Forty Under 40: Marie Findlay

Marie Findlay’s passion is helping people find careers that allow them to develop, grow and thrive and helping companies find the right talent to help their business grow.

Leading a team of 140 responsible for filling 20,000 roles per year, Findlay works to fill positions, reduce turnover and hire great talent quickly and efficiently while creating a great experience for new hires. It’s challenging in a competitive talent marketplace.

Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, Findlay enjoys the connection human resources brings between people and business. She graduated with a human resource management degree from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2007.

During her career, Findlay has led teams to hire more than 300,000 people at Aon, RZ Group, HomeServe, Citi, Kellogg and Walmart. In 2012, Kellogg moved her to Michigan as a senior manager and then director of global talent acquisition. At age 25, she was responsible for a global talent transformation project which used technology and international strategy to redesign hiring practices, reducing the time to fill positions.

In 2017, she joined Walmart as senior director of global talent and participated in Walmart’s executive leadership development program before taking her present job in November 2021.

Findlay was a competitive athlete on the Scottish national swim team in high school and still competes in triathlons and ironman competitions, often making the podium. She also coaches junior triathletes in swimming.

Findlay said she focuses on finding a good balance between being the best in her career, as an athlete and her family. Recently, a severe cycling accident has made her rethink “life and what’s important.”

Her goal is “helping people thrive and be their best in their career, or in sports or their health, especially mental health.”