FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

South Florida and Latin America Media Contact:

Silvia Prado 1-305-505-4793 or sprado@logos-pr.com

Walmart Latinoamérica CIO Selected as One of the Top 50 Technology Executives in Latin America

Maria del Carmen Valencia to receive award for her achievements at the HITEC Top 50 Latin America Symposium and Awards to be held March 31, 2011 in Miami Beach, Florida

 

MIAMI, Fl. (March 30, 2011) – Walmart Latinoamérica’s Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Maria del Carmen Valencia, was named as one of the Top 50 Technology Executives in Latin America and will receive an award as well as participate as a panelist at the HITEC Top 50 Latin America Symposium and Awards: “Globalization: Innovation and Transformation” on Thur. March 31, 2011 at the Loews Hotel in Miami Beach, Fl.

Since 2008, HITEC (Hispanic IT Executive Council) has compiled a comprehensive list featuring the top 100 most influential and notable Hispanic professionals in the Information Technology industry called the “HITEC 100“.  In their inaugural edition, the HITEC 50 Latin America awards highlight and recognize top business and technology executives throughout Latin America.

“I am honored to have been selected as one of HITEC 50 Latin America’s top executives in technology,” said Maria del Carmen Valencia, senior vice president and CIO of Walmart Latinoamérica. “This award is not only a great testament to the many contributions women executives are bringing to the technology field in Latin America, but to our company’s commitment to promoting diversity and driving innovation in the Region.”

Since joining Walmart de Mexico in 1987, Valencia has held numerous leadership positions throughout the company, all the while removing barriers to the advancement of female executives in Latin America. She was the founder and president of the Gender Equity and Inclusion Council at Walmart Mexico and continues fostering women´s development in several countries.  Her appointment in 2009 as senior vice president and CIO for Walmart Latinoamérica is a clear demonstration of Walmart’s commitment to diversity and the development of women executives within the organization.

Valencia’s over 23 years of experience in IT and Telecommunications areas has earned her numerous awards throughout her career including being named one of the Top 100 Leaders in Technology in Mexico in 2008 and 2009, as well as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Mexico.

“We are continually striving to develop new and improved technology platforms in Latin America to not only work more efficiently, but also more sustainably. Mary has dedicated herself to the continued growth of Walmart Latinoamérica in this area and this award is a clear recognition of her success and leadership,” said Eduardo Solórzano, President and CEO of Walmart Latinoamérica. “We are very fortunate to have Mary in our Walmart family.”

Walmart has a significant presence in Latin America with over 3,300 stores and more than 350,000 associates.  Testament to the company’s diversity development efforts is the concentration of women leaders at all levels of the organization.

About the Hispanic IT Executive Council

HITEC (Hispanic IT Executive Council) was founded by senior Hispanic IT executives who have built outstanding careers in information technology but realized that there were far too few Hispanics in the IT leadership role. With a strong desire and passion to make an impact within the Hispanic IT community by helping others reach the highest levels, HITEC was formed in late 2006. These national leaders include executives leading Fortune 500 corporations on both U.S. and global initiatives, while others lead some of the largest Hispanic owned IT firms in the United States. For more information about the HITEC organization, visit www.hitecglobal.org

 

About Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), or “Walmart,” serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,900 retail units under 60 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2011 sales of $419 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Walmart ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2010 Most Admired Companies survey. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://walmartstores.com/ and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com/ and http://www.samsclub.com/.”