The Huddle with John Furner

Buckle up: The 100th episode of The Huddle rolls into territory many never get to see —the cab of a Walmart truck. John reunites with longtime private fleet driver Janis Frazier. They first crossed paths in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, where Janis was delivering emergency supplies into devastated communities.   What follows is an inside look at the road life most of us never see: holiday hig...

Matthew McConaughey has told stories that make us laugh, think and feel. But in this conversation with Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner, the actor and author of Poems & Prayers shares the one story that matters most — the one behind finding your own voice.  McConaughey visited Bentonville in early October to record a special episode of The Huddle to unpack how great stories connect us all. From growin...

It's human nature to be curious about AI. Get the download on the growth of artificial intelligence, and hear how it can help you at work and in your personal life in an increasingly digital world, in the latest episode of The Huddle. John Furner peers into the future with Ronnie Chatterji, Chief Economist at OpenAI and distinguished professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Who’s excited for the holidays? We are!   The latest episode of The Huddle unwraps the items that will be making this holiday season extra special for everyone — spoiler: there’s an even cooler version of the Easy Bake Oven.🍦👀  Join Walmart U.S. Chief Merchandising Officer Latrice Watkins and John Furner to see how, with all these amazing deals, we might just be Santa’s new favorite helpers.

What do retail and football have in common? More than you’d think.  In this episode of The Huddle, John Furner sits down with NFL star Saquon Barkley to explore the shared fundamentals of great leadership: discipline, teamwork and the drive to keep improving.  Hear how lessons from the locker room can apply to the sales floor, and why showing up with heart makes all the difference.  Listen now and...

What do a 350-acre vision, a statue of Ol’ Roy and a career spent building what’s next all have in common? John Furner sat down with Cindi Marsiglio, SVP of Corporate Real Estate, for a conversation about what it took to bring the new Home Office to life and what it represents for the future of Walmart. Cindi also reflected on her 18-year Walmart journey, including her work to carry forward Sam Wa...

Today, shopping from the comfort of home is second nature. Fresh groceries delivered straight to your doorstep? Just another Tuesday. But ten years ago it was just a big idea to build trust by saving customers time. At initial test locations like our Ammon, Idaho Supercenter, Store Manager Jason Neville was setting a goal of fulfilling 30 orders a day. Today, Jason’s team fulfills upwards of 6,500...

Join us in this episode of The Huddle as John chats with Walmart driver Julio Reyes – one of 49 drivers who delivered aid to those affected by Hurricane Helene – to reflect on the efforts and impact of Walmart’s Private Fleet.

This episode of The Huddle is a must-listen for anyone curious about the world of AI, regardless of your background. Whether you're a tech enthusiast eager to know about AI's latest developments or a novice looking to understand AI's impact, this episode has something for everyone. 

Happy New Year! I hope your 2025 is off to a great start.   For many in retail, an annual New Year’s tradition is attending the National Retail Federation’s “Big Show” in New York City. NRF is a great organization that advocates for the entire retail industry and works to highlight its massive economic impact and all the opportunities it brings. They call their January conference the “Big Show” be...

Five years, 89 episodes, and countless memories—The Huddle has been an incredible journey. When we started I wasn’t sure what to expect, I just knew it was important for associates to hear directly from leadership. Along the way, it became clear there were so many amazing stories to share—like our associates making a difference, leaders driving change, entrepreneurs building something extraordinar...

For 20 years, Walmart has partnered with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation on the Acres for America program, helping protect over 2 million acres of critical land across the U.S. When the program started, the idea was to protect 1 acre of land for every 1 acre Walmart built on. Today it’s evolved to about 20-1! Acres for America has preserved ecosystems, bolstered biodiversity, safeguarded...

Monday is Veterans Day, one of the most special days of the year. At Walmart we’re so grateful to those who serve or have served in the military, and we support them however we can. A big way is through employment. We’re proud to have hired 400,000 veterans since 2013. Another way is through the products we sell.  This week I recorded a Huddle episode with Mark Doyle, whose company – Rags of Honor...

