.webp?disable=upscale&width=1200&height=630&fit=crop "Incoming Walmart CEO Furner shakes up leadership ranks")
Walmart on Friday unveiled a raft of executive changes, including promoting David Guggina to president and CEO of Walmart U.S. and Latriece Watkins to president and CEO of Sam’s Club U.S.
In addition, Seth Dallaire was named executive VP and chief growth officer for Walmart Inc., after holding that same position at Walmart U.S.
Walmart also said that Kathryn McLay, president and CEO of Walmart International, would step down at the end of the month, and will be succeeded by Chris Nicholas, who had been president and CEO of Sam’s Club U.S.
“These internal promotions reflect our culture of opportunity and the depth of our leadership bench,” said John Furner, incoming president and CEO of Walmart, which is based in Bentonville, Ark.
He said the leadership changes also come as artificial intelligence “rapidly reshapes retail,” leading the company to centralize its platforms in order to accelerate shared capabilities.
“It’s an interesting blend of reasonably new people to the company,” said Jose Tamez, managing partner at executive search firm Austin-Michael, noting that both Guggina and Dallaire came to Walmart from Amazon. “The blend certainly represents Walmart’s point of focus over the last five years and what that will obviously continue to be—the pursuit of innovation from minds that are not from traditional retail while combining execution and operational excellence with those that are.”
The changes are effective Feb. 1.
In announcing McLay’s departure as president and CEO of Walmart International, the company said she will leave her position on Jan. 31 but will remain with the company through the first fiscal quarter to help with the transition. McLay had been seen as a potential successor to outgoing CEO Doug McMillon, according to reports.
“Since stepping in to lead Walmart International in 2023, Kath has led a growth agenda, producing strong top- and bottom-line results, advancing our digital and technology transformation, and strengthening our leadership team,” McMillion said.
Some former Walmart executives, including McLay’s predecessor as CEO of Walmart International, Judith McKenna, have previously been cited as potential candidates to become the next CEO of Kroger. Last year Kroger, where Ron Sargent has been acting as interim CEO for more than 10 months since the abrupt departure of Rodney McMullen last March, said its new CEO would come from outside the company and would likely be named in the first quarter of this year.
New U.S. CEO has ecommerce background
Walmart had previously said it expected to name a new president and CEO of Walmart U.S. to succeed Furner by the end of January. In promoting Guggina to that position, the company is signaling the importance of ecommerce to its ongoing growth. He most recently had been executive VP and chief ecommerce officer for Walmart U.S., overseeing the retailer’s widespread expansion of its delivery capabilities. Before that he was executive VP of supply chain operations for Walmart U.S.
“Guggina’s background in ecommerce and supply chain operations uniquely positions him to continue to drive our goal of being America’s favorite place to shop,” the company said.
The other promoted executives also have extensive experience within the company:
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Watkins, who takes the helm at Sam’s Club U.S., is currently executive VP and chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S. She started her career with Walmart as an intern in 1997 and has held a range leadership roles at Sam’s Club and Walmart U.S. merchandising, human resources and store operations. The company credited Watkins with “reshaping the Walmart U.S. assortment strategy, driving operational excellence, and ensuring a consistent, trusted shopping experience.”
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Nicholas, who will lead Walmart’s far-flung International division, was chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. before he was named president and CEO of Sam’s Club in 2023. Before that he was chief financial officer for Walmart U.S. and chief financial officer for Walmart International.
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Dallaire helped Walmart U.S. expand beyond traditional retail, building new revenue streams enhancing customer value, the company said. In his new enterprise role, he will have responsibility for global enterprise platforms, including Walmart Connect/digital advertising, Walmart+, Walmart Data Ventures, Vizio, Sam’s Club MAP, and the global Marketplace platform.
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