How Walmart’s CEO is using his father’s lessons—and AI—to steer a $1 trillion giant

“I heard about respect for the individual, serving customers, and striving for excellence when I was four years old,” Furner said during a 2020 interview with Walmart. “I, of course, had no idea what it meant, but totally got to understand over time the power of it.” 

Now at the helm of one of America’s largest companies, Furner, 51, is guiding Walmart through one of the most significant transformations in its history: evolving from a big-box behemoth into a tech-driven powerhouse rivaling Amazon.

“I’m excited about our future,” Furner told analysts during an November earnings call. “I’m appreciative and humbled by this opportunity.”

The 32-year Walmart veteran got his start in 1993 as an hourly associate at a garden center in the company’s hometown of Bentonville, Ark. He went on to hold a series of roles across Sam’s Club and Walmart, eventually leading Walmart U.S. before being tapped to succeed former CEO Doug McMillon.  

McMillon led the retail giant for almost 12 years, and has similar roots to Furner, having also started as an hourly associate in 1984. In a video statement posted by Walmart, he backed Furner as being “the right person” to take the company forward. 

Walmart topped the Fortune 500 for 13 straight years, but recently slipped to No. 2 behind Amazon after the e-commerce giant reported record revenue gains in February. The retailer’s revenue has been up consistently for the last 20 years—with shares at an all-time high, but it fell just short of Amazon’s $716.9 billion in revenue for 2025. 

Now, eyes are all on Furner to keep Walmart on track. Its online business grew 27% last quarter, and the retailer, in September, announced plans to expand its reach in video streaming. In February, Walmart also became the first non-tech company to reach a $1 trillion valuation, thanks to its efforts in expanding its customer base, with shares rising more than 25% since its last quarterly earnings report. And last year, Walmart reported its hourly staff retention rate had improved by more than 10% since 2015.

As he moves forward as CEO, Furner continues to reflect on the moments that shaped him—including guidance from his father.

Early leadership lessons

When Furner’s father, Steve, joined Walmart’s operations team in 1977, the retailer had just fewer than 100 stores—far less than its nearly 11,000 locations today. His son, just four years old at the time, was far too young to start bagging groceries, but old enough to remember the lessons his father passed on. 

While working at Walmart, Steve established a personal slogan of “people helping people,” a Walmart historian said. It was more than just paying it forward, it was a core principle of showing kindness and supporting those around you to make sure everyone could succeed, according to a Walmart spokesperson.  

And when Furner’s mother fell ill in 1987, “people helping people” became part of his own leadership philosophy. Store managers across markets came together to raise money for his family—an effort they neither asked for nor expected. That gesture, along with other support for his parents, cemented his belief in the power of community and what it can achieve through kindness and support.

John Furner’s leadership strategy at Walmart

During his tenure as Walmart U.S. CEO, Furner oversaw a massive reworking of how the retailer pays its store managers. In 2025, Walmart offered its highest-performing managers pay packages worth between $420,000 and $620,000 per year. The average base pay rose from $130,000 to $160,000, and the remaining portion came from annual bonuses and stock grants.

“What we did last year was make managers feel like owners,” Furner said at a retail and consumer conference in 2025. “This includes shareholding, which has positively impacted their approach to the company’s profits and losses.”

Furner has been vocal about providing opportunities for other Walmart associates to find success in the company, too. Speaking to Fox Business in 2024, Furner said about 75% of managers started as hourly associates, and the retail giant even offers a bonus program to incentivize employees to stay at Walmart. 

“This is an environment where great performance definitely provides opportunity, and people can excel in their career,” Furner said.

Walmart’s strategy in today’s AI forward era

Furner thinks AI will be able to help associates, and Walmart is partnering with Google to help improve their skills as the  retail giant grants 1.6 million employees access to an eight-hour course on the fundamentals of AI through Google’s new AI Professional Certification. Walmart’s Chief People Officer Donna Morris previously told Fortune employers should be preparing its workers “for a world that is AI-enabled and automated or digitized.”

Furner hasn’t been shy about his enthusiasm for AI. Speaking during the 2025 Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Park City, Utah, Furner said he talks to AI “every morning” and encourages Walmart associates to use the tech to improve their workflows.

“We’re just trying to help people have a head start and get to the areas that are most impactful really quickly,” Furner told Fortune.

But in getting ahead with AI comes the shadowing conversation around job anxiety and the fears that AI will eliminate roles. 

A Deutsche Bank Research survey of 10,000 people shows nearly one in five Gen Z workers is worried AI will put them out of work within the next two years. But it isn’t just Gen Z that’s anxious about job stability in the wake of AI’s rapid development: Almost one-quarter of people aged 18-34 are worried about their job security because of artificial intelligence, according to another Deutsche Bank survey.

But it’s not a worry for Walmart, Furner said. 

“We’ll have roughly about the same number of people we have today,” he predicted at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in September. “What we’re trying to do, and what I think we’re very confident we can do, is get people’s time focused back on the items and the issues that are the highest value add for them.”

Furner said AI should be used for redundant tasks so workers “can be even more productive and we can serve more customers effectively.”

Furner isn’t the only executive of a major company who’s been vocal on AI enhancing jobs, not replacing them. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told investors at a company event in February governments need to start preparing now for the potential job displacement AI could bring. Dimon said the company already has “redeployment” plans in place. 

“We have displaced people from AI,” Dimon said, “and we offer them other jobs. They are usually well-trained and highly talented, very good at things.” 

Yet, the nightmare has turned to reality for some workers. Jack Dorsey’s payments firm, Block, laid off 4,000 employees, explicitly linking the cuts to efficiency gains from its AI rollout in an X post. Dorsey called it “one of the hardest decisions” in his company’s history, but told shareholders he believes “the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes.”