Effective February 1, 2014, 63-year-old Ex-CEO and President Mike Duke has been scheduled to be replaced by Doug McMillon after a Mexico bribery scandal in 2006.
The bribery probe originated from reports that Wal-Mart executives had provided Mexico officials with financial incentives to expedite building permits, as well as to acquire "other favors," according to USA Today.
"This leadership change comes at a time of strength and growth at Wal-Mart. The company has the right strategy to serve the changing customer around the world, and Doug has been actively involved in this process. The company has a strong management team to execute that strategy," claims the chairman of its board of directors, Rob Walton.
Duke, who is the fourth CEO since Wal-Mart's founder Sam Walton, will be stepping down early next year but will continue to be a chairman of the international empire. The retail behemoth's founding family member Rob Walton has issued a statement claiming that the change in CEOs will not modify the direction and strategies of the company, as the recent challenges of the global economy are stunting Wal-mart's growth in sales both abroad and in the U.S.
A spokesperson for Wal-Mart, Dave Tovar, claims however that the choice to step down was a personal decision for Duke, and that it was not related to the bribery allegations. Tovar claims that "it was time to retire" and that Duke had previously approached Walton before the vote on Friday.
A recent factory collapse April had caused 1,127 Wal-Mart garment workers' deaths in Bangladesh. Since then, new information over the Mexico bribery scandal had resurfaced against the grocery giant's reputation.
McMillon had previously served as the president and CEO of Sam's Club for three years, before he took over Duke's post as chief of Wal-Mart's international operations.
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