Dive Brief:
- Walmart Inc.’s incoming CEO John Furner announced a C-suite shakeup effective next month, per a Friday press release. Among the changes, David Guggina, current chief e-commerce officer for Walmart U.S., will succeed Furner as CEO of the company’s U.S. business.
- Additionally, Walmart International CEO Kathryn McLay is exiting the company. She will remain at Walmart through the first quarter to support a transition as Sam’s Club U.S. CEO Chris Nicholas succeeds her in the role.
- Seth Dallaire, chief growth officer for the company’s U.S. business, will take on the same title for Walmart Inc. Meanwhile, Latriece Watkins, chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S., will take on the CEO title for Sam’s Club U.S.
Dive Insight:
Incoming Walmart Inc. CEO John Furner is reshaping the C-suite as he prepares to take the helm at the mass retailer.
"Over my 32 years with Walmart, I’ve seen that our people are our greatest competitive advantage. These internal promotions reflect our culture of opportunity and the depth of our leadership bench,” Furner said in a statement. “These leadership changes also mark a key step in how we organize for the future. Even the best teams need the right structure to win. As AI rapidly reshapes retail, we are centralizing our platforms to accelerate shared capabilities, freeing up our operating segments to be more focused on and closer to our customers and members."
Current Walmart Inc. CEO Doug McMillon is set to retire at the end of January after serving in the position for over a decade.
In connection with Furner’s elevated role, the executive will receive an annualized base salary of $1.5 million. He is also eligible to receive an annual equity award for fiscal 2027 valued at about $17 million, as well as a “one-time award of performance-based restricted stock units” with a value of about $10 million, per a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Additionally, in connection with their new roles, Guggina will receive an annualized base salary of $975,000, Nicholas will get $1 million and Watkins will earn $925,000, per a separate SEC filing.
The C-suite changes mark the beginning of a new era for Walmart. When Furner’s appointment was announced in 2025, McMillon noted that Furner was “uniquely capable of leading the company through this next AI-driven transformation.”
Earlier this month, Walmart announced the appointment of Grammarly (now Superhuman) CEO Shishir Mehrotra to its board of directors. He has more than 25 years of technology experience, which includes co-founding an AI platform and serving as YouTube’s chief product officer and chief technology officer.
Additionally, Furner took to the stage with Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at The National Retail Federation's 2026 Big Show in New York City on Sunday to discuss AI. The executives debuted plans for a new consumer experience directly in Google’s AI chatbot Gemini.
“What won’t change … is our purpose, our values, the way we think about people leading,” Furner told the audience when discussing how the retailer can adapt in light of AI’s emergence. “But everything else we are willing to change — what we sell, how we interact with customers, with our associates.”
