Arkansas Business

Brian T. Henry

Brian Henry, 36, parlayed a law career into one at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
After getting his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1999, the Detroit native went to work as a corporate attorney and specialized in mergers and acquisitions at firms in New York and Chicago.
When a friend told him about an opening for an attorney at Wal-Mart in 2005, Henry jumped at it.
He said he was evaluating his career at that time, and one of the appeals of working for Wal-Mart was he could spend more time with his family, he said.
Henry started as associate general counsel and senior director for mergers and acquisitions.
He was then promoted to vice president of international mergers and acquisitions and is in charge of handling acquisitions in Wal-Mart's international division. He has helped with acquisitions in Central America, China and South Africa. Bringing Wal-Mart to those countries "is probably one of the things that I'm most proud of," Henry said.
Away from Wal-Mart, Henry is the company's representative for the NAACP's legal defense fund.
"What drives me ... is really wanting to go out and help others," he said. Also in the mix, he said, is "wanting to meet new challenges, expand my own limits and test the boundaries of what I've done in the past."