Ben Hasan
SVP and Chief Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Walmart, Inc.
Headquarters: Bentonville, AR
Business: Retail
Website: www.corporate.walmart.com
Gender parity in the C-suite and the boardroom is a priority at Walmart, and CEO Doug McMillon set the tone at the top when he made the public parity pledge via Paradigm for Parity and Catalyst CEO Champions for Action. A key goal is that corporate leadership will reflect Walmart’s customer base. Also, all company leaders will be accountable for achieving CDI (Culture, Diversity & Inclusion) goals.
In Walmart’s 2017 CDI report, CEO Doug McMillon explains, “Just as we’re reinventing how we serve customers, we have to examine what we could be doing better in terms of hiring and promoting associates and leaders with diverse backgrounds. What do we need to be doing—both as a company and as individuals—to make everyone feel his or her perspective is valued? What do we need to be doing to support the next generation of leaders?”
In keeping with that commitment, the year 2018 was busy for diversity and inclusion at Walmart. Here are some of the highlights:
- The launch of MARC (Men Advocating Real Change) Leaders Workshop and program to enlist and engage male leaders to become inclusive leaders
- Rollout of Lean In Circles at Walmart to enhance the company’s mentoring program
- Development of the Mentoring Matching tool
- Devising the Inclusive Leadership Curriculum to educate managers on fostering a culture of inclusiveness, role-modeling inclusive thinking and behavior, and leading a diverse team
- Racial Equity Training for corporate officers and community leaders
- Piloting Value Based Decision-Making training
As chief culture, diversity and inclusion officer, Ben Hasan, along with his team, is responsible for facilitating the healthy evolution of the company’s culture, the development of behaviors that embrace diversity and inclusion at all levels of the company, and the promotion of the company’s external reputation as a great place to work.
In 2019, the CD&I team, led by Hasan, will collaborate with Centers of Excellence to embed CDI into the talent lifecycle. They will also devise a new system to measure CDI progress and expand inclusive leadership education.
