Ashley Knight

Ashley Knight needed a break from school after graduating with a biology degree from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 2002.

Knight had crammed 21 hours of upper-level science courses into her senior year in order to graduate in four years. She planned to go to medical school and become a doctor. Before that, through a friend, she wrangled what she thought would be a temporary job at Walmart Inc. of Bentonville.

Eighteen years later, Knight is still working retail, having turned her temporary job into a profession. After working as a buyer at Walmart and for several consumer packaged goods companies, she joined the Harvest Group in 2011; in 2018 she was promoted to president of its Walmart Team.

“Growing up I didn’t know this retail world existed outside of shopping at Walmart,” Knight said. “I absolutely fell in love with the science of retail. I found so much purpose in the work. I have always particularly enjoyed building strategy.”

Knight said her scientific mindset is a good skill in retail, although sometimes she wonders what would have happened if she had followed a traditional business-degree path. The benefit is she has a different point of view.

Because of “the speed of retail you get to run that scientific method pretty rapidly,” Knight said. “You’re trying and executing and failing and learning, and it’s fun to be able to study the business. A lot of retail is a combination of science and art, and the science part is ever increasing as you get more access to data. There are so many people who have diverse backgrounds and it is very beneficial in the retail world.”

Knight said she is proud of her work at the Harvest Group and of an initiative to invest more resources in technology. She enjoys working with new companies trying to sell their products at Walmart, as well as seeing established companies expand their business.

“We are really blessed with some amazing client partners,” Knight said.