Former Walmart executive Don Soderquist died Thursday (July 21) at the age of 82 following complications from heart surgery.
Soderquist joined Walmart in 1980 as executive vice president of administration and logistics. He served as vice chairman and chief operating officer from 1988 to 1999 and he was senior vice chairman from 1999 to 2000. During his time with the company, Walmart’s revenue increased from $1 billion to more than $200 billion.
He was a key component to the values of the company and he is described as a servant leader. He was passionate about the integrity of the company and drafted the original core values. Soderquist became the “Keeper of the Culture” once the founder of Walmart, Sam Walton, passed away.
Once he retired from Walmart in 2002, he began The Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics at John Brown University. A leadership program in Northwest Arkansas that provides values-focused developmental training to future generations of leaders.
Soderquist was involved in several charitable organizations and wrote the book “The Walmart Way.” He wrote to teach others how to incorporate the lessons that made Walmart so successful into their own lives and careers.
Walmart honored Soderquist on its website Friday.
