Emma Willis

Chief Operating Officer, Venture Noire
Emma Willis

Emma Willis

Chief Operating Officer, Venture Noire

Biography

Emma Willis’ career has spanned from marketing financial services, marketing, business strategy, thought leadership, and a focus on higher education savings plans.

In 2021 Willis was named chief operating officer for Bentonville-based Venture Noire, a National nonprofit focused on supporting Black entrepreneurs.

“What’s really interesting about my life [is] there are so many intersections in what I do,” she said. “A lot of times, it’s hard for people to imagine how I can hold so many positions, but I look for natural synergy in most of the work I have going on.”

As executive director of the Arkansas 529 Education Investment Plan, she led the program’s assets to increase from $600 million to $1 billion and released Gift Arkansas 529, the first state-run plan app in the United States.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Philander Smith College in May 2006. She serves as a board member for the Greater Bentonville Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement of Northwest Arkansas, and more.

All sessions by Emma Willis