Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S., has announced that CEO and President Mike Duke is stepping down. Doug McMillon will take over on Feb. 1, 2014.
Duke, 63, had reportedly been considering retirement, notes Forbes. However, it was immediately clear who would succeed him if he left and now it turns out that the current head of Walmart International will lead the company. McMillion, 47, had been working for the company since he was a teen and rose up the ranks to oversee the company’s global expansion to 26 countries.
“This leadership change comes at a time of strength and growth at Walmart,” Walmart chairman Rob Walton said in a press release. “The company has the right strategy to serve the changing customer around the world, and Doug has been actively involved in this process. The company has a strong management team to execute that strategy.”
Walton said that McMillion “is uniquely positioned to lead our growing global company and to serve the changing customer, while remaining true to our culture and values.”
Walmart is under extra scrutiny lately, especially over how much it pays its employees. The story of an Ohio Walmart holding a food drive for its own employees for Thanksgiving was more proof that their not paying employees enough to some. There have also been protests at stories.
As USA Today notes, there was also a scandal last year that the New York Times uncovered, revealing that the company was paying Mexican officials bribes to get building permits. While company directors denied knowledge of this at first, a U.S. judge said in May that they had to turn over documents to show what they did know and when.
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