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Theresa F. Barrera
The Buying Power of a
Corporate Giant
It’s been said that one
of the ways to get to
know a woman is by
shopping with her.
Anyone shopping with
Theresa F. Barrera would
soon discover that she
has the buying power of
a corporate giant and an
insightful knack to
predict what others will
buy. Barrera takes her
buying power seriously
because it’s her job.
At
only 42, Barrera is vice
president and divisional
merchandise manager for
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
the world’s largest
retailer and private
employer in the United
States. With a team of
five buyers and their
assistants, she keeps a
watchful eye on
merchandise trends to be
able to forecast as far
as one year in advance
what customers will be
buying during the
busiest retail seasons—Valentine’s
Day, Easter, Halloween
and Christmas.
To
make the shopping
experience ultra-affordable
for her company’s
customers, she is
responsible for studying
merchandise trends
around the world and for
buying high-trend, high-fashion
and quality products at
the best prices. |
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It’s been said that one
of the ways to get to
know a woman is by
shopping with her.
Anyone shopping with
Theresa F. Barrera would
soon discover that she
has the buying power of
a corporate giant and an
insightful knack to
predict what others will
buy. Barrera takes her
buying power seriously
because it’s her job.
At
only 42, Barrera is vice
president and divisional
merchandise manager for
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
the world’s largest
retailer and private
employer in the United
States. With a team of
five buyers and their
assistants, she keeps a
watchful eye on
merchandise trends to be
able to forecast as far
as one year in advance
what customers will be
buying during the
busiest retail seasons—Valentine’s
Day, Easter, Halloween
and Christmas.
To
make the shopping
experience ultra-affordable
for her company’s
customers, she is
responsible for studying
merchandise trends
around the world and for
buying high-trend, high-fashion
and quality products at
the best prices.
She also puts a cultural
accent on some of the
merchandise she places
on Wal-Mart Stores’
shelves, particularly in
the Southwest region,
the cradle of the
largest Hispanic
population. Using her
inherent cultural
knowledge, she makes
sure Latino customers
stay connected with
traditional holiday
items such as luminarias
or nativity sets that
give Hispanic
celebrations their
unique flavor.
The seed to her
corporate success was
planted with the
visionary thinking of a
determined child. As a
young girl, Barrera
remembers picturing
herself wearing a
business suit and
carrying a briefcase. “I
always wanted to be a
businesswoman and a
person of influence,”
she says.
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Theresa
Barrera
receiving
the
Chairman’s
Leadership
Award
from
TAMACC
in 2004.
Left to
right:
Hector
Flores,
immediate
past
LULAC
national
president,
Theresa
and Joe
Lopez,
immediate
past
chairman
of
TAMACC’s
board |
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Her family injected high
expectations that helped
create a fertile ground
for her early vision to
flourish. “My parents
never asked if I was
going to college,” she
says. “They asked where
I was going to college.”
Like a strong post
supporting a growing
vine, her mom’s tenacity
kept her from taking a
detour into becoming a
beautician when she fell
into what she defines as
a “phase.”
“My mom said, ‘this is
the situation. If you
want to go to beauty
school, this is how much
it will cost you.’” Her
mom explained the
sobering budget she
would have to cover on
her own in contrast to
the financial support
she would receive if she
went to college.
Barrera found herself
back on track in college
and unknowingly began
her 23-year-career
ascent with the global
corporate giant in
Corpus Christi, Texas as
a part-time cashier for
Sam’s Club, a division
of Wal-Mart Stores.
But once again, her
vision became vulnerable
with the inevitable
grief that followed her
mom’s death while
attending college.
However, Barrera’s
manager at the time
stepped in with moral
and financial resources.
“He made sure I stayed
on track and made sure I
had the right classes,”
she says.
“My manager told me I
qualified for a
scholarship,” she says. |
“The scholarship helped
pay for my books and
tuition and the money I
had saved for school
went to bury my mom.”
Without any pressure to
work for the company in
return for their
financial support, she
became an internal
auditor doing store
inventories for Wal-Mart
Stores after she
graduated in finance.
She soon advanced
through various
corporate positions
including international
special projects,
international assistant
buyer and housewares
buyer.
