Where the CEO of Walmart U.S. Seeks Advice

livemint.com:

Lorraine ‘Lo’ StomskiSVP, Walmart Associate Learning & Leadership Furner met Stomski at company events after she joined Walmart in 2016 from a human-resources consulting firm. She suggested an “interesting, smart blend of using science and performance data," to make personnel decisions, he said. When Furner became CEO of Sam’s Club, he frequently turned to Stomski for data-driven advice on filling out what he thinks of as his “team roster." At a company with 2.2 million employees, “you can miss a lot," said Furner.

Stomski helps him remain objective in hiring decisions, he said. That process is part of what led Furner to hire Dacona Smith as chief operating officer of Sam’s Club in 2019, then as COO of Walmart U.S. the following year.

The move made Smith the highest ranking Black company officer at the time. Smith was beloved by rank-and-file workers based on data from worker feedback surveys, said Stomski, but hadn’t worked directly with Furner. Furner was one of the first Walmart officers “that saw the value of data when it comes to talent," said Stomski.

Smith, who ran Walmart U.S. stores for much of the pandemic, “connects with people," said Furner. “He walks in a room and two minutes later he can tell you what they’re thinking." He also spent years moving around the country to manage different store regions.

Furner looked to Smith for those skills—often during late-night conversations at the retailer’s headquarters—to prepare for what might come next. Smith and his team found a way to get millions of face masks distributed to workers within weeks and put in 80,000 pieces of plexiglass for cashiers and pharmacies early in the pandemic, said Furner. When George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police in May 2020,