Walmart overhauls executive ranks, John Furner set to take CEO role at month's end
Walmart (WMT) announced a slew of executive changes just two weeks before its CEO transition that will see John Furner take over from Doug McMillon.
The shakeups started late Thursday, when the company announced that its CEO of Walmart International, Kathryn McLay, would depart on Jan. 31. McLay will stay through the first quarter "to help ensure a smooth transition," the company said.
McLay, who made the move from Australia to Arkansas for Walmart in 2015, joined as vice president of US finance and strategy, was named CEO of its wholesale membership retailer Sam's Club in 2019, then took the helm of its international operations in 2023.
Ahead of Furner's appointment, some analysts had seen McLay as a potential candidate to succeed McMillon, who will retire on Jan. 31 after more than a decade leading the retail giant.
Taking Furner's role as Walmart US CEO will be David Guggina, who currently oversees all US e-commerce operations. In the latest quarter, sales growth for Walmart US was led by "acceleration in e-commerce, led by store-fulfilled delivery and advertising," the company said, with e-commerce growth above 20% for the seventh consecutive quarter. Before joining Walmart, Guggina held various roles at Amazon (AMZN) for nearly a decade.
Current Sam's Club CEO Chris Nicholas was named CEO of Walmart International. Nicholas joined Walmart in 2018 and served as CFO for Walmart International and CFO of Walmart US, as well as chief operating officer for its US operations.
Taking Nicholas's role leading Sam's Club will be Latriece Watkins, who is currently Walmart US chief merchandising officer. Watkins joined the company as an intern in 1997.
Other changes include a new role of chief growth officer for the entire company, which will be taken up by Seth Dallaire, who holds the same role for Walmart US. This position will include overseeing the company's growth platforms, including ad platform Walmart Connect, subscription platform Walmart+, its first-party consumer data group Walmart Data Ventures, and Vizio.
The company is set to report its fourth quarter and full-year earnings results on Feb. 19.
Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at
Content Original Link:
" target="_blank">
