Walmart Executives Blitz Tanner Building

PROVO, Utah – Oct 28, 2015 – On any given day, the Tanner Building is abuzz with top recruiters interviewing students and hosting information sessions. The goal: to attract the interest of in-demand future Marriott School of Management graduates.

“Our students work hard to develop knowledge and skills that make them very effective in the workforce,” says Mike Roberts, director of the Marriott School Business Career Center. “Many of the best companies in the United States know this and are working hard to get the attention of our students.”

Walmart, the world’s largest private employer, is one of those attention-seekers. Last month, six company executives and other employees converged on the Tanner Building for two days of Walmart-hosted events.

“We have a lot of BYU grads who do great work throughout our organization,” says Andrea Thomas, Walmart US senior vice president of marketing and a Marriott School graduate. “Where you have success is where you want to focus, so that’s why we are making such a concerted effort at the Marriott School.”

During the two-day blitz, students from numerous Marriott School programs and clubs had opportunities to converse with executives over breakfasts, in classrooms and during interviews. The visit culminated with more than 150 students attending a Q&A panel where Walmart executives offered career advice and described career opportunities at Walmart in response to student questions.

Sam Dunn, Walmart Leverage Services senior vice president of strategy and business planning, says he believes the events helped highlight the commonalities between the Marriott School and Walmart.

“A strong cultural fit is a good way to describe our relationship with BYU,” he says. “Walmart has a culture where we respect others, have great service to customers and try to be the best we can be. Those qualities dovetail very nicely with the aims of a BYU education.”

Michael Dastugue, Walmart US executive vice president and CFO, agreed. Coming away from his first-ever trip to campus, Dastugue was impressed with what Marriott School students had to offer.

“The students are clearly very bright and have a great work ethic,” Dastugue says, “But probably most important is their ability to work with people in other disciplines. The people who come out of the Marriott School tend to be able to ask questions and listen in a respectful way.”

For more information on recruiting at the Marriott School, visit marriott.byu.edu/recruiter.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.