Top exec changes made at Walmart’s Massmart

Guy Hayward was named CEO of Massmart to fill a position currently held by Grant Pattison, the executive who engineered the sale of a majority stake of the South African retailer to Walmart.

Pattison joined Massmart in 1998 and served as CEO since 2007, helping to engineer the sale of a majority stake in the company to Walmart several years ago. Assuming the CEO role on June 1 will be current COO Guy Hayward. He joined Massmart in 2000 as CFO and was later named COO and also played a key role in the Walmart and Massmart transaction.

Another big personnel change at Massmart, which operates 374 stores predominantly in South Africa, involves the appointment of Kuseni Dlamini as independent non-executive chairman of the board. He fills a role previously held by Mark Lamberti who stepped down after being named CEO of Imperial Holdings Limited.

“Kuseni Dlamini is an outstanding business leader with deep experience in emerging markets and a global perspective on management and growth,” Walmart International president and CEO David Cheesewright said. “Massmart has previously benefitted from Kuseni’s input as a member of the board, and we are now looking forward to his leadership as chairman.”

The change in leadership comes as Walmart International recently underwent a major change as well. Former division chief Doug McMillon replaced Mike Duke as president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., on February 1 and regional international executive Cheesewright was elevated to McMillon’s role as president and CEO of Walmart International. Both McMillon and Cheesewright worked closely with Massmart CEO Pattison.

“I have been CEO for seven years, the last three of which were undoubtedly the most rewarding and challenging of my career,” Pattison said. “Leading the sale of a 53% equity stake of Massmart to Walmart was a unique privilege and the integration process that followed was a satisfying, albeit demanding, experience.”