Millie Ward, APR

In her role as agency president, Millie is truly a Hall of Famer. Leading one of the most talented and committed agency teams in the business, she is in a league all her own when it comes to doing whatever it takes on any given day to keep Stone Ward and our clients moving forward together as a creative force for good. Named in 2015 to the Sam M. Walton Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, Millie is widely recognized as a business influencer, leader and speaker.

As the daughter of two parents who believed in ‘keeping up production,’ Millie’s leadership, along with that of co-founder Larry Stone, has grown Stone Ward from a $2 million business in 1984 to a $50 million-plus full-service, fiercely independent agency today. Along the way, she and Larry both have been inducted into the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame. She has had the honor of working with hundreds of local, national, and international clients, from financial to franchise to global non-profits, and has remained close friends with many, proof that her client-agency relationships go beyond business.

Driven by a sense of optimism, gratitude (and her daily eight-ounce Red Bull), Millie has worked with an abundance of highly successful business and community leaders across the country who have collectively inspired and informed her own approach to leadership. Over the years, Millie has been named Rotary Business and Professional Leader of the Year, SMEA Top Manager of the Year, Woman of the Year, and Top 100 Women in Business.

A classically trained copywriter, Millie’s passion for simple persuasive communication has propelled her ability to contribute to the success and profit of companies and brands in almost every industry, shaping challenger brands into leaders and non-profits into life-changing forces. Today she sits on the boards of the Little Rock Federal Reserve Bank, The Venture Center, Bridge2Rwanda, Baptist Health Foundation, and the Arkansas Executive Forum. Her competitive spirit in tow, she still finds time to cheer on her granddaughter at softball and basketball games with the same passion and enthusiasm she brings to work every day.

BS, Journalism, Arkansas State University