Leading with trust, respect and integrity is key, according to Lourdes Morales Aguilar, Prevention Tribe Lead – Director of Walmart Mexico & Central America.

I was born in San Jose, Costa Rica. While my gender can be obvious, it means a lot in my life because since I was a child, I have been challenging the social rules for women and then decided to go into an industry traditionally designated for men. Even though I have been the first woman in some of my roles, my mission is not be the last one and continue opening doors for the future generations.

I’m a criminologist with 18 years of experience, specializing in corporate security, investigations and supply chain security and have been working for the past 14 years at Walmart. My career started with the company in Costa Rica and in 2016 I had the fantastic opportunity to move to Mexico.

In May 2020, I was designated as Prevention Tribe Lead at Walmart Mexico & Central America, driving the progression of corporate security, establishing safe working environments through an effective security and investigation strategy and building trust with Walmart’s customers, associates and suppliers.

I currently lead teams dealing with corporate security, operations security, supply chain security, corporate investigations and fraud prevention, executive protection and the emergency attention center. My current responsibilities include the security for more than 2,800 stores, 21 distribution centers and seven corporate facilities across Mexico. My team is made up of 120 associates located in six countries and more than 6,000 vendors.

During the past year, I have been focusing on the implementation of corporate strategy, to make Walmart the best place to shop and best place to work.   

As a professional in security, I’m an active member of the ASIS International chapter in Mexico City and a member of the Women in Security Committee. 

Values and philosophy

The values driving my life and my role are love, respect and integrity. Before being a professional, you are person and you need to find a company in which your personal values align with the corporate values.

Love gives people a greater sense of belonging and meaning. Differentiate who you are by loving people and watch it change the lives around you.

At the company, we work continuously to create respectful spaces, where our associates can be themselves and reach their maximum potential in an inclusive atmosphere where all ideas come together.

Finally, we work to provide our associates with a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace and we operate with the highest ethics and integrity.

The golden rule

I’m working hard to become a great servant leader. A servant leader with integrity believes that everyone is valuable and is deserving of trust and respect. They live by the “golden rule”, to treat others as they would wish to be treated and lead with trust.

Here are the seven key principles of servant leadership:

1. Honor others, before yourself
2. Inspire vision, before setting the course
3. Choose Ethics, before profit
4. Empower others, before personal gain
5. Privilege people, before tasks
6. Balance focus with flexibility, before making decisions
7. Serve with humility, before all else

It is important to listen to our associates who, in expressing their opinions, help us make Walmart the best place to work.  

This article was originally published in the March edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.