Alumnus of the Year – John David Rainey, B.B.A. ’93, M.B.A. ’95

As the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Walmart, John David Rainey, B.B.A. ’93, M.B.A. ’95, has reached the highest levels of corporate leadership while staying grounded in the values that have guided his career from the beginning.

“I credit Dr. Terry Maness with sparking the flame for me on having an interest in finance,” said Rainey. “And if Dr. Maness sparked the flame, then Dr. Bill Petty fanned the flame. Taking his class was the moment where I realized this is what I want to do as a career, that I want to be in finance. I really loved the intellectual challenge of solving problems through finance and through numbers.”

With his passion for finance established as an undergraduate at Baylor, Rainey felt graduate school on his horizon as the next logical step. A self-reported average student, he applied without much stress and was met with rejection.

“That felt like a punch in the gut. I felt like all was lost.”

Rainey put on his nicest clothes, went down to the admissions office, and met with the dean. He asked him to reconsider his decision, stating that he was the kind of student they want in their program. The dean allowed him to write a formal letter asking for reconsideration to enter the graduate program. Rainey mailed his letter later that afternoon, and, after weeks, he had advocated a spot for himself. 

“I think that single moment probably has done more to influence what I’ve done since then than maybe any other moment. That was the moment in my life where I realized I may not achieve things that I want in my life, but it’s not going to be because I didn’t work hard enough.”

For Rainey, hard work has been the constant, and he has learned that everybody plays an important role. People come from different backgrounds, but it doesn’t define their worth as individuals. Every role is as needed and unique as the people in those roles. 

“I grew up in Angleton, Texas, a community where people of every walk of life shopped at the same grocery store. If you play little league baseball, you’re playing there with the lawyer’s kids and also the janitor’s kids.” 

Rainey worked construction for five years during the summers and winters of college. There were a lot of summers when he was the only English speaker on the construction crew. Some of those people were really good friends, and he learned to embrace these different walks of life. 

“When you’re thrust into a professional community, I don’t think you lose that sense of camaraderie,” Rainey said. “If the CFO knows the janitor’s name, what does that say about everybody else needing to know that?”

Rainey’s personal culture of inclusiveness has permeated each work environment he has belonged to. He was working at Continental Airlines during 9/11, and they were one of only two airlines to not file bankruptcy. Later, when Continental merged with United Airlines, there was a tension between management and the unionized pilots and flight attendants, so he made it his goal to win this group over for them to all get on the same page. When he left United to work at PayPal, the pilot’s union honored Rainey with an honorary captain award. 

“Careers today are less about spending your working years at one company moving up the ladder. A career now is about honing skills and applying those to your calling. Callings can shift in a lifetime, which can be an intimidating and daunting idea. However, it also can be energizing and invigorating to learn and to try to master something new.”

Life at PayPal was different because it was a digital business experiencing a wave of FinTech in which companies like Venmo, CashApp and Apple Pay were starting to take off. Rainey had to adapt quickly to an ever-changing industry that was very different than where he had been for 18 years. 

“You have to be comfortable not being the smartest person in the room, especially when you move to a new industry. Be confident in your abilities that have gotten you to that point, but never stop being a sponge to soak up new information and knowledge. You may miss opportunities meant for you if you’re too scared to take that step.”

Now at Walmart, the environment is a combination of Rainey’s previous two jobs: capital intensive and brick-and-mortar like the airlines but also a fast-growing digital presence that is now 25% of all Walmart’s business today. A perfect blend of all the stops along his road so far. 

“You have to determine what success looks and feels like to you and not let others be the yardstick by which you measure success,” he said. “There is no secret code to success but that doesn’t mean it’s complicated. Work hard and treat people well then everything else is going to fall into place.”