Don Soderquist

Early life

Don Soderquist was born on January 29, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Wheaton College (Ill.), where he earned his bachelor of arts degree in business administration in 1955. Soon after graduation, he married JoAnn (Jo) Pollard in Wheaton, Illinois. He then served in the U.S. Army Finance Corps from 1957 – 1959. He and Jo had four children: Mark, Wendy, Sandie and Jeff.

Career

Soderquist began his career working for City Products, moving on to work for Ben Franklin Stores and then fulfilling a long and extraordinary career at Walmart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Arkansas.

He worked for the five-and-dime and craft chain Ben Franklin stores for 16 years, six of which he served as president and chief executive officer. During his time at Ben Franklin, Soderquist met Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Several times Walton tried to persuade Soderquist to join his team at Wal-Mart. In 1980, Walton hired Soderquist to serve as the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive vice president; Soderquist went on to serve in several other executive positions during his tenure at Wal-Mart including senior vice chairman and chief operating officer. During that time, Wal-Mart’s revenues expanded from $1 billion to more than $200 billion. He officially retired from Wal-Mart in 2002.

After retiring from Wal-Mart, Soderquist turned his focus to Soderquist Leadership, a leadership center providing values-focused development training for more than 50,000 people since it was founded in 1998. The center was a joint effort between Soderquist and John Brown University President Lee Balzer.

During his career, Soderquist received multiple board appointments. He served on the Board of Trustees for John Brown University from 1982 – 2009, and as chair of the board from 1991 – 2002. He was fulfilling board appointments for Arvest Bank of Benton County and Cinemark Theatres when he died.

Death

Soderquist died at the age of 82 on July 21, 2016, due to complications from heart surgery. A memorial service was held in his honor at Fellowship Bible NWA in Rogers, Arkansas, on July 29, 2016.

Philanthropy

Soderquist was active in his community, supporting charities and nonprofits alike. He received multiple awards for his work in this area including the Dick Trammel Good Neighbor Award from the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce in 2009, and the Advocate for Innocence Award for Outstanding Community Partner from the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County in 2015.

Three nonprofits Soderquist worked closely with were Lake Geneva Youth Camp (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin), New Life Ranch (Colcord, Oklahoma), and Westlawn Youth Network (Bellwood, Illinois).

Honors

1990 Received Outstanding Business Leader Award from the Northwood Institute in Palm Beach, Florida.

1996 Inducted into the Retailing Hall of Fame.

2009 Elected Trustee Emeritus at John Brown University.

2011 Inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2011.

2013 John Brown University named their business college after Soderquist.

He also received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, from John Brown University, and from Judson College in Elgin, Illinois.

Publications

Soderquist, Don (2005), The Wal-Mart Way: The Inside Story of the Success of the World's Largest Company, Thomas Nelson, ISBN 0785261192.

Soderquist, Don (2006), Live Learn Lead to Make a Difference, Thomas Nelson, ISBN 1404101497.