Returning to Sam’s Club as CEO a full-circle moment for Watkins

As a little girl growing up in McGehee (Desha County), Latriece Watkins said she was most fascinated by the store cashiers at her local Walmart store in the farming town of roughly 3,500 people.

“They put the numbers in the cash register so fast,” Watkins said last year at the retail giant’s Marketplace Seller Summit held in San Diego. “So I would pretend at home that I had a cash register. It was really just a calculator, but that was probably the start of my love for retail, the cashier. And then over time, I like buying stuff, and I like helping other people buy stuff. So, personal shopping became one of my passions, and I think maybe I found my calling.”

At that time, Watkins was the chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S. and essentially the personal shopper for all of America.

But her retail career didn’t start like most. Also, her career trajectory was not scripted or planned. Watkins said she stayed open to opportunities and sought advice from mentors along the way.

She graduated from McGehee High School in 1991, where she was cheerleading captain and president of the student council, already displaying a knack for leadership. Watkins said in a 2018 interview with Essence magazine that her first job was as a dishwasher at a local truck stop, where her grandmother Ruby Watkins worked as a cook.

“For two weeks, I did dishes, then I campaigned and got promoted to waitress,” she said. “I’ve always been inspired by the women in my family. … There is a strength in the struggle and in our successes. I now share that with my daughter, Londyn.”

In 2021, Watkins said in a profile with 3W Magazine that her biggest break came when she was accepted to Spelman College in Atlanta. Watkins said she didn’t apply anywhere else. She credits the institution with instilling “confidence for breakfast, lunch and dinner” and fundamentally expanding her worldview. At Spelman, Watkins earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1996. Watkins went straight to the University of Arkansas to study law. It was during law school in 1997 when she joined Walmart as an intern.

Watkins said she applied for two part-time jobs, one at Walmart and the other at a law firm in Fayetteville. She interviewed for and accepted both jobs. Watkins worked them both for about six months. She chose to stay at Walmart and got her first full-time formal offer the day after she took the bar exam. Watkins earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas in 1999.

Watkins spent a decade in Walmart’s real estate division, working her way through the ranks. It wasn’t until around 2008 that she realized she didn’t know much about retail. She had been managing and overseeing property records for Walmart.

She credits a conversation with Doug McMillon, then CEO of Sam’s Club, about taking a position in sustainability. Watkins said he urged her to think about merchandising if she really wanted to get into management and learn the retail business. Watkins said he told her to challenge herself and learn new things.

It turned out that she had a knack for merchandising. She accepted a job at Sam’s Club, and by 2010, Walmart called her about a senior director position over adult beverages. She spent most of the next 16 years rising through the merchandising ranks for Walmart.

In 2015, McMillon, who had become Walmart’s CEO the year prior, created eight workstreams, each with a lead. Though Watkins said she never wanted to take a lead position, McMillon offered her one as senior vice president over enterprise strategy. He urged her to take the position, and Watkins said it gave her critical visibility in that part of the organization and direct interaction with the C-suite executives.

“Habit will push you into the next 12 months,” Watkins said in the Essence interview. “I focus on how I will develop and help other people and continue to grow.”

She spent a year overseeing operations, and in 2023 she became chief merchandising officer at Walmart U.S., where she led merchandising and manufacturing teams. In February, Watkins became the CEO of Sam’s Club, overseeing a $93 billion business and taking her back to where her merchandising career began. She is the second Spelman graduate to lead Sam’s Club, following Rosalind Brewer, who was CEO from 2012 to 2017.

Watkins is also the third woman to lead the wholesale club in recent years. Kath McLay was CEO of Sam’s Club from November 2019 to August 2023. The past two Walmart CEOs also logged time at Sam’s Club. John Furner was CEO from 2017 to 2019, and McMillon was Sam’s Club CEO from 2005 to 2009.

Furner continues to sing Watkins’ praises as a merchant at heart with a talent and passion for developing future leaders.

“Luckily for us, she decided to build a career at Walmart and has served in a variety of key leadership roles within merchandising, human resources and store operations,” Furner said of Watkins in 2023. “Watkins’ team drove sales gains through supplier partnerships, increased innovation, and improved customer experiences.”

It was Furner who promoted Watkins to Sam’s Club CEO in February. He said that, like him, Watkins has grown up with the company and worked in various leadership roles at Walmart and Sam’s Club. Now more than six months into her new role, Watkins said every moment has mattered, and every minute has been everything she’s ever dreamed it would be and more as her career has come full circle.

“We are item merchants,” she said in a recent social media post. “We exist to serve members. We win as a team. We are mavericks. We’re building a faster, more connected club experience for our members, and we’re even more excited about what’s ahead as we continue to raise the bar for how we serve members every day.”

Now celebrating 43 years as a Walmart segment, Watkins said it’s the strength of the people, their ideals, dedication, and drive that have fueled growth and innovation for Sam’s Club.

“As Sam’s Club CEO, I’m following in the footsteps of so many people I deeply respect; it is humbling and an honor I take to heart,” she said. “I am grateful beyond words for the support I have already received from each of them.”