Her passion and
competitive spirit soon
caught the attention of
Gordon Erickson, then
senior vice president of
merchandising. “I had
watched her career and
encouraged her to
interview for that job
even though she didn’t
think she had a chance
at it. I promoted her to
vice president at Wal-Mart,”
remembers Erickson who
is now CEO of Smith &
Hawken Ltd. As vice
president of the company,
Barrera took on one of
the most important
divisions for Wal-Mart
Stores.
Managing multi-billion
dollar businesses that
are sometimes larger
than most companies can
add to the weight of a
vice president’s job at
Wal-Mart Stores. “When
you have that kind of
risk, there is a lot of
responsibility that goes
with that,” explains
Erickson. “There is a
lot of pressure because
it’s so competitive.
You’re traveling a lot
and managing and leading
people.”
“In the middle of all of
this, I got divorced,”
Barrera says. “Gordon
could have done a lot of
things,” she adds. “He
sat down and talked
about what I wanted to
do…what I wanted to be
good at.” In the midst
of her personal storm,
she remained clear about
her priorities and
responded, “My first
priority is my faith in
God, to be a good mom
and a good ethical
businesswoman. And I
wasn’t succeeding in
that.”
Erickson’s advice to
Barrera reflected his
management philosophy:
“Nothing is more
important than family.
You can always get
another job, but not
another family.”
Erickson said, “Let’s
put you where your life
goals are.” So he placed
her in a vice
president’s position
that required less
travel so she could
spend more time with her
family.
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“Wal-Mart was gracious
enough to allow me to be
a single mom and do my
job well and be a vice
president,” she says.
Even though Erickson has
since left the company,
they stay connected.
“Theresa represents the
company well,” says
Erickson. She’s a super
mom, and takes her job
very seriously. She has
done a nice job and she
should be proud of
herself.”
Managing a multi-billion
dollar budget and
serving on corporate
boards still leaves
Barrera confronting the
proverbial question
faced by countless
corporate executives who
are also moms. How does
she juggle family and
the demands of being an
executive in the
country’s largest retail
giant? “A lot of prayer,”
she says. “I have two
girls, ages 12 (Alli)
and 9 (Olivia) going on
20 and 25,” she laughs.
Negotiating with herself
is a daily exercise as
she tackles prioritizing
her family in the midst
of her job’s demands.
Even while her job
responsibilities cling
in the back of her mind,
some days it’s the day
to spend time finding
her daughter’s missing
shoe. “There are times
in the morning when I
have to decide if I am
going to be a mom or a
career woman,” she says.
“There are days I am
good at it, but other
days that I am not. I
have to take the time
with my kids because the
biggest thing I have to
succeed at is being a
mom.”
Dee Dee Geiman, one of
Barrera’s four siblings,
explains what has
contributed to her
sister’s success. “She
is strong-willed and
when she wanted
something she went for
it,” she says of her
sister while growing up.
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Theresa
with her
daughters,
Alli and
Olivia,
sisters,
niece
and
nephew |
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Having also worked for
Wal-Mart for 14 years,
Geiman describes the
corporate culture that
enables Barrera to
pursue her priorities.
“It’s a very demanding
position, but the one
thing about Wal-Mart is
that they are family-oriented.
If you are in a meeting
and the doctor calls you
about your child, you
leave the meeting and go
pick up your child.”
The family ties are
strong between Barrera’s
personal and corporate
family. When Geiman’s
son entered Wal-Mart’s
management program, he
went to live with
Barrera. “She’s been a
surrogate mom for him,”
remarks Geiman. “She’s a
forever-friend.”
Barrera’s family legacy
at Wal-Mart may continue
through another
generation. Olivia, her
9-year-old daughter has
now inherited what was
once Barrera’s
childhoods dream, one of
being at the highest
ranks of a corporate
retail giant. Her
daughter wants to have a
business suit just “like
mom.” When she asked her
daughter why?, she
responded, “So I can go
to work with you.”
Barrera says Olivia has
already learned the Wal-Mart
jiggle, the corporate
cheer.
By Myrna Gutierrez
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