Good morning. Phil Wahba writes from New York this morning. This week will bring big changes to the world’s largest companies, Walmart Inc. February 1 will mark the retirement of Doug McMillon after an outstanding tenure and the first day on the job for his successor, John Furner. But the company also made other changes to its executive suite that made one thing abundantly clear: Walmart, a 64-year-old retailer, now views itself as a technology company.
Incoming Walmart U.S. CEO David Guggina, Who will succeed Verner? Has a $500 billion domestic business, no experience running a store, and has never held a sales role at Walmart or elsewhere. Such an appointment would have been unthinkable at Walmart just a few years ago, when the company, under McMillon, decided to become a technology leader and not let Amazon Escape with the prize.
But Gugina brings to his new role at Walmart another kind of experience that Walmart has prioritized for years: e-commerce, automation and supply chain expertise gained at Walmart and previously at Amazon. In announcing the recent promotion, Walmart praised Gugina’s work, which includes building delivery capabilities to serve 95% of U.S. households within three hours.
Another area where Gugina appealed to Walmart executives: Employ artificial intelligence. “Artificial intelligence is changing the way people shop, and customer expectations are higher than ever. But no one is more ready to embrace the next era of retail,” Gugina wrote in a post. Recent LinkedIn posts.
Analysts believe Walmart is far ahead of other retailers when it comes to AI-assisted shopping. In October, it announced a partnership with OpenAI to allow shoppers to browse and purchase Walmart products directly within ChatGPT. Last week, Walmart and Google Announce their own shopping tool. Also last week, Daniel Danker, Walmart’s executive vice president of AI acceleration, product and design, said at an investor conference that the company is developing automated ordering capabilities to replenish household essentials.
Gugina isn’t Walmart’s only up-and-coming tech executive. The company also named Seth Dallaire chief growth officer of Walmart U.S., tasking him with continuing to push Walmart beyond traditional retail into technology-focused businesses, including booming advertising, media and online marketplace businesses.
Guggina’s sale is perfectly timed: it’s coming soon Walmart moves its stock from New York Stock Exchange For people with heavy technical skills Nasdaq exchange. In December, Walmart said the move highlighted its “technology-led approach.”
Walmart’s increased tech and AI halo has the added benefit of boosting the company’s stock price: Last year, Walmart’s stock price rose 27%, twice as much as the S&P 500 and beating Amazon.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady: dianebrady@fortune.com
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