Director of Global Investigations
Matt Barden joined Walmart in 2018 and is the Director of Global Investigations, leading the company’s External Diversion investigations team. Matt was a police officer with the Orlando Police Department from 1988 – 1998 and a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from 1998 – 2018. Matt has over 30 years of law enforcement experience and expertise specializing in drug-related law enforcement, with over 20 years dedicated to the DEA. Matt retired from DEA as a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the DEA’s Omaha Division. Matt has managed the operations of law enforcement personnel consisting of special agents, task force groups, intelligence analysts, diversion investigators and office administration and is a recognized expert in criminal and regulatory investigations. Throughout his twenty-year career with the DEA, Matt held positions in DEA offices across the country, including DEA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he served as the official spokesperson for the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Western Carolina University and has participated in numerous leadership training programs while with the DEA.