This past Thursday, Walmart’s chief financial officer, Charles Holley, BBA ’79, discussed business strategies for the 21st Century with a small group of Texas MBA students.

“Having face-to-face time with the Walmart CFO for an hour with only 20 of my classmates reminds me of why I made the right decision in coming to McCombs.  Opportunities like picking the brain of a high-powered executive from a well-respected, global company is exactly the sort of thing students at this school can expect on a regular basis. I walked into the conference center knowing that Walmart is a low cost retailer and little else, so having Charles Holley unravel his company strategy as far as cutting costs and expanding to new markets was an eye-opening experience. But the best part of the talk, hands down, was the five minute one-on-one chat I had with him near the end of the hour.” – Ricardo Ybarra, MBA ’14

Holley joined Walmart in 1994 and has been chief financial officer since 2010. He serves on the Advisory Council for the McCombs School and is engaged with Walmart’s philanthropic support of diversity and sustainability at McCombs.