As we celebrate our Driver and Tech Appreciation Week, I want to recognize our amazing associates in Walmart's Private Fleet who play a crucial role in keeping our stores stocked, and serving our partners and customers all over the country. I also want to shine a spotlight on Emmanuel - not only is he one of our great drivers, but he's also an amazing person whose story is the true embodiment of the American dream. Originally from Uganda, Emmanuel came to the U.S. 27 years ago to support his family back home. Despite the struggle to make ends meet and being encouraged to file for bankruptcy, he joined Walmart's Private Fleet in 2021 – and it changed everything. Emmanuel was able to pay off $38,000 in debt, avoid bankruptcy, improve his credit score by over 200 points, and even buy a home this summer – something he never thought would be possible. 

In this episode of the Huddle, Emmanuel and I talk about his incredible journey and how his heart for service helped him overcome every hardship. He is a testament to the life-changing opportunities Walmart provides for our associates, and I know you’ll be inspired listening to his story. We're so grateful to have Emmanuel and all our dedicated drivers and techs on our team, making the difference in countless lives every day. Thank you for all that you do! 

We’ve had a blast in Houston at Walmart U.S.’s Annual Holiday Meeting! Every year, we bring our teams together from across the country to get everyone geared up for an amazing holiday season – showcasing all the great deals and holiday items we know our customers will love. In this episode of The Huddle, Brittany Smith – VP of Merchandising for our U.S. toy business – joined me on the merch floor to talk about the cool toys everyone’s excited about and the months of planning that happen behind the scenes to make all of this possible every year.   I hope you’ll enjoy this fun episode and shop with Walmart for everything you need to celebrate the holidays – we have something for everyone!

This week we’ve been celebrating America’s 247th birthday! Our Walmart U.S. team is honored to serve this great country, and one of the most impactful ways we do that is selling products that come from this country. We’re proud that about 2/3rds of our product spend is on items made, grown or assembled in the U.S. 

For this Huddle episode, I visited an Arkansas rice farm with one of our merchants, Melody Richard. Melody and I spoke to the farmer, Dustin, about how he grows his rice and what selling rice to Walmart means for him and his community. 

There’s also an exciting regeneration story: Walmart and our partners are working with Dustin and other Arkansas farmers to grow their rice using less water and with less greenhouse gas emissions. It’s really exciting, and Melody explained it so well in this episode. 

Please watch, and learn how even a single bag of rice can support livelihoods in America AND regeneration. 

At Walmart, our people have always driven our success. When I think of associates who are making the difference each day, I think of Marcie Bird. You may remember seeing Marcie on stage at Associates Week, where she shared her story about breaking barriers as the first Navajo Store Manager of Supercenter #906 in Gallup, NM. 

I had the privilege of having Marcie join me for an episode of The Huddle. We talked about her remarkable journey of growing up on a Navajo reservation to becoming the leader of a store with 500 associates. She also shares great insight about setting a positive example in her store, community, and across the country. 

Our people come from diverse backgrounds and bring unique life experiences, and Marcie’s story is a powerful reminder that with hard work, resilience, and determination, anyone can thrive at Walmart. I know you’ll enjoy this inspiring episode!

Memorial Day is a day is a day of deep meaning, as we reflect on the immense sacrifices that have been made to protect the freedoms we have today. My father was a Marine and Vietnam veteran, and he instilled in me a profound appreciation for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

In this episode of The Huddle, I’m joined by two incredible associates who exemplify the spirit of service and commitment: Stephanie, an Air National Guard Member, and Dell, a Marine Corps Veteran. Stephanie and Dell are two of the over 500,000 veterans and military spouses we’ve proudly hired the past ten years.

In this episode, they talked about what Memorial Day means to them, how their service shaped their values, and how they’re using their skills and passion for serving others here at Walmart. I hope you’ll listen, and also take the time to pause on Monday and think about those who gave everything. Thank you to Stephanie, Dell, and all our servicemembers for your selflessness and courage. We are so grateful.

