Walmart names new chief growth officer
Seth Dallaire, chief revenue officer of Walmart has been named chief growth officer of Walmart U.S.
A Walmart spokesperson provided Drug Store News with a memo that was sent to Walmart associates from Walmart U.S. president and CEO John Furner.
Furner noted that In recent years, Walmart's U.S. business has transformed from a successful store business with a strong legacy of trust and performance to a people-led, tech-powered, omnichannel business uniquely positioned to serve customers with all the things they need and want, delivered when and how they want them.
Furner said, "A huge part of this transformation is being driven by newer businesses like Walmart Connect, Walmart+ and Walmart Data Ventures. These business segments have been established under one umbrella—the revenue organization led by Seth Dallaire. And they’re growing quickly. Last quarter we reported Walmart+ memberships were up double digits, Walmart Connect grew 30%, and Walmart Data Ventures has increased its client base nearly 200% versus last year."
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Furner added, "This is an exciting part of our U.S. business, and an exciting moment in Walmart’s history. And as we’ve learned, there are significant benefits of aligning capabilities that help us bring a better experience to life for customers. With that, we've decided to further align key capabilities under Seth’s leadership. Going forward, Seth will serve in an expanded role as Chief Growth Officer – Walmart U.S. In addition to his current organization, the following teams will now also report directly to Seth, with the mission of accelerating growth:
• Marketing, led by William White, chief marketing officer – Walmart U.S.
"As the source of customer insight and steward of our brand, marketing plays a critical role in understanding and shaping how customers view Walmart. By combining the marketing organization into this new group, we can accelerate our advertising capabilities to reach more customers in more impactful ways, and better tie customer growth and loyalty to financial outcomes while further capitalizing on data, customer insights and identity," Furner said.
• Design, led by Valerie Casey, senior vice president, design – Walmart U.S.
"Val’s team will continue designing impactful experiences for our omni customers, associates and partners. Their focus on human-centered design and continuous iteration has created significant improvement in customer satisfaction and financial performance. By bringing these teams together, we’ll be able to bring more of these experiences to life across the organization," Furner said.
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• Jon Alferness, chief product officer – Walmart U.S. has shared his plans to leave Walmart.
"With this change, we are aligning the product team within this new organization. Under Jon’s leadership, the product team has created new tools and solutions that minimize friction for customers and expands our ability to serve customers in more personalized ways. By combining these teams, we will be able to accelerate this critical work for our customers. Please join me in thanking Jon for his many contributions to Walmart," Furner said.
Furner concluded, "In the meantime, Jon will continue to support the team in an advisory role through the end of the year. His team will report directly to Seth while we work to fill the leadership position. Walmart has always been a growth company, and it remains one today. By appointing Seth as our chief growth officer, we are creating the ability to serve our customers uniquely and individually based on their lifestyles – enabling them to enjoy benefits we have built across the entire business. I’m more excited about the future of Walmart U.S. than I have ever been. Together we will win."
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