Scott Oleson

Scott Oleson(opens in new window), who graduated with a BA in Economics and an option in International in 2009, is a senior merchandise planner at Walmart eCommerce(opens in new window) in Dublin, California.  After graduation he joined Peace Corps(opens in new window) and left for Cape Verde, off the western coast of Africa, where he served for 2 years.  Scott organized and implemented community agriculture projects including a $250,000 project connecting 50 households to municipal water supplies.  “As a result,” Scott said, “more than 50 households in Cape Verde realized a 50% increase in their income through improved water usage and drip irrigation.”

In 2011 when Scott left Peace Corps to took a job as a financial representative with First Investors(opens in new window) for a few months before he moved on to 1-800-Radiator(opens in new window) as an inventory analyst.  In 2013 he accepted a job with Gap Inc.(opens in new window) as analyst for their global supply chain where he continued working until 2015 when he moved to Walmart eCommerce as associate manager of operations.  In 2016 Walmart promoted Scott to merchandise planner and in 2017 to senior merchandise planner in the grocery division.

“Economics has helped me with critical thinking throughout my career,” Scott stated in a recent email.  “In addition, I have been able to tie back business decisions and future initiatives to common themes found within economics.  I am grateful for the economics background as I am also able to manage fellow associates by viewing concepts at a macro level (as opposed to be being stuck in the weeds).” (Last Updated 8/4/19)