Hutchinson announces formation of commission to study Arkansas’ computing and data analytics sector
March 17, 2017Leaders from throughout the state to address opportunities and obstacles for this sector
Noted Arkansas entrepreneur Charles Morgan will co-chair the Commission along with Mike Preston, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Commission members include:
• Jerry Adams, Arkansas Research Alliance
• Dr. Donald Bobbitt, University of Arkansas System
• Dr. Charles Welch, Arkansas State University System
• Maria Markham, Arkansas Department of Higher Education
• Andrew Clyde, Murphy USA
• Ed Drilling, AT&T Arkansas
• John Haley, Circumference Group
• Walter Smiley, formerly with Systematics
• Todd Hillman, MISO
• Rich Howe, Inuvo
• Sonja Hubbard, E-Z Mart
• Gaylon Lawrence, The Lawrence Group
• John Roberts, J.B. Hunt
• Jerry Jones, Acxiom
• Monica McGurk, Tyson Foods
• Warren Stephens, Stephens, Inc.
• Clay Johnson, Walmart
“This esteemed group of Arkansans, through their expertise and guidance, will allow the state to address the opportunities and obstacles we must address to create an environment in which our technology sector can thrive,” said Governor Hutchinson. “This is the next step in growing the computer coding initiative as it will allow our higher education institutions and workforce development agencies to address the specific needs of Arkansas companies in the computer science and data analytics sector.”
The Commission is scheduled to begin meeting in late March. Meeting locations and times will be announced by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and posted to the public meetings section of www.arkansas.gov.