It’s #AmericanPharmacistsMonth, and I had the chance to sit down with Obi Odi, one of our pharmacists at Store #4487 in Aiken, South Carolina. Obi’s journey is remarkable. Originally from Nigeria, Obi came to the U.S. to further his education and pursue a career in pharmacy. While studying, he was deeply impacted by the events of 9/11 and decided to pause his education to serve in the U.S. Marine...

The guest for this Huddle episode needs no introduction: Kevin Costner has been part of all our lives for many years! He also personifies many of the traits we strive for at Walmart: reinventing ourselves, staying true to who we are, and delivering quality.  It was so fun to have Kevin join us at our 2024 Walmart U.S. Holiday Meeting, in Orlando, Florida. You can imagine how thousands of our assoc...

We’ve had an exciting week in San Francisco, California, where we just wrapped up our Let's Grow! 2024 Walmart Marketplace Seller Summit for small businesses, inventors, and other sellers interested in joining our Walmart.com Marketplace. Marketplace allows us to offer customers hundreds of millions more items than we sell in our stores!  For this edition of the Huddle, I talked with Bill Pond, CE...

Walmart is a community of diverse individuals, each with their unique stories. Some joined us after pursuing other careers, some started with us and then moved onto something else. Then there are people like Anjie Robertson and myself who started with Walmart and saw it turn into a rewarding career. I met Anjie a couple months ago at our Manager Academy, where she shared she couldn’t attend the As...

Yesterday, we celebrated the grand opening of Store 8861, our brand-new Walmart Neighborhood Market in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida! A grand opening is always filled with excitement, and this one was particularly special. It represents the first of the 150 new stores we're planning to build or convert in the next five years along with our ongoing efforts to remodel hundreds of our existing stores to...

I started working with Walmart when I was in school. I was just hoping to earn some money for the summer — but I soon realized that working in a store taught me many things I couldn’t have learned in a classroom. Real-world work experience is crucial, and that’s why we're proud to be a partner of the NRF Foundation's RISE Up program. RISE Up has helped 40,000 learners learn about and experience th...

When I think of people who share our mission of fostering holistic health, Ally Love immediately comes to mind. She’s an on-air contributor for NBC’s "Today” show, the CEO and founder of Love Squad, and a very popular Peloton instructor. I've had the opportunity to take many of Ally’s classes and see how her dedication to fitness, wellness, and community is so inspiring to others. I was thrilled t...

We just wrapped up an amazing Year Beginning Meeting in Houston, and yesterday, our CEO Doug McMillon closed out YBM by splitting Walmart’s stock for the first time since 1999! Doug joined me on The Huddle to discuss this exciting news – what it means, and how it will allow even more people to become shareholders in our company.  Of course, we also talked about our favorite group of Walmart shareh...

Erica Cole’s life changed forever in college, when she lost her leg in a car crash. So many things became different, even getting dressed – Erica’s clothes would not fit over her prosthetic leg.  Many would have given up in this situation, but Erica chose to create new clothes, and start an adaptive clothing company she now runs: No Limbits. No Limbits is creating accessible solutions for others w...

As #VeteransDay approaches, I urge everyone to pause and appreciate the men and women who have served so bravely and selflessly to protect our country and freedoms. At Walmart, our commitment to supporting America’s Veterans and their familiesruns deep. We’re proud to have hired over 550,000 members of the military community over the last decade. Some of our newest Veteran associates have come tho...

As National Manufacturing Day approaches this Friday, we're proud to recognize the manufacturers behind Walmart products, who play a pivotal role in creating opportunities for our communities and workforce. Kent International Inc. is a great example of this. They've assembled millions of bikes at their South Carolina factory, including Walmart's Ozark Trail mountain bike line, and have been instru...

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 t...