teaching, it's been my company's my consulting, everything's been kind of in the retail value chain for Matt Waller. Now, what I want to do is try to help the region develop it further. And I'm blessed in that I can do it now.

Brent Williams  41:06  
Well, Matt, at the beginning of the podcast, I should have introduced you as a force for good because I believe that to be true, and I'm excited for your future. Because you are going to be a force for good in the region. Well, one in your family, like you have your entire life. And with your friends, this region, this state and I actually think the world. And in doing so and your alignment with our strategy as a college, our strategic areas of focus, retail, supply chain management, analytics, entrepreneurship, everything you're doing is completely aligned with the strategy of the Walton College. And as a faculty member doing all these things, you're going to shine a great light on us and reflect so well on the college. So I'm excited for your future. And, you know, I've got to say I think I get an opportunity to thank you, I thank you on behalf of me for what you've done for me personally, for this college over the last eight years and really your whole career. And I thank you on behalf of this faculty and staff because I think every one of them would thank you if they are sitting in this chair, I just get to be the one that says it. And and thank you on behalf of all of our alumni and our state. You've done an amazing job as dean, and we're thankful that you're gonna continue to be a part of the Walton College of Business.

Matt Waller  42:32  
That's very encouraging. I appreciate it.

Brent Williams  42:34  
Thank you, Matt. 

Matt Waller  42:35  
Thanks. 

Brent Williams  42:38  
On behalf of the Walton College thank you for joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected and never miss an episode. Simply search for be epic on your preferred podcast service.

Brent D. Williams

Dr. Brent D. Williams serves as the Dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and holder of the Sam M. Walton Leadership Chair.

With a deep commitment to fostering excellence in business education and thought leadership, Dr. Williams brings a wealth of experience to his role, shaping the future of the college and its impact on students and the business community. A native Arkansan, Dr. Williams earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas, specializing in supply chain management.

As the Dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, Dr. Williams is focused on advancing the college toward its vision of being a catalyst for transforming the lives of its students and a thought leader in business.