Judith McKenna, president and CEO of Walmart International, (pictured above) has announced her retirement after 27 years with the company, six in her current role.
McKenna’s role will be taken over by Kath McLay with Chris Nicholas becoming president and CEO of Sam’s Club US. These leadership changes will take effect on September 11.
Doug McMillon, president and CEO at Walmart Inc, said he first met McKenna when she was CFO of the company’s UK business and “I was struck by her combination of intelligence and heart”.
McKenna subsequently served as COO of Walmart’s supermarket business Asda before moving to the US, where she led strategy, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and other areas of the company’s international business, later becoming COO.
“As COO, Judith played an integral role in strengthening our Walmart US business, shaping our e-commerce offering and digital transformation by leading the online grocery pickup business,” said McMillon. “This was a foundational moment that helped us achieve the omnichannel position we have today. She prioritized our store associates, she listened carefully and acted quickly to make investments in compensation, launch Walmart Academies, introduce new technology for our store managers and make other changes that strengthened the core of the business.”
As head of the international business, McKenna led what McMillon described as “a multi-year transformation” that resulted in international delivering more growth and stronger financial results across the board.
“More importantly, Judith’s leadership has positively impacted countless lives by creating opportunity and showing us how to lead with purpose. Her deep care for our associates around the globe and her passion for developing people has made a difference.”
McKenna will remain with Walmart until January 31 to help with the transition to new leadership and she will continue to serve on the Walmex, Flipkart and PhonePe boards.
New leadership announced
Meanwhile, McLay steps into the job after strategy and supply-chain roles, and leading the Neighborhood Market business before becoming the president and CEO of Sam’s Club US. She joined Walmart in 2015 after relocating from Australia where she held executive roles with Woolworths and Qantas.
Nicholas was most recently, COO of Walmart US, where he led the store and supply-chain team. He was previously the CFO of the Walmart US and Walmart International businesses.
Chris moved to the US to join Walmart after serving in merchandising and finance roles across seven countries while with Tesco, Salling and Coles Group in Australia.
