Paul Bradley is rooted deeply in the city of Conway. He graduated from Conway High School in 2002 and earned his management information systems degree from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in 2006.
“I think Conway is a really great place to live and is a growing community and growing city,” Bradley said. “It has new amenities coming all the time and a lot of younger families living here. The colleges attract a lot of those people, in terms of growth, and [Conway] retains that small-town feel.
“I know there are a lot of great things happening here, and for me, that is the exciting part. With my current job, I get to be a cheerleader for the community and the health system.
“There is so much great stuff happening — it is a great place to live and work.”
Bradley, who works as director of marketing for the Conway Regional Health System, was recognized with the 2020 Young Business Leader of the Year award by the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce on March 27.
“It is pretty exciting,” Bradley said. “I am from Conway, have worked in this area and attended UCA and graduated from Conway High School — I am pretty entrenched here in the community.
“It is an honor to be recognized, for sure. I feel like over the years, I have tried to give back to the community, so it is very humbling to be recognized.”
According to the chamber’s website, conwayarkansas.org, the award “recognizes a community business leader under the age of 40 who has helped create a more vibrant business and social environment in Conway.”
“I think there are a lot of great people in Conway and a lot of great leaders in Conway that are doing some amazing things,” Bradley said. “I really don’t know [why I was chosen], but it is an honor, and I am very humbled by it.”
While finishing up at UCA, Bradley started working for Acxiom and was there for 11 years. He worked primarily with retail clients as an accounts director and was responsible for making sure the needs of the clients were met.
Gwen Myatt, who works at Acxiom, said she and Paul have known each other for almost 15 years. She said that shortly after Bradley joined Acxiom, he was moved into her area of the business and worked either on her account, on her team or within her group.
“Change is real in our business, and we may have had different roles or responsibilities, but one thing which was consistent was our mentor relationship,” Myatt said. “At first, it was about me helping him learn our business and the challenges we faced.
“Then it progressed into more of an exchange of us sharing ideas, tips, best practices and scenarios of how we needed to move the business. Somewhere, the lines blurred, and I honestly don’t know who was mentoring who.”
She said Bradley was a great partner over the years at Acxiom, and their friendship really took off when he left because “we continued to find ways to stay connected and work through struggles of work life and laugh at our own mistakes.”
“Acxiom bonds people together almost like family, which I’m sure isn’t that different from other places, but Paul has always shown up for me, and I’ve done my best to be there for him as well,” Myatt said. “I still consider Paul part of my family.”
Bradley said working for a hospital during this unique time in history has been a challenge.
“I don’t think any one of us could have anticipated what we are dealing with right now,” he said. “But we have an amazing team at Conway Regional, from the administrators to the physicians and everyone else on our team, working to provide the best health care in our community. … The biggest challenge has been having to rethink how we do things and create a lot of opportunities to do things differently — it’s been interesting to be a part of it.”
He said one of the challenges right now is, “We can’t market like we would traditionally and help build the relationships patients normally build with physicians.”
“Because of social distancing, we can’t use the traditional ways of marketing and telling stories,” Bradley said. “We are currently using telemedicine, which has been a great way for patients and physicians to stay connected and get the health care they need.
“Patients can log into their computer and video-chat with their provider and still get the quality care they need. We have some incredibly talented physicians, and health care is still being provided — it just looks a little different.”
Bradley said health care is an interesting fit for him.
“I really wanted to be in a position that made a lasting impact from an emotional or physical perspective,” he said. “I didn’t think I would be working in health care when I graduated, but I think it matches my desire in terms of wanting to help people and make a longer-lasting impact.
“I get to go home every day and know that what I did supported our organization and ultimately helped provide great health care to our community.”
Kenny Kinley works at Edafio Technology Partners and has known Bradley since he was a student at UCA. The two also worked together at Acxiom and at Edafio. Kinley said one of Bradley’s many strengths is his relationship-building.
“He can lean on those great relationships with his team and administration [during this time],” Kinley said. “Somebody with his skill set will do just fine.
“If I had to pick one word to describe Paul, it would be ‘driven.’ He has unlimited energy. I have worked with him through three different jobs, and he is just driven to accomplish results. He works well with people.”
Myatt said Bradley has always been one to step in and take action.
“He may lead sometimes, and other times, he may just be part of the team,” Myatt said. “The great part about Paul is he knows when each of the roles is needed, and he’s humble enough to admit if he stumbles.
“What organization doesn’t want someone who grows with each misstep and to have someone on their team willing to step forward without hesitation? I was thrilled to hear Paul had been selected for such an honor.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.