Duke Tapped As Wal-Mart Chief

The retailer's global operations vice chairman will replace 29-year veteran Lee Scott as CEO.

Mike Duke

• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

  Sat Nov 22 2008 12:08 EST

  

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Wal-Mart's new top guy may seem homespun, but he has a global perspective.

Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ) announced Friday that Mike Duke, who had been heading up the mega-retailer’s international operations as vice chairman, will be the firm’s new chief executive officer, effective immediately.

The retailer had said it would announce CEO H. Lee Scott's successor before the end of the year. Fifty-nine-year-old Scott will be leaving the helm on a high note, after having served as No. 1 for eight years. He is a 29-year veteran of Wal-Mart.

Investors seemed moderately encouraged by the appointment. Wal-Mart’s shares added 0.3%, or 18 cents, to $50.90, during morning trading in New York. Despite market turmoil, its shares are trading at a 14.6% premium from its year-ago price. This make Scott's exit well-timed after what some would describe as a serious rough patch. (See "Would Sam Be Proud?")

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company has been expanding its business, grabbing market share as penny-pinched consumers look to it for its low-priced goods. The competitive pricing is made possible by the firm’s unrivaled scale. While sales have been gangbusters, considering the straitened economic circumstances, Wal-Mart did say recently that fourth quarter earnings would be negatively affected by currency fluctuations. (See "Wal-Mart Tightens Its Belt.")

Duke has been with Wal-Mart for 13 years and made a name for himself managing operations in fourteen countries, including China, India, Mexico and Canada. Prior to joining the company, Duke had 23 years of retail experience, with tours at Federated Department Stores and May Department Stores.

In late October, Duke addressed the China Sustainability Summit in Beijing, discussing quality control and increased social and environmental responsibility. “Make no mistake, if, after a period of time, a factory fails to improve, Wal-Mart will move our business to suppliers who do comply and who do improve,” he said. Wal-Mart is not known for frills, and Duke laid it out plainly: “Reducing waste, being more efficient, and doing the right things the right way will lower costs for your factories, for your businesses and, ultimately, for the Wal-Mart customer.”

Duke, 58, graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. He serves on the board of directors of the US-China Business Council as well as CIES-The Food Business Forum and is on the executive board of Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business.

Wal-Mart also announced Friday that Eduardo Castro-Wright, 53, will be taking over Wal-Mart’s global supply operations along with his existing responsibilities as chief executive of Wal-Mart U.S.