Walmart CEO McMillon to retire after a decade, insider Furner named top boss
McMillon, 59, will be replaced by U.S. division chief CEO John Furner, 51, a veteran with three decades at the company, Walmart said.
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Walmart’s shares fell 1.7% in morning trading, in part due to concerns McMillon’s decision to step down came sooner than anticipated, though his tenure at the time of his expected Jan. 31 retirement makes him one of the longest-serving CEOs in company history.
In a video on the company’s website, McMillon said, “this is the right time to retire because the company is in such great shape, and John is more than ready to lead this company through another set of transformations.”
Since he took the job, Walmart’s value has more than tripled to its current $817 billion as he ramped up ecommerce efforts. When he took over, the company’s global ecommerce sales had just surpassed $10 billion; in its most recent fiscal year ended in January, that figure had surpassed $120 billion.
“Walmart has performed very well under Doug’s tenure,” said Neil Saunders, Managing Director of Retail at GlobalData. “It has become a way more influential ecommerce player, has integrated new technologies to improve efficiency, and has pushed into new areas like retail media.”
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‘POWERHOUSE FUELED BY TECHNOLOGY’
The list of people who have held Walmart’s top job since its 1962 founding is a short one; Furner will be only the sixth person to lead the company, with each of the previous CEOs lasting six years or more.
“Doug McMillon has been a terrific CEO, leading Walmart’s transformation into an even bigger and stronger retail powerhouse fueled by technology,” said Joseph Feldman, an analyst with Telsey Advisory Group. “John Furner is the logical choice to be the next CEO. He is a lifer at Walmart who started as an hourly associate in 1993, so he is a good cultural fit.”
Furner has been CEO of Walmart U.S. since 2019. He joined as an hourly associate around three decades ago, and has held leadership roles across merchandising, operations and sourcing, the company said. He previously served as president and CEO of Sam’s Club.
Walmart reports quarterly results next week.
Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru and Siddharth Cavale in New York; Editing by Savio D’Souza, Anil D’Silva and Nick Zieminski
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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