In an era when all Gen Z wants to do is job hop, Ann-Marie Campbell is proof of just how far staying put can take you.
Home Depot’s senior executive vice president went viral on X & LinkedIn this week after a post featuring her career history was hailed as the “perfect LinkedIn profile.” The screenshot, shared by the Acquired podcast, shows Campbell’s 40-year rise from cashier to the C-suite—all at Home Depot.
But Campbell’s career at Home Depot began almost by accident. As a Jamaican immigrant living in South Florida, she was making just $3.35 an hour when she decided to apply at the home-improvement retailer to help pay for her college dreams. She was hired as a part-time cashier in 1985, making $4.15 an hour, and grew to love the job.
Over the next four decades, Campbell steadily climbed the ranks, becoming a store and district manager in the 1990s before moving into corporate roles in the 2000s. In 2016, she was named executive vice president for U.S. stores & international operations; and by November 2023, Campbell was promoted to senior executive vice president. Now, she brings home an annual salary just north of $1 million.
A frequent fixture on Fortune’s list of the Most Powerful Women, Campbell currently leads Home Depot’s day-to-day operations while CEO Ted Decker is out on medical leave over the “next few months.”
Campbell found a 40-year career by finding work she loved
Staying at one company for an entire career is something that is increasingly less common—with a 2025 survey finding Gen Z’s average job tenure during the first five years of their careers is just 1.1 years. But Campbell has said it ultimately came down to finding work she genuinely enjoyed.
“Jobs become careers when you do something you love,” she told students at Longwood University in 2014, adding that it is then important to use your strengths to create opportunities for yourself.
“When I say confidence is key, when I say put yourself in positions to take and grasp opportunity, I am a living proof of that.”
I think we found it. The perfect LinkedIn profile. @AMCTHD pic.twitter.com/eMhqVDvOYA
— Acquired Podcast (@AcquiredFM) September 15, 2026
Fortune reached out to Home Depot for further comment.
Climbing the corporate ladder means knowing when to ask for help
When Campbell got her first paycheck from Home Depot four decades ago, the chain had fewer than 50 stores and about 5,000 employees. Today, the company ranks No. 25 on the Fortune 500 and has more than 2,200 locations across North America and more than 470,000 on its payroll.
The baby boomer’s impressive rise took decades of hard work and determination. As Home Depot expanded and Campbell moved up the ranks, she learned that raw talent alone wouldn’t carry her career forward; she soon recognized the power of building relationships, seeking out opportunities, and asking for help when it’s needed.
That lesson became clear when Campbell was a district manager overseeing 13 Miami-area stores in the late 1990s. The region was going through major economic upheaval, and Campbell was navigating the challenges of the job while also raising two children under the age of 4. She considered quitting when her boss sat her down and offered to help—though, as Campbell later recalled, she hadn’t made it clear what she was dealing with at home and work.
“You have to ask people for help,” Campbell told Fortune in a 2016 profile. “I wasn’t good at that.”
The experience changed how Campbell thought about building a career. Success, she came to believe, isn’t something you have to navigate alone. And once you’ve had someone help you, there’s an obligation to do the same for others.
“We have to stretch our hand out and help someone,” she added to Black Enterprise in 2017, “pull someone up.”
It’s a philosophy Campbell has carried throughout her own career: take the opportunities in front of you, perform when you get them, and help make room for someone else to follow.
“Believe that you can. The dream is real. It can happen,” she said. “It will happen if you keep yourself focused on performing. The ticket to the game is performing.”
