Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is up for some management changes as its chief merchandising officer is likely to leave the office and at the same time the retailer has added the previous CEO of American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) to its board.
The chief merchandising officer of Wal-Mart, Duncan Mac Naughton, is planning to leave the company just before the Black Friday. This could be adverse news for the company considering the approaching Black Friday weekend and opening of the holiday season sale. Naughton joined the retailer in 2009 as the CMO of Wal-Mart Canada and was later shifted to the U.S. business in 2010.
This is not the only major management change in 2014 considering the fact that Bill Simon, U.S. Business CEO, announced his resignation in July earlier this year. Greg Foran, former Asia chief, replaced Simon as the CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s U.S. business. Prior to the departure of Simon, Joel Anderson, chief executive of Walmart.com, was said to step down from the post during the period when the retailer has plans to increase its online footprint.
Among another major management change, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) announced Tom Horton, former CEO of American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL), as the new member of its board. While making the announcement, Rob Walton, chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), said,
“Tom’s management and business experience and, in particular, his roles in operational and financial management at American Airlines will bring valuable insights to the board.”
Mr. Horton is likely to become a member of the audit committee of Wal-Mart Stores. Before Mr. Horton, Wal-Mart announced Kevin Systrom, chief executive of Instagram, as the new member of its board. The appointment of Mr. Systrom was inspired by the fact that the retailer is trying to compete against its online rivals including Amazon.com.
This article has been written by Prakash Pandey.
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