Soderquist began his career working for City Products, later becoming president for
Ben Franklin Stores. He joined Walmart as executive vice president in 1980 and served in several executive positions before his appointment to vice chairman and chief operating officer. He worked for the five-and-dime and craft chain Ben Franklin stores for 16 years, six of which he served as
president and
chief executive officer. During his time at Ben Franklin, Soderquist met
Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Several times Walton tried to persuade Soderquist to join his team at Walmart. In 1980, Walton hired Soderquist to serve as the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive vice president; Soderquist went on to serve in several other executive positions during his tenure at Walmart including senior vice chairman and chief operating officer. During that time, Walmart's revenues expanded from $1 billion to more than $200 billion. He officially retired from Walmart in 2002. After retiring from Walmart, Soderquist turned his focus to
Soderquist Leadership, a leadership center providing values-focused development training for more than 50,000 people since it was founded in 1998. The center was a joint effort between Soderquist and John Brown University President Lee Balzer. During his career, Soderquist received multiple board appointments. He served on the Board of Trustees for John Brown University from 1982 – 2009, and as chair of the board from 1991 – 2002. He was fulfilling board appointments for
Arvest Bank of Benton County and
Cinemark Theatres when he died. ==Death==