Walmart’s Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar will be celebrated at the NRF Foundation Honors as one of the dynamic leaders on The List of People Shaping Retail’s Future 2023. He shares how Walmart Global Tech is powering Walmart to lead the next retail disruption and his role in empowering both customers and associates through the creation of enjoyable experiences with technology.
Below are a few questions, along with Kumar’s abbreviated answers (watch the video above for all “20 Questions”):
How did you get to the role that you're currently in?
I've long admired Walmart. Walmart reached out to me and wanted to create the first ever global CTO/CDO role because technology is such an important part of the transformation for Walmart and the industry as a whole.
This is something that I could not refuse given the amount of scale and impact that Walmart has.
What career advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
This is something that I get asked all the time, and I say be curious. Use every opportunity that you can to learn more.
Second, seek the company of those who can help you because you'll find mentors everywhere.
Last one is work on projects surrounded by brilliant people because they will come up with many different points of view.
What is the biggest risk that you have taken in your career?
Switching fields from being a researcher to building retail technology in the early ecommerce days when ecommerce was still uncertain, that was a big risk.
Then, I moved to cloud infrastructure without really understanding a lot about data centers and cloud. That was another risk.
Switching fields is one of the big things that I have done, and that comes with a lot of learning as well.
What qualities do you look for in employees?
Three things. Number one, you need to be adaptable. Number two, you need to exhibit curiosity, because that tells you that you'll keep learning. Third, it goes without saying, integrity.
What decisions did you make during the pandemic that proved to be critical?
During the pandemic, we focused on the wellbeing of our customers, our members, and our associates.
For our customers, we supported their health through COVID testing, through our vaccine scheduler, and helping customers stay safe when they shop, whether it is through curbside pickup or through pharmacy. These are the things that proved to be the most important.
Same thing in terms of our associates. We built solutions that really helped them, such as virtual wellbeing checks, hiring and scheduling through the pandemic, all of these things were designed to make our associates be safer.
The NRF Foundation connects people to an industry that’s a great place to start and a great place to grow. Since 2015, the NRF Foundation Honors has raised the funds to continue to provide programs and resources to help people build better lives and stronger communities. Join us in New York City and be a part of the story of how retail builds extraordinary careers.