Ken Eaton

After graduating from University of Arkansas in 1983 with a degree in economics, Ken Eaton began his career as a buyer with Dillard’s, a regional chain of department stores, beginning a long and successful career in retail management. In 1987 Ken moved to Walmart and focused on supply chain management. He rose to Senior Vice President of Global Procurement and responsible for $40 Billion+ of annual FOB shipments for consumer electronics, apparel, food, HBA, sporting goods and healthcare products from 33 countries around the globe. Ken had “END TO END” responsibility and supervised 3000+ in-country merchandisers and handled annual negotiations of container contracts and air capacity. He also was responsible for demand forecasting, social and ethical compliance, product development, and selected/managed in-country logistics partners for Walmart’s then 7 retail markets including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, and Central America. During his tenure as Senior Vice President of Global Procurement Ken improved corporate gross margin of FOB purchases by 300 basis points. 

After 18 highly successful years, Ken retired from Walmart and became an entrepreneur. He co-founded GiiNii, International in 2007 which became the US marketing firm with exclusive rights to distribute new products from Foxconn Technology Group. The company introduced the first and award-winning tablet computer to America called MOVEITMINI. The co-founders successfully exited Ginnii, International in 2012. 

In 2013, Ken became CEO of Oxis International, a B2C platform marketing supplements and personal care products. After stabilizing the company, Ken returned to the entrepreneurial world to become a procurement consultant.  

Ken partnered with Keith Orris in 2020 to create PennsArk, a firm offering specialized procurement services for select clients.  This venture allows Ken to continue leveraging his 35-year-old global network of in-country supply chain professionals, many of whom are his former Walmart colleagues. 

Ken resides in Springdale, Arkansas enjoying an athletic and outdoor life with his family.