An Inspired Leader

There is a good chance that some of the items in your home during the past decade were there because of Alberto Dominguez.

Since joining Walmart in 2006, Dominguez has been responsible for a wide range of products, from snacks to prescription drugs to household cleaning items.

“When I was in the consumables area, at one point I had the responsibility to buy more toilet paper than anyone else on the planet,” joked Dominguez.

Now as a senior VP, general merchandise manager for the #1 ranked Fortune Global 500 company, Dominguez is responsible for every adult beverage product that ends up on the shelves of Walmart stores across the United States and in Puerto Rico.

“I am responsible for beer, wine and spirits, which has forced me to leverage a lot of my legal and regulatory background because that business is fraught with local, state, and federal regulations and compliance issues that we have to deal with on a day to day basis,” said Dominguez. The 1997 College of Law alum monitors the wide variety of rules in each jurisdiction and also works with Walmart’s governmental affairs team to ensure that the company can sell adult beverage products as seamlessly as possible.

Trying to reduce costs for customers is central to everything that Dominguez does. “Our core mission in life is to save people money so they can live better.”

Dominguez, who moved to Miami from Puerto Rico at the age of 6, loves his job. Two years after joining Walmart he transitioned to the merchandising side of the business in 2008. Since then, he has worked with teams of buyers to purchase products for U.S. stores, to determine which stores stock which products and to negotiate with large companies that want to sell their products at Walmart. 

“The best part of my job is getting to lead people and to develop their talents,” said Dominguez about the leadership component of his job. “I’ve often said that the most important part of my job is to develop people and help them achieve what they want to professionally. That’s really become the heart and soul of what I try to do every day. The hardest transition I ever made was when I went from being an individual contributor – the guy that showed up early, worked late, worked hardest – to the day that I had to get the same results through people.”

An appreciation for the leaders he has worked under molded Dominguez’s leadership style. 

“I’ve never followed a job, I’ve always followed a boss or followed a leader,” remarked Dominguez. “I’ve had the unbelievable luck of working for some really terrific people – who have stretched me, who have given me responsibility when I wasn’t ready, who have challenged me beyond what I was capable of, who have trusted me to make mistakes and who have poured themselves into my personal and professional development. The secret to my success has been working for really great people. As a result, I try to be that kind of boss.”

Dominguez’s accomplishments at Walmart are numerous, but one of his first is especially meaningful to him. He was initially recruited by Walmart to manage the contracts between the company’s pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers, health insurance providers and Medicaid. In that role, Dominguez was part of the team responsible for Walmart’s $4 prescription initiative.

“We took a set of drugs and we only charged customers $4 for a 30-day supply of those,” said Dominguez. “I remember prior to us launching that, the national dialogue was about senior citizens going to Canada to get their prescription drugs and husbands and wives only having the ability to afford one set of prescriptions, so cutting pills in half and each taking half doses was very common.

“I remember when we launched the program in September 2006, people literally walking up to us and weeping and telling us that this was the first time in a decade that they could afford buying their medication. The most beautiful thing about it was that all of our competitors followed us and, all of a sudden, we actually lowered the cost of healthcare for people in the entire country and we saved state governments millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements.”

Before achieving success in the corporate world, Dominguez advanced quickly in the government sector. An externship during the summer after his 2L year turned out to be life-changing.

“When I was in law school, I had the good fortune of participating in an externship with the local state attorney’s office,” said Dominguez. “I absolutely fell in love with trying criminal cases. It was the moment in my legal career where I knew what I wanted to do.”

At the end of his externship, Dominguez was offered a full-time position at the office and served as an assistant state attorney for two years after graduating. Dominguez tried hundreds of cases and was promoted to serve as chief prosecutor for Wakulla County after less than a year.

Because of his legal experience, Dominguez was recruited to work on criminal justice policy for then-Governor Jeb Bush’s administration in 2000. He also directed the Florida Department of Corrections’ Offices of Government & Media Affairs and Legislative Affairs, and was general counsel for the Florida Department of Management Services. He holds the distinction of being one of the youngest attorneys appointed general counsel of a Florida state agency.

In 2005, Dominguez decided it was time for a change and moved to Texas to negotiate franchises overseas for Brinker International. Since joining Walmart in 2006, Dominguez has lived in Bentonville, Arkansas.

“Here, life sort of revolves around Walmart and a couple other companies that are headquartered here. It’s very much like Tallahassee – very green, very lush, rolling hills. It’s a very safe place. It’s a great place to raise kids. Life is terrific here.”

Dominguez and his wife Sally, who have been married since 2011, met in Arkansas and are raising three children there: 12-year-old Brian, 9-year-old Reese and 3-year-old Harper.

“The world revolves around them,” said Dominguez. “Personally, my only goal in life is to raise kids that will be productive members of society who pursue their dreams and contribute to their communities.”

The Dominguezes love to travel and believe in giving their children experiences over gifts, so their trips often are tied to the kids. Last year, they took basketball-loving Brian to Los Angeles for a Lakers game and Reese to Boston for a Taylor Swift concert.

Dominguez, who aspires to be the CEO of a publicly traded company one day, especially enjoys visiting Tallahassee and his alma mater. Before earning his J.D. from Florida State, he received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from FSU, where he was active in student government.

“I love Florida State. If I think back on my life and think about the experiences that define me as an individual, my time in Tallahassee would be in the top three – having had the opportunity to attend Florida State and grow as a person and as a leader. Coming from a humble background, it was a profound experience that really shaped me. I try to get back whenever I can and stay as involved as I possibly can. I am so indebted to FSU and to the College of Law for giving me the opportunity to be a Seminole.”

As printed in the spring 2016 issue of Florida State Law magazine.