Forty Under 40: Ed Huber

Ed Huber, 39, had moved from St. Louis to Chicago to Virginia to North Carolina to California. So he and his wife were ecstatic when word came in 2001 that they were finally going to settle in Bentonville.

The idea of a slower pace and a community where you could get involved the things that are really important to us, which is family first its a pretty nice marriage there, Huber said, referring to the marriage of work life and community life.

Huber grew up in Peoria, Ill. He earned a bachelors degree in political science from Eastern Illinois University and an M.B.A. from Bradley University in Peoria.

He began his career with Gillette Co. in 1988, starting off in Chicago as a sales manager. In 1991, Huber became area sales manager for Clorox in Chicago, later moved to Oakland, Calif., and then to Bentonville to work for Cloroxs Wal-Mart Team.

When Huber arrived at the Bentonville office, it had 28 employees. Now, 60 people work there. About half of those are sales people. The office also has an entire supply-chain organization.

Wal-Mart doesnt expect you to just sell them, Huber said. They expect you to build your business with them.