Washington D.C. often a training ground for Wal-Mart corporate jobs

There may no longer be a direct flight from the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport to Washington D.C. but there is a direct link between the two cities as the latter could be viewed as a training ground for some Wal-Mart corporate jobs in Bentonville.

Wal-Mart’s corporate communications team and its corporate affairs divisions managed by executive vice president Dan Bartlett has amassed a long list of experience in Washington circles as well as state governments.

Bartlett, who joined Wal-Mart in June 2013, came to Bentonville via Washington D.C. where he served as CEO of the U.S. arm of Hill+Knowlton Strategies, a global business advisory firm serving corporations, non-profits and associations in 52 countries. Prior to that Bartlett worked as counselor to the President in George W. Bush’s administration and managed the White House press office of the Offices of Communication.

He replaced Leslie Dach, also a Washington D.C. veteran known as a Democratic strategist for the U.S. Senate. In fact, Dach never moved to Bentonville during the seven years he lead the retailer’s corporate affairs division.

Greg Hitt, Wal-Mart’s new vice president of corporate communications, also hails from Washington, D.C., having spent more than two decades covering political news for Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal before entering public relations work in 2010. Hitt also joined Wal-Mart from Hill+Knowlton Strategies where we worked with Bartlett.

Like Dach, Hitt will maintain an office in Bentonville, but his permanent residency will remain near Washington where his wife also works. 

Aside from management, more an a dozen of Bartlett and Hitt’s direct reports also have government experience in Washington, federal and state agencies, according to their Linked-In resumes. Experience among corporate media spokesmen and spokeswomen and corporate affairs professionals include:
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, political affairs
• Communication’s office for the Louisiana Governor’s Office
• Deputy Campaign Manager and chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole
• National Republican Senatorial Committee communications
• National Press Secretary for U.S. Sen. John McCain
• U.S. Department of Treasury
• Policy Advisor to the Michigan House of Representatives
• Legislative Aid to the Ohio Senate
• Special Assistant to Republican National Committee
• Lobbyist in the Michigan statehouse
* Legislative Aid in Pennsylvania
* Chief of Staff for the San Jose Mayor

“The DC connection is interesting especially given that 20 years ago Wal-Mart had little to do with Washington. That is obviously changing,” said Alan Ellstrand, corporate governance expert and professor at the University of Arkansas.

Ellstrand said the leadership that Dach provided Wal-Mart during his 7-year tenure was a huge benefit to the retailer as it navigated a challenging environment. He said Dach was one of the first Washington insiders to break into the top level of management.

“Having an experienced, well-tested media team is valuable to Wal-Mart at all times. Government experience and the high velocity pace with politics is likely valued at Wal-Mart because they are constantly in the news,” Ellstrand said.

He said the connections made while serving in government-related posts may also prove helpful for a company like Wal-Mart that has so many initiatives underway. For instance he said, recruiting a spokesperson from FEMA makes sense when you consider all the stores and national disaster aid the retailer gives annually. He said relationships matter in every business and given Wal-Mart’s expansion in many states, having contacts down to the city level could add up when trying to get a new store approved.

On the flip side of the equation, Ellstrand said experience working at Wal-Mart is valuable if the professionals want to move on.

“I would say a few years in corporate communications or government relations at Wal-Mart is much like earning a graduate degree. It’s a strong addition to the resume,” he said.

The Walmart Foundation also recruited Sylvia Burwell out of Washington in 2011 who lead the retailer’s nonprofit arm for less than two years before President Barack Obama came calling. Burwell served as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget from 2013 to June 2014, when she was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.