We want to help save people money so they can live better - that’s what we’re here for. It was great having Seth Dallaire, Walmart U.S. Chief Revenue Officer, join John Furner on The Huddle to talk about our first-quarter earnings results. He’s been with the company for six months now and has been focused on asking questions to learn how to better serve our customers and members across the country. Listen to this new episode to hear how we’re navigating different dynamics while keeping merchandising and customers at the forefront.

Save Money, Live Better

Olé Mexican Foods is one of our incredible suppliers – and a truly inspirational American success story. Veronica Moreno started the company in her home with just one tortilla machine, and today she employs hundreds of people across several communities. 

I recently had the pleasure of touring Olé’s Texas facilities and talking with Veronica and her son Edgar about the Olé story, and how they’re continuing to expand and invest. 

Walmart is passionate about supporting American entrepreneurs and businesses. This week, we held our ninth annual Open Call where more than 1,100 businesses from across the country pitched their products for a chance to see them on store shelves, Walmart.com, or our Walmart Marketplace. And we’ve pledged to spend an additional $350 billion over the next 10 years on products made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. That investment will support the creation of an estimated 750,000 new U.S. jobs. 

It’s amazing to think of the difference we can make for so many lives by buying and selling products that support American jobs. I hope you’ll join me in reflecting on that this weekend as we celebrate our nation’s 246th birthday. Happy Fourth of July and thank you!

Olé's Success Story

Ken Chenault is someone I really admire. He was a very successful and respected CEO of American Express, and today he’s the Chairman and Managing Director of General Catalyst. He’s also the co-founder of OneTen, whose mission is to upskill, hire and advance one million Black Americans over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement. It was an honor to talk to Ken about leadership and culture, and how we can help create opportunities for individuals and society. Listen to this new episode to hear how you can emerge as a leader.

Creating Opportunity

Kellie Romack joined John Furner on The Huddle from a store in Dallas, TX! She spends a lot of time in the field as SVP of Associate and Retail Product Experience. When we talk about "product" in the experience space, we’re talking about mobile apps our frontline associates use on a daily basis. Kellie and her team design and build these apps to simplify the work for our associates, save them time, and help them better serve our customers and members. Listen to this episode to hear Kellie talk about how her team focuses on listening to our associates and how quickly they can create a solution!

Simplifying the Associate Experience

It’s been such a great week in Denver, CO, connecting with our teams at the Walmart U.S. Holiday Meeting! Getting to talk items, prepare for the upcoming season, and spend time with associates in person is always energizing - especially when they’re as passionate as Leidy Diaz. Leidy is the Store Manager at 2090 in Franklin, NJ. She moved to America from Colombia at 19 years old, has been with the company three years, and has been serving as SM for about a year. This was her first time coming to the Holiday meeting, and she loved getting to share experiences with fellow managers from across the country. Listen to this new episode of The Huddle to hear why some consider Leidy to be the mayor of her community.

Holiday Huddle

It was so cool having Jay Leno join The Huddle. He’s a famous comedian, television host, writer, and supplier for Walmart! They were in Michigan for the Woodward Dream Cruise which is North America’s largest celebration of automotive culture - and, of course, Mr. Sam’s truck made an appearance. Jay is passionate about cars and started his own line of car care products called “Jay Leno’s Garage” about a decade ago. His items are developed, made and shipped from the U.S. and have been on our store shelves for a couple of years now. Listen to this new episode to hear Jay’s advice on how to keep innovating, make products that can reach more people, and ultimately - deliver and care for each customer.

And now... Jay Leno!

Our private fleet drivers are the best-of-the-best. They safely drive millions of miles on the roads, keeping our entire business going. We’re also proud to offer one of the best driving jobs out there! A new driver can now earn up to $110,000 in their first year with us, and we recently launched the Private Fleet Development Program which pays for Walmart associates to earn their commercial licenses. Levor Franklin is a recent graduate of that program, and we spent some time on the road for this new episode of The Huddle. Levor is a great driver and fantastic 18-year associate, and I’m excited for you to see him at work in this episode. And THANK YOU to all of our incredible drivers and technicians! We appreciate you.

On the Road

Tammie Jo Shults was one of the U.S. Navy’s first female fighter pilots. She later became a Southwest pilot, and in April 2018 she was piloting a flight from New York City to Dallas that experienced a sudden engine failure. The plane was down an engine, and the explosion broke a window – causing the cabin to quickly depressurize. Tammie Jo stayed calm, immediately rerouted the plane, landed in Philadelphia, and even went back to speak with her passengers afterward. It was an honor to have Tammie Jo join me on the Huddle to talk about the experience, leadership, how she’s persevered against offenses, and how we must always “keep our wings level.”

Keep Your Wings Level

Tyler Balsman started with Walmart as a People Greeter when he was 16, working his way to Store Manager in a community we’ve been in for a long time – Store 242 in Paola, Kansas. Four years ago, Tyler was excited to add another title to his resume: Kari’s Dad. Tyler and his wife Danielle used Walmart’s adoption benefit when they became the parents of their beautiful baby girl. Tyler joined me on the Huddle to talk about leading a small-town store that makes a big impact, making the decision to adopt, and how our adoption benefit and parental leave made the process easier. We also talked about how Walmart has expanded our adoption/surrogacy benefits from $5,000 to $20,000, and how our medical plan now supports fertility services. Families come in different shapes and sizes, and they start in many different ways. At Walmart, we’re proud to support all of them!

Family First

On Veterans Day, we should all stop and think about the people who’ve served. We’re so grateful for everything they’ve done, to allow us to live in safety and freedom. 

On this episode of the Huddle, I was honored to speak with Christopher Aragon - an incredible Veteran with a heart for service. Chris recently retired from the Marine Corps after a 30-year career, and was thinking of the next chapter for himself and his family. Fortunately for us, he learned about Walmart through our Find a Future and Hiring our Heroes Career Bridge programs and landed as an Outbound Operations Manager in Chino, California. 

Chris is one of 80,000 Veterans and military spouses who have joined our team in the past year alone. They’re now serving Walmart customers with the same level of excellence they served their country. 

Listen to Chris talk about his career in the military, what drew him to Walmart, and what Veterans Day means to him. 

Happy Veterans Day, and to Chris and every other Veteran: thank you!

Walmart World