Little Rock-based Acxiom Corp. announced the appointment of Christian Peck as vice president and managing director for Acxiom United Kingdom.
As managing director, Peck will report to Acxiom Chief Revenue Officer Nada Stirratt and will lead the entire Acxiom U.K. enterprise, with oversight of product, sales, delivery and all operations in the region.
Former gas company executive Sheffield Nelson said his plan to raise Arkansas’s severance tax to 7 percent will make the ballot and won’t scare off natural gas drillers.
To back up his claim, Nelson rolled out economist Dr. Charles Venus who said that the added cost to natural gas companies from a higher severance tax would amount to “less than one day’s profit per year” for the firms.
Nelson also said that his effort is on track to turn in more than 62,500 voter signatures on July 6 to qualify for the November ballot.
May was a strong month for wagers on electronic games of skill (EGS) at Oaklawn and Southland, although neither venue neared a record for the month.
Oaklawn in Hot Springs reported $79 million in EGS wagers and $73.7 million in payouts. Year-to-date, Oaklawn has topped $389.9 million in EGS wagers.
At Southland in West Memphis, the casino took in $143.5 million and paid out $134.2 million. Year-to-date, Southland has posted EGS wagers of $751.3 million.
Arkansas Best Corp. purchased Panther Expedited Services in a $180 million deal that ABC officials say will help them better tap the $700 billion transportation and logistics market, and will begin to add to the bottom line as early as the third quarter. Panther is owned by New York City-based Fenway Partners.
Executives at Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best, the parent company of ABF Freight System, have in recent years sought to diversify the company. ABF — one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in the U.S. — was responsible for $1.73 billion of the $1.907 billion in revenue Arkansas Best posted during 2011.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital opened a new $121 million wing that will ultimately add 100 new medical professionals to the hospital’s staff.
The pediatric hospital’s 258,000 square-foot “South Wing” adds 54 inpatient beds to the campus. The addition brings a new emergency department, updates for cardiovascular and neonatal intensive care units and five new outpatient clinics.
Non-profit retailer, recycler and jobs trainer Goodwill Industries of Arkansas announced a major expansion of its operations on Tuesday by taking over a 576,000 square foot facility at 7400 Scott Hamilton Drive in southwest Little Rock. Formerly the home of Celestica, the location will now be named the Goodwill Resource Center and will feature a clearance center, classrooms and an expanded e-waste recycling center.
Goodwill Industries of Arkansas CEO Brian Itzkowitz said the expansion facility would create about 50 new jobs and 50 additional positions are expected to be created through new store openings in 2012.
A closed Startek call center in Jonesboro will re-open bringing back 250 jobs. The company closed its doors in April leaving 223 employees without work.
Startek has not yet disclosed details of when it may begin rehiring or the nature of the work to be performed at the facility. A recruiter for the operation says that laid-off workers will be “at the top of the hiring list.”
Roby Brock, a freelance journalist based in Little Rock, writes weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau.