Judith McKenna Named COO Of Walmart U.S

(RTTNews) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT), Wednesday announced that Judith McKenna has been promoted to chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. McKenna succeeds Gisel Ruiz, who has been appointed executive vice president of Walmart's International People Division.

McKenna will assume her responsibilities immediately and will continue to report directly to Walmart U.S. president and chief executive officer, Greg Foran. Ruiz will also assume her responsibilities immediately and will report to Walmart International president and chief executive officer, David Cheesewright.

McKenna joined Walmart nearly 20 years ago as part of its Asda leadership team in the U.K., where she served as the chief financial officer and chief operating officer. She moved to Walmart International as executive vice president of strategy and international development, and most recently served as chief development officer for Walmart U.S.

As chief operating officer, 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.

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 chief operating officer for Walmart U.S., Ruiz led the retailer's focus on improving operational efficiencies and opened more than 400 new U.S. stores.

As executive vice president of Walmart's International People Division, Ruiz will be a key member of Cheesewright's leadership team and the retailer's Global People leadership team.