Marvin Ellison's Journey To Leading Lowe's As The Top Black CEO Of A Fortune 500 Company — 'I Had To Find A Way To Differentiate Myself'

The $4.35-an-Hour Grind at Target That Propelled Marvin Ellison to the Top Job at Lowe’s As One of the Only Black CEOs in the Fortune 500

Marvin Ellison’s professional journey is perhaps one of the most inspiring success stories in corporate America. Long before he became president, CEO, and chairman of Lowe’s, Ellison made just $4.35 an hour working part-time at Target while studying at the University of Memphis. He began at Target working as a part-time store security guard. That security-guard job turned into a 15-year career at Target, where he eventually rose through the rank…

Marvin Ellison's Journey To Leading Lowe's As The Top Black CEO Of A Fortune 500 Company — 'I Had To Find A Way To Differentiate Myself'

Marvin Ellison’s journey to becoming president, CEO, and chairman of Lowe’s began far from the boardroom. While attending the University of Memphis, he worked part-time at Target, earning $4.35 an hour, according to Fortune. “I was fortunate to land in a company that believed in developing people, and I just grinded it out for 15 years all the way up to a director level,” Ellison told Daymond John, the entrepreneur behind FUBU and an investor on…