At Associates Week 2025, we celebrate the growth of our company and our associates!
The Walmart U.S. Meeting kicked off with a moving rendition of the national anthem sung by Overnight Team Lead Darius Scarver (pictured below). (Walmart World followers may recall Darius lit up the same stage at last year’s Associate Celebration.)
Then it was time to buckle up for a high-energy celebration recognizing contributions of all Walmart U.S. associates!
Cheers erupted from the crowd as CEO John Furner (pictured above) entered the stage and reminded the associates in Bud Walton Arena that they are “the best of the best!”
He then invited to the stage two examples of our best: Emily Navarro, a 14-year pharmacy tech from Store 101 in Rolla, Missouri, and Oscar Rivas, an in-home delivery driver from Store 359 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Emily and Oscar truly deliver excellence — particularly when it comes to pharmacy delivery. Just recently, Emily shared, one of her customers received a prescription order just 22 minutes after placing the order.
All-stars of retail
Philadelphia Eagles running back and reigning champion Saquon Barkley (pictured below) joined John Furner on stage to discuss what makes a great team player. It probably didn’t come as any surprise to Walmart associates to hear Saquon and John agree that the best teammates put team before self.
A champion knows when to step aside and prioritize the team’s needs. And a true winner knows that they wouldn’t be where they are without the help and support of their team. Every day, in every aisle, we’re bringing that same mindset by putting our customers and team first.
We want to be your favorite
John also presented an exciting challenge: Let’s make Walmart America’s favorite place to shop! And how do we do that? By providing the assortment, price, experience and trust that our customers — and associates — want.
Rob Montgomery, executive vice president, supply chain (pictured above) and Cedric Clark, executive vice president, store operations, took to the stage next and illustrated how we’re making ourselves America’s favorite.
Cedric offered this important reminder: “What makes Walmart your favorite place to shop makes Walmart America’s favorite place to shop.”
The pair presented more inspiring examples of associates who are delivering when (now!) and how (conveniently!) our customers want products: Noah Buscher, an order filler from DC 6059 in Olney, Illinois, Janis Frazier (pictured above), a fleet driver out of Transportation Office 6866 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Jacoby Brown, an overnight stocker at Store 5244 in Little Rock, Arkansas (picture below, right, with Cedric Clark).
Jacoby works with speed and accuracy, getting hundreds of cases of products on the shelves for customers each night. “But what you may not know,” shared Cedric, “is that Jacoby is legally blind.”
Before Jacoby joined Walmart, he was turned down by other companies. Today, he’s on a mission to inspire others to turn their challenges into opportunity. He brings our purpose to life every day.
The secret sauce
Cedric also shared a note from a customer praising the hard work and stellar service of a few of our garage techs.
Husband and wife Bruce and Anna were on a 1,700-mile road trip on Easter weekend when they had a tire blowout — not once, but twice! They were helped by associates at Store 268 in Savannah, Tennessee, and down the road at Store 36 in Paragould, Arkansas. Bruce shared, “We were down and out, and on a holiday weekend. They don’t know how truly grateful we are for their hospitality and kindness.”
Cedric ended with a stirring call to action, saying “You are the secret sauce that makes us great! You are here to help us spread it around and if we do this right, we can reach our 1.5 million associates, teaching them how to serve the customer with our head and heart!”
Embodying servant leadership
Chief Merchandising Officer Latriece Watkins (pictured below) and Chief eCommerce Officer Dave Guggina took the mic next to highlight how our same-day delivery and virtual try-on is making life better for customers across the country.
And did you know that last year we added an additional 300 brands to our assortment — including Sonos and Apple? And on marketplace not only have we added Air Jordans, we've also added premium beauty brands and luxury handbags.
“You bring our story to life,” said Latriece. “You bring our merchandise to life.”
And what a perfect way to transition to Chief People Officer Judy Werthauser, who emphasized to the crowd, “Your leaders trust you, they believe in you.”
Judy announced the winners of our annual Integrity in Action Award: Front End Team Associate Tamie Piekarski, from Store 1696 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and Grocery Loader Pauline Freeman from DC 6095 in Opelika, Alabama. These associates go above and beyond when it comes to what we stand for: doing the right thing — even when nobody is watching.
Next, Judy recognized three very special associates who embody servant leadership by giving back to local and national organizations and inspiring others to make a difference (pictured above): Store Lead Jameela El-Mohammed, from Store 2146 in Amsterdam, New York, People Lead Roxanne Benavidez, from Neighborhood Market 4275 in Peoria, Arizona, and Group Director, Supply Chain Management, Mike del Rosario, out of Woodland, Pennsylvania. These associates were honored with the Helen R. Walton Excellence in Community Leadership Award, which honors associates who go above and beyond in supporting their community.
Bringing our purpose to life
Chief Operating Officer Kieran Shanahan (pictured below) began his segment by reminiscing on his days as a 16-year-old making pizzas at Asda in the U.K. But, like so many of us, what started as a job became a career.
In our quest to be America’s favorite place to shop, it will take associates who bring our purpose to life — associates like Junius Williams who started as a cart pusher and is now a store manager at Store 6930 in Cypress, Texas, responsible for growing the careers of countless associates who have been on his teams over the years.
Associates like Kayla Reynolds who joined Walmart for the stable work and benefits and then discovered her calling by completing our Associate-to-Tech program.
Associates like Jose Molina who spent years unloading trucks before being asked to take on a new role as an autonomous forklift operator at his DC in Brooksville, Florida.
Kieran’s words were an important reminder that no matter where you come from or what brought you to Walmart, “if you see purpose in what you do every day, the sky is the limit.”
There’s more Associates Week excitement on the way, so follow along all week on Workvivo and Walmart World social accounts — and don’t forget to follow #WMT2025!
