Steuart L. Walton is the co-founder of Runway Group, a holding company that invests in real estate, hospitality and other businesses in Northwest Arkansas. He is the founder and chairman of Game Composites, LLC., a company that designs and builds small composite aircraft. Steuart serves on the board of directors of Walmart, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. In 2020, Steuart was appointed Chairman of the Arkansas Economic Recovery Task Force to lead the re-opening of businesses in the wake of the state’s COVID-19 crisis response. He previously worked in London for Allen & Overy, LLP, and Walmart’s international division, focusing on mergers and acquisitions. Steuart holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Born in Bentonville, Arkansas, Steuart’s philanthropic efforts support his hometown and state.
As a pioneering leader in the aviation industry, Steuart plays an active role in aviation education, the preservation of historic aircraft, aerobatics, and air mobility. He’s an owner of the Thaden Fieldhouse at the Bentonville Municipal Airport and acts as managing partner of Summit Aviation flight school. Steuart has worked closely with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to develop “S.H.E. Can,” a program aimed at empowering young women to succeed in aviation and STEM, hosting a group of young women interested in exploring the field of aviation to Bentonville, Ark. He partnered in 2018 to host and present at UP Summit in Bentonville and will again this summer to focus on the development of multi-dimensional mobility. Steuart’s passion for aviation stems from a family-love for flying and he considers himself one of the countless beneficiaries of the aviation industry both personally and professionally.