Canadian woman has become Walmart Europe's new CEO

From Canada to Europe

Shelley Broader will lead Walmart EMEA (Europe, Middle East and part of North Africa) from 1 June onward, taking charge of 1,345 stores and 285,000 employees.

Broader (49) has been with Walmart Canada since December 2010, arriving there after a 20-year long career in North American retail (with Hannaford among others). She started out as Walmart Canada’s chief merchandising officer and became its CEO in September 2011. She helped Walmart sail through Target Corp.’s Canadian arrival unscathed.

She will report directly to David Cheesewright, Walmart International’s CEO. “Shelley’s leadership of our business in Canada during a time of increased competition underscores her knowledge of the retail environment which will serve her well in her new role”, Cheesewright stated. Broader will keep control of the Canadian operations until a successor can be appointed.

CEO McMillon’s decisions

Broader’s appointment is a new step towards the restructuring of Walmart’s foreign operations. Greg Foran had only last month become Asia’s CEO (after his stint as Walmart China’s CEO since 2012). He will succeed Scott Price, who has been recalled to the main office in Bentonville (Arkansas) as executive vice president.

These management changes show that newly-appointed CEO Doug McMillon is pushing through his decisions at the world’s largest distributor as he tries to stop the slowing sales, both in the United States as abroad. The company is running a pilot with smaller, inner-city stores in the United States to help counter these slower sales. Its first quarter (until 30 April) turnover and profit were below expectations, while its second quarter forecast is not looking too positive either.