Walmart promotes chief development officer to COO

Bentonville, Ark. -Wal-Mart Stores has promoted Judith McKenna to COO for Walmart U.S., effective immediately. She succeeds Gisel Ruiz, who has been appointed executive VP of Walmart’s International People Division, effective immediately.



McKenna will continue to report directly to Walmart U.S. president and CEO, Greg Foran. Ruiz will report to Walmart International president and CEO, David Cheesewright. 




“One of the great things about Walmart is the depth and breadth of talent at all levels of our organization,” said Foran. “Around the globe, we have some of the best leaders in retail because of our focus on developing talent and our commitment to creating opportunities for diverse experiences. The announcements we’re making today are examples of just that.”



McKenna joined Walmart nearly 20 years ago as part of its Asda leadership team in the U.K., where she served as the CFO and COO. She moved to Walmart International as executive VP of strategy and international development, and most recently served as chief development officer for Walmart U.S. As COO, McKenna will lead a team of 1.3 million associates. She will also continue to lead Walmart’s small format stores, development of new formats, expansion of Walmart services and the integration of digital commerce into the retailer’s existing U.S. stores.



“At her core and by experience, Judith is a retailer who has made major contributions to our business throughout her career,” said Foran. “It’s exciting to bring her skills in managing store operations, small format growth, logistics and e-commerce to an expanded role in our U.S. operations. Her knowledge of global best practices and her success in leading our associates around the world will help drive our Walmart U.S. business forward.”



Ruiz started as a management trainee and gained a depth of experience across key roles in labor relations, operations and human resources. Most recently as COO for Walmart U.S., Ruiz led the retailer’s focus on improving operational efficiencies, opened more than 400 new U.S. stores, and increased representation of women and people of color across operations leadership roles. In her new position, Ruiz will be a key member of Cheesewright’s leadership team and the retailer’s Global People leadership team. She will also drive Walmart’s human resources strategy and priorities that reach more than one million associates in 26 countries around the world.