Women in Business: Carol Moralez

Residence: Bentonville

Education: Attended the University of Texas at San Antonio; numerous certifications through career at Walmart Inc.

Professional background: Serve2Perform, a professional development firm that provides thought leadership, training and technology for companies, hired Moralez in 2019. As the newest partner, she coordinated the launch of LatinXNA, designed to elevate the Latinx brand and empower Latinx leaders. She previously had an impactful career at Walmart Inc. and played a key role in the rollout of the Walmart Academy training program, where front-line hourly supervisors, department managers and assistant managers receive two to six weeks of training. She is a board member of Community Clinic of Northwest Arkansas.

What character traits do you feel have benefited you in your success? Optimism, compassion, authenticity, grit, adaptability, faithfulness, loyalty and curiosity. I have been blessed with wonderful opportunities. I spent 25 years in retail, leading and developing great teams across five states. I became a partner at Serve2Perform. These traits enable me to be a thoughtful leader and trusted partner to my clients.

What has been the most fulfilling moment of your career so far? One of my most fulfilling moments came in 2003 and was born out of one of the most difficult challenges I faced as an operations leader at Walmart. I was a Store Manager in El Cajon, Calif., during a year of devastating wildfires in San Diego County. My team and I kept the store open during mass evacuations so that we could serve and comfort a community of local residents, regional and national firefighters, and first responders. I was honored to receive the Helen Walton Community Award on behalf of my 350 member store team for service to the community.

What’s the next big personal or career challenge you plan to take on? I have always been a champion for every human being so that we are not limited by our gender, color of our skin, ethnicity or socioeconomic position. My goal is to educate leaders across all industries of the benefits of having an inclusive culture to solve business challenges.

How do you spend your time away from work? What are your hobbies? Before the pandemic, I spent my free time attending youth and high school wrestling tournaments across the country watching my sons compete.

What’s the last good book you read? “Becoming” by Michelle Obama.

What’s your biggest passion and why? My biggest passion is helping leaders, teams and organizations rise to their potential. I was so excited to become a certified executive coach. If my experience can help others learn and grow, I’m all in.

What advice would you give young women who are currently at the beginning of their careers? Every one of us needs raving fans. Know your self-worth, excel in what you do and build a strong network by creating deep and authentic relationships with your teammates, supervisors and mentors.

Of all the mentors in your professional career, who has been the most influential and why? I have been very blessed to have many mentors and sponsors throughout my career. Each of them came into my career at just the right time.

Gisel Ruiz taught me the importance of treating people equitably, no matter their profession or station in life. She also modeled motherhood in a retail environment, something I thought I never had the time to do. Celia Swanson gave me the opportunity of a lifetime that led to exponential growth in my own personal development. Dr. Adam Arroyos invested in my abilities, gave me opportunities to make nationwide impacts in diversity and inclusion and as a LatinXNA Chair, and [he] is continuing to coach my professional growth.

Can you share what you have learned about your business from the COVID-19 pandemic? We are adaptive, resilient and innovative. We are fearless in our approach to innovation, failing fast and learning faster so that we can find the best solutions for our clients. We are also socially responsible by nature. Serve2Perform provided free online training to professionals across a variety of industries and countries.

What’s your favorite app at the moment? Facebook helps me stay connected with the family.

What is something distinctive people would be surprised to know about you? I have been married for 26 years. I have three sons who are 15, 12, [and] 11 and a daughter who is 4.

If you have a bucket list, what are the top three things on it? One, buy an RV and travel around the United States. Two, have all my children graduate from college. Three, have an Olympic wrestler in the family.