Walmart’s CEO wants faster change without losing the human connection

Walmart CEO John Furner says one of the most rewarding parts of his job is meeting associates who have advanced from entry-level work into leadership. He describes meeting an immigrant who learned English at Walmart and later managed a large business.

Jeff Berman asks how a company as large as Walmart can change quickly. Furner says the best time to make major changes is when an organization has momentum, so it can enter a period of technological change with the right people in the right roles.

Furner says Walmart’s leadership wants to position the organization to act as customer behavior changes. He cites its roughly 2.2 million associates worldwide and argues that the company cannot assume retail or its customers will wait for it.

Berman asks how Furner brings a large team along. Furner says ideas and feedback come from associates, including a weekly session with roughly 500 US leaders, but some changes also require senior leadership to align and act from the top down.

As an example, he describes combining Walmart+ and Sam’s Club+ membership benefits so a customer who buys one receives the other. He says the decision required coordination across organizational boundaries and was made while the businesses had momentum.

Furner says employees may resist a proposed change because their existing incentives and metrics reward them for the work leadership previously assigned. His 33 years at Walmart, beginning part-time in a garden center, have taught him to provide context and understand the perspectives of frontline workers and executives.

Furner describes Walmart as “people-led, tech-powered” omnichannel retail: customers may be served in a store, at the curb or at home. He sees technology as a way to help employees and customers accomplish tasks, consistent with the company’s purpose of saving customers money.

For shoppers, he imagines understanding a request in ordinary language—for example, dinner for four with dietary constraints—and matching it to inventory, price and delivery. He says Walmart can already combine parts of that shopping and fulfillment experience, while presenting it as an area for continued work.

Berman asks how shopping changes when a customer’s agent initiates a purchase. Furner says Walmart is trying to connect digital intent with physical fulfillment and also provide associates with information and suggested next actions that reduce friction in their work.

Furner says Walmart plans to launch agent profiles in the coming weeks. A customer could delegate authority to an agent, including limits on what it may buy or spend, so Walmart can recognize that the agent is acting on that customer’s behalf. He describes this as an upcoming initiative and says the work is early.

He compares the proposed limits to giving a family member a payment card with a spending cap. The goal, he says, is for a customer’s agent or Walmart’s agent to interact through an appropriate protocol while the customer remains in control.

Berman raises loneliness and asks whether more automated shopping might weaken in-person connections. Furner says customers can value both convenience and relationships with local store managers or pharmacists; different people, and the same person at different times, want different ways to shop.

Furner recounts meeting a Canadian forklift driver who built a script on a company-provided AI platform and reported saving 15–18 minutes per shift. He presents it as an example of giving associates tools to improve their own work, not a measured result for the whole workforce.

He also argues that in-person relationships help teams make decisions quickly. In his view, trust develops between individuals and extends to teams; he values gathering colleagues in person as a way to build that trust.

Asked whether Walmart can be a community gathering place, Furner says store teams need both productivity tools and relationships with one another. He describes modern managers simultaneously handling a store, e-commerce, delivery, picking and stocking.

He says headquarters should support the people who serve customers and members. As an example, he points to the Sam’s Club office being described as club support, reflecting the relationship he wants between central teams and local operations.

Berman asks about the tension between affordable goods and employees’ ability to earn a living. Furner says Walmart’s wage investments beginning in 2015 showed, in his view, that a company can invest in workers and customer experience while also returning value to shareholders.

Furner says about 80,000 associates have taken AI certifications and describes a long-serving employee who was first to complete one. He also points to a company-paid education program and a store manager who earned a degree while working.

He says Walmart aims to offer opportunities whether someone stays for a short period or an entire career. Furner recalls that he first joined for a summer, despite initially thinking he would not follow his father into the company, and says he still plays guitar.

Berman asks whether shareholder returns and employee opportunity can advance together, and how other CEOs might adopt that view. Furner answers that leaders need a long-term perspective and should leave the company better positioned for whoever follows them.

Furner says 75% of Walmart managers began as hourly associates. He sees a wide range of possible careers within the company and argues that technology can give more employees a chance to build and contribute.

He broadens the idea of opportunity to suppliers, entrepreneurs and marketplace sellers, not only employees and shoppers. Walmart’s scale, he says, can connect businesses with customers in many communities.

Asked what other leaders should do, Furner returns to stable values and adaptable methods. He names respect for individuals, excellence, integrity and service, and says leaders must help people learn and act while making long-term changes.