July 17 (Reuters) – Kieran Shanahan, chief operating officer of Walmart’s U.S. operations, is leaving the retailer and will be replaced by the company’s international division COO, Kyle Kinnard, an internal memo showed on Friday, amid a major management rejig under CEO John Furner.
Here are some details:
• Kinnard has been with Walmart for more than 25 years handling multiple senior roles, including executive vice president of health & wellness for Walmart U.S., the company said in the memo seen by Reuters.
• The change follows Tom Ward, COO of warehouse chain Sam’s Club, and Cedric Clark, U.S. store operations chief, leaving the company in May, and David Guggina and Chris Nicholas being named CEOs of Walmart’s domestic and international operations, respectively.
• Walmart also said on Friday it promoted another executive, Juan Galarraga, to oversee the international businesses in Latin America.
• Under Furner, Walmart has been pushing a technology-focused strategy aimed at expanding Walmart’s marketplace and delivery businesses and attracting higher-income shoppers. It had also eliminated 1,000 roles in May.
• The retailer in May had reiterated its conservative annual sales and profit targets amid softer consumer spending, and said earlier this month that it would cut prices on many summer barbecue favorites, including meat, chips, and soda.
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
