Justin Davis

Justin Davis was born and raised in the small town of Paron, AR, a rural community outside of Little Rock. Justin grew up in a hard working, blue collar household. Despite his father not graduating high school, he started his own HVAC business in 1994. He grew it to a mulit-million dollar business before selling it in 2021.

In high school, Justin played multiple sports, was involved in church, and held multiple jobs. His jobs included working in the family business, working for McAlister’s Deli and Firehouse Subs, and being on the concessions team at the greatest minor league ballpark ever, Ray Winder Field (personal opinion).

After graduating from Arkansas Baptist High School in 2002, Justin became the first member of his family to ever attend college. He attended the University of Arkansas and earned his Bachelors degree in Finance in 2006, and his Masters in Operations Management in 2011.

Because of his family background and work history, Justin developed a passion for service-based business. His first job out of college was with Trane Technologies, a manufacturer of residential and commercial HVAC systems. Justin worked for Trane from 2006 – 2012 as a Territory Manager for the state of Arkansas. While working for Trane, Justin earned his Master’s degree, won Trane’s prestigious Top Ten award twice (awarded to top 10% of Territory Managers in the country), and won the Trane Citizenship Award (given to the employee who most closely represents the companies core values on a daily basis). Justin worked with many small business owners in the mechanical trades industry. This helped solidify Justin’s passion for small business and the service based industry.

Justin left Trane in 2012 and went to work with a staple of Arkansas business, Tyson Foods. Justin worked for Tyson from 2012-2018 and held multiple roles within the Foodservice and Restaurant team, including: Brand Manager, Research Manager, and Sr. Manager of Consumer Insights & Strategy. Justin worked with a range of foodservice companies. This included working with individual restaurant owners, as well as, large national chains, including: McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Chick-Fil-A.
Justin moved to Shearer Supply, a regional HVAC distributor, in 2018 as the Vice President of Sales for Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi. In this role, Justin led a team of over 20 people. He had multiple locations win growth and sales awards within the company, and multiple salespeople become Top 10 salespeople in the country. In this role, Justin really refined his skills as a leader. He learned the greatest accomplishment for a leader is seeing their team be successful.

In 2022 Justin reunited with his college buddy, Jordan Wright, and joined Wright’s BBQ as Chief Operating Officer. Justin leads a team of over 100 people, 4 restaurants, and a thriving retail business. Since joining the team, Wright’s has become a restaurant powerhouse in the state of AR and in the barbecue community. The business has tripled their sales, doubled their number of stores, and was recognized as the top barbecue restaurant in the country by Yelp.

Justin has overseen growth plans, restaurant operations, and developed KPI’s and processes used at the store level.

In addition to professional roles, Justin is actively involved in his church and in his kids sports. He and his wife, Lauren, have led multiple small groups, have been pre-marriage counselors to young couples, and have served in multiple capacities at the church. Justin is passion about his family and coaches’ multiple sports for his children.

Justin is enthusiastic about the opportunity to join the Arkansas Leadership Program to further develop leadership skills, expand professional networks, and contribute to the people of Arkansas. With a servant’s heart and a passion to see people succeed, Justin is poised to make a meaningful impact both within the program and in future endeavors.