When a New CEO Builds Their Team, Don’t Assume It’s Business as Usual
When a New CEO Builds Their Team, Don’t Assume It’s Business as Usual
Walmart just made a leadership change that appears simple on the surface. Is there something deeper underneath?
Kathryn McLay will step down as head of Walmart International at the end of January 2026, after less than three years in one of the company’s most important roles.
First, Walmart announced her departure without naming a successor. Markets like certainty. Leaving a critical role open, even briefly, is suboptimal. Then the next day Walmart announced a broader set of leadership changes — including her successor. This naturally raises questions about what was still being negotiated or finalized.
Second, these leadership changes come a couple months after Walmart announced a CEO transition at the very top.
Put those together and the signal looks like the incoming CEO preparing for his tenure by assembling trusted lieutenants in the roles with the highest execution complexity.
Promotions in the other three segments are businesses that entail complexity. But Walmart International is a different beast: multiple countries, complex markets, local regulators, and different cost structures. Mistakes get expensive fast.
It’s the incoming CEO getting his lieutenants in place before the next phase begins.
👉 When a new CEO starts replacing and elevating key leaders, what signals that it’s a shift in direction vs. a consolidation of power?
🔗Source: Walmart International Chief Kathryn McLay to Step Down After Two Years
