MEGAN CROZIER
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF MERCHANT, SAM’S CLUB Megan grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After attending Oklahoma State University, she moved to Temple, Texas, and worked in a Walmart Distribution Center. A couple years later, she moved to Northwest Arkansas for a role in the Home Office, and it’s been her home and career ever since. She met her husband on a blind date (a colleague at Walmart set them up), and they’ve been married for seven years now and have two daughters.
Education: B.S. Industrial Engineering and Management, Oklahoma State University
Did you always know what you wanted to do? Absolutely not! I thought I wanted to be a consultant and travel the world helping companies solve their problems. But as I look back on my education, my career choice makes total sense. Industrial Engineering is all about optimizing complex systems. Walmart’s EDLC culture demands we solve for simple, even – and especially – at scale. This is at the heart of what we do as merchants, and it also helps that I love to negotiate.
Best part of your job: The people, for sure! We have the most creative, passionate merchants who love surprising and delighting Members with great prices, cool items and new experiences. We’re having a lot of fun.
One thing you’d like to master in your personal life: Cooking! I plan on being a celebrity chef after I retire.
Quality you admire most in women: Definitely authenticity. I love seeing women leaders who embrace their femininity and lead from a place of authentic power. And sometimes that power suit has spit-up on the shoulder you didn’t notice as you were flying out of the house to get the kids to daycare. I say, who cares! As women, we should stop compartmentalizing our lives and apologizing when it gets messy. Life is messy and when we embrace it all, we give ourselves permission to show up as we are.
What nonprofits are you involved with, and why? I’m passionate about helping the NWA Food Bank after getting involved with them through Walmart’s Fight Hunger. Spark Change. initiative. Food insecurity is a problem all communities deal with, especially Northwest Arkansas. We have the responsibility to help our neighbors, and I consider it a privilege to serve this organization and our community.
Best part of your day: I love everything about picking up my girls from school. From seeing their smiling faces running to me when I open the door to the classroom, to the car ride home where I’m listening to their stories from the day – it’s the best and they always make me laugh.
Thing you’re most proud of: I’m proud I’ve had the courage to become the best version of myself. I’m definitely not finished learning and growing – and in so many ways I feel like I’m at the beginning of this journey – but I’m happy. I’m grateful to everyone who has helped me get where I am, and I’m enjoying paying it forward.