BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores here said Friday Mike Duke will succeed H. Lee Scott Jr. as president and chief executive officer of the company, effective Feb. 1. Scott will remain as chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors.
Succeeding Duke as vice chairman will be Eduardo Castro-Wright, who will continue to serve as president and CEO of Walmart U.S. while adding oversight for global procurement. Some observers said Duke’s overseas experience could influence U.S. food operations.
“The way Wal-Mart merchandises food in its U.S. stores — and, especially, its Canadian supercenters — has already been strongly influenced by its international operations,” Bryan Roberts, global research director for London-based Planet Retail, told SN. “And Duke will certainly continue to be extraordinarily active in utilizing best practices from Wal-Mart international across all of its U.S. stores.”
A successor to Duke's position as president and CEO of the international division will be named before the end of January, Wal-Mart said.
According to Rob Walton, Wal-Mart chairman, "This management change occurs at a time of strength and momentum. We are confident the strategy we have in place is the right one for future success, and Mike has been actively involved in developing and executing this strategy, [while] Eduardo has a vision for our brand, [and] we believe his international experience will also help drive success in our global procurement organization."
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