BENTONVILLE, AR - Rob Walton, the 23-year-long Chairman of Wal-Mart’s Board of Directors, officially ends his term this week, and the retailer has announced that it will continue to keep the company within the family.
Greg Penner, grandson-in-law of Wal-Mart’s founder Sam Walton and son-in-law of his successor, officially stepped into his role as the new Chairman today after the company’s Shareholder’s Meeting this morning, according to a press release.
“It would be impossible to overstate Rob Walton’s impact on Wal-Mart and how personally committed he has been over the years,” Penner said in the release. “I’m deeply honored to follow in his footsteps and recognize the deep responsibility I have to our associates, all shareholders and the Board. I’ve admired this company since my first Saturday morning meeting more than two decades ago. I believe in its mission and the positive role it plays throughout the world. I am excited about continuing to work with our outstanding senior management team and talented Wal-Mart associates at all levels of the company.”
Penner previously served as the Board’s Vice Chairman, but began his career as an analyst at Goldman & Sachs Co. specializing in corporate finance and has been a general partner of Madrone Capital Partners, an investment management firm, since 2005. Within Wal-Mart he has served in several managing and leadership positions, including Senior Vice President of Finance and Strategy for walmart.com, Senior Vice President and CFO, and has served on the Wal-Mart Board of Directors since 2008. In that time he has held positions like Chair of the Technology and eCommerce Committee, and been on the Global Compensation and Strategic Planning and Finance Committees.
“This transition demonstrates Wal-Mart’s commitment to long-term succession planning and keeping high caliber, capable leaders at the head of our company,” Walton said. “Greg’s service to Wal-Mart spans more than 15 years, and during that time he has had a significant impact, both as an associate and as a Board member the past seven years. Greg has done an outstanding job as our Vice Chairman over the past year, and he has provided strong leadership and guidance as the Chairman of our Technology and eCommerce Committee since it was formed in 2011. He brings an ideal blend of finance, technology and international business expertise – as well as a deep knowledge and love of Wal-Mart – to this role.”
According to the company, it is also re-aligning the composition of its Board committees so that most independent directors serve on at least two Board committees, including governance and strategy committees.
“This adjustment is consistent with Walmart’s approach to continuous improvement of our Board practices and sound corporate governance,” James I. Cash, Jr., Lead Independent Director for Board of Directors, said, stating that the changes made will reinforce the company’s commitment to having exclusively independent directors on those committees.
