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Walmart has announced that chief executive Doug McMillon will retire next year, ending a dozen-year run in which the world’s largest retailer fended off a challenge from Amazon to deliver record sales and profits.
McMillon, 59, will be replaced in February by John Furner, 51, a Walmart veteran.
The retiring chief took over reins at Walmart in 2014 from Mike Duke, who had served since 2009. Since then, Walmart’s shares have quadrupled, beating the S&P 500 index, while revenue climbed to a record $681bn last year.
In 2015, Amazon overtook Walmart by market capitalisation. McMillon invested heavily in the company’s ecommerce capabilities, while also raising store employee wages in a move poorly received by Wall Street at the time.
Walmart’s largest shareholder is the Walton family, who descend from company founder Sam Walton.
“Our family and board have stated many times that Doug was uniquely qualified to be CEO at the necessary time for Walmart,” said Greg Penner, Walmart’s chair and the husband of Carrie Walton Penner, a member of the family.
“Over more than a decade as CEO, Doug led a comprehensive transformation by investing in our associates, advancing our digital and ecommerce capabilities, and modernising our supply chain, resulting in sustained, robust financial performance.”
Furner has been the head of the company’s main Walmart US division since November 2019, moving into the role after an almost three-year run leading the group’s Sam’s Club warehouse store chain. His father was a Walmart manager.
Other top executives who were seen as possible contenders for the CEO role included Chris Nicholas, current chief of Sam’s Club, and Kathryn McLay, head of Walmart’s international business.
Walmart said McMillon would continue to serve as a director on the board until the June 2026 annual meeting, and would continue to be employed as an associate of the group until January 31 2027.
The company said McMillon’s departure resulted from a “planned and thoughtful leadership transition from a position of strength, marking the next step in the company’s long-term strategy for growth and innovation”.
Walmart shares were down more than 2 per cent in early trading.
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