Ryan Ramirez is the head of business development and partnerships at Walmart Business, which entails launching partnership campaigns with organizations that align with the Walmart Business core customer. He solved the gap of the lack of representation across underrepresented communities by launching some of the company’s largest partnerships with groups like the US Black Chamber, US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Latina Style, and ACE NextGen.
What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?
Launching Walmart Business from the ground up is my greatest career accomplishment to date.
What is your greatest personal accomplishment to date?
Graduating from UC Berkeley in essentially two-and-a-half years, coming in with zero credits, all while working thirty-plus hour weeks, teaching a class, and dancing for the school team (twenty-plus hour practice weeks).It taught me how to prioritize tasks/time and optimize my schedule for the best results.
What do you do today to impact your community?
I am the current LatinX vice chair for Walmart, focused on early talent. Latinos and Latinas are MASSIVELY underrepresented in corporate America, and Walmart is no different. I know firsthand how a good corporate job can change the trajectory of an entire family’s financial stability. Despite that Hispanics are the second largest demographic in the US, that is not reflected in corporate America, especially the C-suite.
I am a passionate and vocal leader that is working to ensure we have more representation.
I also sit on the board of directors for United Charitable, a nonprofit that helps wealth managers, donors, and charity ambassadors make a greater impact with their giving.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I have a passion for building out new business units. My last few roles have been to be the GTM lead in a new initiative/brand. I see myself continuing to use this experience to help continue launching new programs/initiatives.
What is the biggest issue that you want to help solve, and why?
There are so many issues that I’d like a hand in solving, but in my current place in my corporate career, I think helping Latinos and Latinas climb the corporate ladder is the closest thing to my heart right now and also something I think I can have an immediate impact in.
What is a moment when you realized the impact of your work?
I was speaking at some state schools/universities in my hometown and the admissions team started tearing up when I was talking to them. “You don’t know how long we’ve waited and how hard we have tried to get a good company like Walmart to come look at our students.” Fortune 500 companies don’t recruit out of HSIs nearly enough. The talent and drive is there. We need to show them.
What is a surprising hobby or interest that helps you stay creative and energized?
Being a dancer has been my longest and most fulfilling hobby. On my LinkedIn, you’ll see a performance at World of Dance as my cover. I’ve danced hip-hop, urban, Bollywood, bhangra, salsa, swing, just about everything. It allows me to express myself and have a great time. There is nothing like being on stage with five, ten, fifteen, twenty other close friends, where you’ve all spent hundreds of hours practicing and grilling the choreography into your memory and having a blast performing in front of hundreds/thousands.
What is your Latino background?
Mexican. Both parents from Mexico (Jalisco & Michoacan) and they were raised in both US and Mexico. Both sides of the family moved to the central valley of California (Modesto and Merced). I grew up in Ceres, California, a small town in the central valley near Modesto.
What song do you listen to that motivates you?
I had cancer in 2017, so my mortality is always top of mind. I’ve unfortunately had a lot of death/passing in my family/friend group over the years. The song top of mind for me is “Temporary” by Eminem (off his new album). I don’t have kids yet, but my wife and I are currently trying to build out our family. The song is about Slim Shady/Eminem’s “Goodbye/Final Song” [“Farewell”] as he is passing away (in the song). It motivates me to make sure, through all my faults, to be the best father I can hopefully someday become.
