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MANSFIELD — Billy Link Jr. never imagined that pushing shopping carts would lead to a successful career. He was just a college student trying to earn some gas money.
A 1997 graduate of Mansfield Senior High School, Link came home every weekend to work as a cart collector at the local Sam’s Club. He was working towards a degree in biology from the Ohio State University, with aspirations to become a doctor.
Now he’s one of the highest ranking Walmart executives in the eastern United States.
As Senior Director of Operations for Walmart’s East Business Unit, Link leads operations support for approximately 800 stores across 17 states. Those stores generate about $70 billion in revenue each year and employ more than 261,000 people.
Link grew up in Mansfield in a blue-collar neighborhood, the son of a steel mill worker. No one in his family had ever been to college.
His family pushed him to get an education — but outside the home, some assumed his future was limited.
“I still see myself as a kid from the wrong side of town,” he said. “I think people call it ‘little Kentucky’ today.
“I was the only kid in the honors classes at Mansfield Senior that lived in my neighborhood.”
People’s doubts didn’t bother Link. They motivated him.
“I think I’ve always had a bit of a chip, because I wanted to prove them wrong,” he said.
During his teen years, Link worked as a caddy at Westbrook Country Club.
“I saw success (with) the people I met caddying,” he recalled. “They were mostly doctors and lawyers. So I used to tell myself, I was going to be a doctor when I grew up.”
Link went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in biology. After his med-school applications were rejected, a coworker at Sam’s Club asked if he’d ever considered management.
Link was skeptical at first, but went ahead and applied. He got multiple offers, including a job as the assistant manager of the Ontario Walmart.
From there, Link continued ascending the management ladder. He began training assistant managers, then led a regional management training program. The company assigned him management roles in struggling stores, then transferred him to a district manager role.
Link was promoted to his current role in February. He will celebrate 24 years as a Walmart employee in April.
Link said he appreciates the wide-ranging opportunities he’s had with the company.
“Getting to change that job trajectory every two to three years, but the name badge never changing, has really, really worked for me,” he said.
“In a company as big as Walmart, there’s always a challenge somewhere.”
Some of his best memories on the job come from his time managing stores in Columbus.
“Columbus has a very large immigrant population who would come to America with nothing,” he said. “They would come in riding the bus to work. Within the first year they get an opportunity as a department manager, which you know, that’s $15 to $23 an hour, so their life begins to change.
“You see that person come to you and shake your hand and say ‘I bought my first car because you gave me this opportunity. I purchased my first home.’
“That’s the stuff that you remember.”
In spite of being on track to become a vice president of one of America’s largest retailers, Link still sees himself as just a kid from Mansfield.
“I don’t feel I’m someone special,” he said. “I’m not the smartest guy in the room — never have been, never will be.
“But if you wake up every day wanting to win and you’re focused, you care about people and you get people to join you on a journey, there’s simply nothing you can’t do.”
These days, Link defines success less by a dollar amount and more by intangible factors.
“It’s about having the time and flexibility to enjoy but also knowing where you want to be in life,” he said.
For him, that means continuing to help others live out their fullest potential.
“Making it is seeing other people succeed and seeing them be successful,” he said.
“I’ve been very financially rewarded by working here 24 years, but none of that even comes close to the reward of seeing other people succeed and other people be given opportunities that others said they couldn’t have.
His advice to other kids like him is to work hard and find their supporters. Link benefitted from scholarships from the Richland County Foundation as well as Ohio State. He also got help from the teachers and guidance counselors who saw his potential.
“In your community, there are people that can help you get there,” he said. “Let them know what you want. Tell them what you want, put it out into the universe and let others help open the doors.”