It’s graduation season – and I know so many of us are thinking of the graduating students we know, and the sense of accomplishment, excitement, and nervousness they’re feeling right now. 

Every May, I think back to MY time as a student at the University of Arkansas. I’ll never forget sitting in the back row of Dr. Jon Johnson's Business Strategy class, ­soaking up the knowledge and insights he had to offer. Although apparently not ALL of it, since I got a ‘B’ in the class!  

Dr. Johnson and I are friends to this day, even though we still like to give each other a hard time about that ‘B.’ He joined me for this episode of The Huddle, and brought three of his most outstanding students – Sophia, Laurel, and Ali – who are all graduating with their MBAs this month. We talked about their experiences, their career goals and how they hope to apply the skills they've learned in class in the “real world.” We even had a little fun giving them a chance to take over the Huddle and ask me some questions. 

If you’re an upcoming graduate or navigating the next steps in your own career, this episode is for you. And to all the graduates out there – congratulations! I’m rooting for you, and can’t wait to see the positive impact you’ll make in the world.      

Someone once told me “your leadership is defined during the toughest times.” No one exemplifies that more than Alycia Mixon, the manager of Store #1841 in Chesapeake, VA. I met Alycia last November, under the most difficult circumstances imaginable – after losing 6 members of the Walmart family. Alycia’s first instinct was to step up for her people in a way that few others could. When I first saw her, she was standing on a chair, speaking to her team with the perfect balance of confidence and compassion. I visited #1841 last week, just as they started welcoming back customers, and it was great to see Alycia bringing her team into a new era for the store.

For this episode of the Huddle, I talked with Alycia about how she’s continued to comfort and lead her team these past five months as they worked to remodel the store, build an outdoor memorial and reopen.   We’re committed to helping everyone at #1841 move forward, even as we continue to mourn the loss of six beautiful lives: Randy, Jesus, Lorenzo, Kellie, Brian, and Tyneka. And we’re so thankful for Alycia, who in the toughest of times, showed us what leadership looks like.

No matter where our associates are in life when they join Walmart, there are so many opportunities to grow and develop a career – and we are committed to investing in our people to help make their dreams a reality. Carvon Smith’s story is an amazing example of this. Carvon started working at Walmart in 2015, taking a part-time role in maintenance while he was in school. He soon took on a bigger role – and then another – and in January Carvon became the Manager at Store #530 in El Dorado, AR!  

In this episode of The Huddle, I talk with Carvon at his first Year Beginning Meeting as a Store Manager about his journey, and his advice for others looking to grow in their career. He shares great insight about the importance of building on your strengths, learning from others, and keeping a positive mindset when leading teams through challenges. I am so impressed by Carvon, and we can all learn something from his “fire and desire” to make the difference. 

HOW we do business matters, and we’re dedicated to doing it the right way. That’s why integrity is one of our core values at Walmart, and it’s essential to our culture. Our associates, customers, investors, suppliers, and business partners choose Walmart because they know we are a business they can trust. 

In this special edition of The Huddle, I talk with Walmart’s Global Ethics Officer, Jelahn Stewart, about how our culture of integrity brought her to Walmart after two decades in government. From overseeing the U.S. Witness Protection Program, prosecuting felony cases, serving as Special Counsel in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and more – Jelahn embodies living with integrity, and she has great insight on how we can all do the same. I hope you’ll listen to this important conversation, and I hope you commit to ALWAYS doing the right thing. 

We’re coming to you live from Orlando, Florida, where thousands of associates from all over the country are attending our Walmart U.S. Year Beginning Meeting! This year’s theme is “Turn it Up!,” and nobody is bringing that energy better than our new EVP for Store Operations, Cedric Clark. Cedric is competitive and loves to win – he’s a former athlete. He’s also a musician, creative, and curious guy who our store associates are going to love working for. In this episode, Cedric and I talked about his journey working for both Walmart & Sam’s Club, what it means to be on a team, and what our Walmart team can do to build off our current momentum and do even more this year!