Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retail chain, has named ex-pat New Zealander Greg Foran as Chief Executive Officer of its US division.
Foran began his career packing supermarket shelves in Hamilton in the ’70s and was one of two men Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall hand-picked back in the ’90s to be his potential successor.
Foran will replace Bill Simon in the US Chief Executive job starting August 9, Wal-Mart said in a recent statement. Foran has been in his current role since June, when he was elevated from Chief Executive of the company’s China business. Simon will remain available as a consultant for the next six months to help with the transition.
In taking over the US division, Foran will oversee a much larger piece of the business and tackle a few challenges. The US performance contributed to lower-than-projected sales and profit in Wal-Mart’s most recently reported quarter, which ended April 30.
Foran has 30 years of retail experience in operations, merchandising and marketing. He previously headed Woolworth’s supermarket division and held other senior roles at the Sydney-based company, including General Manager of the Big W chain of discount stores.
