Forty Under 40: Matt Fifer
by January 1, 2009 12:00 am 658 views
Matt Fifer, 36, began his career in retail by working at Silver Dollar City, the natural summer job for those growing up in Branson.
“I was really fortunate. The people I got to work with were retired professionals in their 60s and 70s who had done a lot with their lives and were great mentors,” he said.
And the bug followed him to college. While he was pursuing his degree at Missouri Southern University in Joplin, Fifer started working for Sam’s Club part-time. Before long, he was in Wal-Mart’s assistant manger training program during the day, and finishing his degree in business administration with a minor in accounting at night.
He worked at the store level for about three years and then was recruited to the home
office and was eventually promoted to senior marketing manager.
In 2003 he went to Japan to assist with the integration of Seiyu Group as a director of marketing at Wal-Mart International. While overseas, he began thinking about starting his own business and what it might be. After 18 months, the assignment was complete and he soon joined Premier Retail Networks for a short stint before starting his own series of businesses.
Founded in 2006, 8th & Walton is a supplier development company that has helped supplier teams do business better with Wal-Mart.
“I really am the luckiest guy in the world,” Fifer said.