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The Doing Business in Bentonville Podcast
To create an ecosystem that connects leaders of all kinds – industry, community, student, educational, civic, investment and entrepreneurial – to help overcome Omnichannel Retail barriers through exclusive, insight-rich content.
Episodes
150 episodes
Ep. 148 - AI and People: Balancing Tech and Talent | DBB Event Recap
Uncertainty is the only constant when technology moves faster than traditional business cycles. For many leaders, the fear of "being replaced" isn't just a headline—it’s a silent barrier to innovation that stalls progress before it even begins....
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Ep. 147 - Growth Strategy: Preserving Northwest Arkansas’ Soul with Nelson Peacock
Northwest Arkansas is growing fast, and the stakes are getting real. Traffic is heavier than it used to be, housing costs are climbing, and the green space people love can disappear one subdivision at a time. So how do we head toward nearly 1 m...
Ep. 146 - Google & Walmart: AI-Powered Retail Evolution
AI is moving so fast that pretending you “have it handled” is the quickest way to fall behind. I’m joined by Erika McCourt, a Google account executive dedicated to Walmart, for a grounded conversation about what actually matters when technology...
Ep. 145 - Retail Leadership Shift: Walmart, Target, and Kroger’s New Era
Walmart just crossed a trillion-dollar valuation and is openly positioning itself as a tech-driven retailer. That milestone raises a bigger question we all care about: what has to change inside a company when the future is AI, omnichannel retai...
Ep. 144 - Bentonville At A Tipping Point
Bentonville is one of the few places where a “small city” problem set collides with a truly global business footprint. We’re joined by Brandom Gengelbach, President and CEO of the Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, to unpack what that collis...
Ep. 143 - Food For Less: The Walmart Grocery Secret
Walmart didn’t become a grocery powerhouse by accident. A big part of that story starts in Northwest Arkansas with a family-run grocery operation, Food For Less, and a relationship built on trust with Sam Walton and the early Walmart leadership...
Ep. 142 - The Customer's Choice: Why Loyalty is Dead
Shoppers aren’t loyal to logos anymore, they’re loyal to getting exactly what they want, exactly when they want it. When the shelf is empty, the phone in their hand becomes your fiercest competitor. We sit down with retail veteran Michael Graen...
Ep. 141 - AI & Supply Chain: The War for Speed
Headlines love humanoid robots, but the real wins in supply chain are happening on the warehouse floor, pallet by pallet, move by move. We sit down with Dr. Matt Waller, Brian Nachtigall from ArcBest Vaux , and Brad Umphres from Deloitte to unp...
Ep. 140 - Retail Survival 2026: Why Mid-Tier Brands are Faltering
Retail is sprinting into 2026, and the finish line keeps moving. We sit down with Deanah Baker and Scott Benedict to chart where the next big shifts will land: AI that actually clears friction, merchants who think across channels, and retailers...
Ep. 139 - 2026 Retail Trends: Adapt or Fall Behind with Scott Benedict and Deanah Baker
Blink and the shopper has already moved on. We sat down with fellow DBB hosts Deanah Baker and Scott Benedict to map the retail shifts that will define 2026, where AI turns shopping into solution-finding, value stretches beyond price, and healt...
Ep. 138 - Winning Retail Media with AI | DBB Event Recap
Shoppers don’t think in channels, they remember how your last interaction made them feel. We sit down with leaders from Google, Hershey, AdFury, and HashKu to show how AI can meet that rising bar by turning messy data into crisp experiences acr...
Ep. 137 - This Program Helps Arkansas Entrepreneurs Scale
Retail is hungry for fresh products, but getting from a beloved local item to a national shelf spot is a steep climb. We sit down with the University of Arkansas Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the team at Act Two to unveil the Oz...
Ep. 136 - 2025 Recap: Fear, Failure, and Forward Motion
What happens when a community decides to solve retail’s toughest problems together? From the floor of the Shewmaker Center, we sit down with logistics pros, educators, product builders, and Walmart leaders to map the real pathways into CPG, the...
Ep. 135 - Weaponizing Supply Chains to Crush Competition
What if your supply chain could both thrill customers and quietly kneecap competitors? We sit down with Rod Thomas, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management and former retail operator, to unpack how logistics design becomes a decisive com...
Ep. 134 - Don’t Let Your Business Die with You
Too many great local businesses fade not from lack of customers, but from lack of a plan. We sat down with Doug and Anne, buyer-operators on a mission to preserve the heart of their community by acquiring small businesses. We explored how owner...
Ep. 133 - Trust, Data, and the AI Shelf War
The retail playbook just changed: shoppers still click and scan, but AI agents now browse, compare, and buy on our behalf. We brought together leaders from academia, CPG, platforms, and agencies to break down what that means for brands selling ...
Ep. 132 - When Success Fails, Grace Wins
How does one go from a challenging childhood to a thriving career and a life of purpose? Join DBB as Ron Acosta, a former Walmart executive-turned-Chick-fil-A owner-operator, shares his transformative journey with host Andy Wilson. Wit...
Ep. 131 - AI That Works: Slalom’s Strategy in Action
AI doesn’t win because it’s shiny; it wins because it shortens the path from data to decision. We sit down with Slalom’s Andrew Fano, Jack Rudelic, Erika Pflueger, and Marco Kilongkilong to dig into how generative AI is transforming retail and ...
Ep. 130 - Hire Better, Execute Smarter
Want a talent strategy that actually moves the numbers? We unpack how to connect mission, vision, and core values to daily execution so your team delivers where it counts: with customers. Drawing on decades inside Walmart and insights from Don ...
Ep. 129 - Speed, Simplicity, and Sam Walton’s Legacy
Big results come from simple rules practiced every day. We sit down with longtime Walmart leader Sam Dunn to unpack the principles from Don Soderquist’s "The Walmart Way" and trace how culture, vision, and speed transformed small ideas into sys...
Ep. 128 - The Secret to Walmart-Ready Talent
A talent shortage can stall a thriving market, or it can spark a movement. We sit down with logistics leaders, program directors, founders, recruiters, and graduates to map how Northwest Arkansas built a reliable pipeline of Walmart-ready profe...
Ep. 127 - How Experiential Marketing Moves Shoppers To Act
Retail becomes unforgettable when it feels like culture, not just commerce. We sit down with Ryan Hughes of Gratsy to unpack how curated experiences—at home, in the community, and online with creators—turn casual shoppers into true fans. From p...
Ep. 126 - Retail’s Crossroads: AI, Tariffs, And Walmart’s Next Move
Change moves fast in Bentonville, and this conversation puts you right at the center of it. We connect the dots from Walmart’s early tech shifts—scanning, EDI, and Retail Link—to the next turning point: practical AI that speeds real work, from ...
Ep. 125 - Why Omni Retail Is The Future Of Parenting Brands
What if the secret to national scale is hidden in a story time circle at your first store? We sit down with founder and CEO Monica Royer to unpack how Monica + Andy grew from a neighborhood, experience-led boutique into a parent-trusted brand n...
Ep. 124 - Everyday Low Price, Everyday High Tech
Retail is changing aisle by aisle, and we’re walking through the shift with a front‑row view. We dig into how Walmart moved from years of heavy investment to a true “harvest” phase, where technology finally meets day-to-day usefulness. From ele...