TASHA TANDY
Senior Vice President – Merchandising, Chilled, Alcohol, Convenience, Walmart U.S.
Tasha Tandy always says she’s from Texas. She lived in Texarkana, Texas, from childhood until her early 20s, but she was actually born in Hot Springs. In Northwest Arkansas for the last 20 years, Tasha and her husband Royce have four adult children, Nate, Morgan, TJ and Noah, and three grandchildren, Sawyer, Sadie and Sophie.
Education:
B.S.B.A. Information Systems Management, Purdue University Global, Magna Cum Laude
Did you always know what you wanted to do?
I actually had a career prior to Walmart as a martial arts instructor. I hold a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo and was a certified instructor for many years prior to moving to NWA. I thought this would be what I would do for the rest of my life. In 2003, I became a widow and later met my current husband, Royce, and in 2005, we moved to NWA together where his family was from to blend our families. When I joined Walmart in 2005, I didn’t actually know it would turn into a career or give me so much purpose. I quickly fell in love with retail and the culture of the company. It all feeds my soul!
Best part of your job:
Hands down – the people. I love serving customers and take special pride in the fact that my job is to help make feeding families more affordable, but Walmart truly is a people led company and I get a tremendous amount of joy out of working with these wonderful individuals.
One thing you’d love to master in business:
Without a doubt, I aspire to be an early adopter/master of AI. It’s dramatically changing how we solve problems in all aspects of our lives and learning to harness it is a necessity, not a nice-to-have.
One thing you’d love to master in your personal life:
Pickleball – I’m obsessed! I play 2-3 days a week and would love to retire as a pickleball pro or moonlight as a pickleball instructor.
If you won the lottery, what cause/organization would you support?
Cancer Challenge, an organization focused on supporting cancer patients through their journeys, is one of the oldest and longest standing nonprofits in NWA.
Surprising fact about you:
I’m truly ambidextrous. I eat and write with my left hand, but do everything else with my right hand or leg. I’m right-sided for all sports and cannot use a pair of left-handed scissors to save my life!
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Resilient, compassionate and courageous
What is your go-to karaoke song?
If you catch me doing karaoke, someone needs to put me in an Uber and send me home!