10 Things You Didn’t Know About Walmart CEO Doug McMillon
Walmart is still unstoppable after all these years. Even against the face of modern giants such as Amazon, it’s still able to stand its ground to fight. Walmart got a new CEO back in 2014, a name that wasn’t familiar to many at all. But since McMillon has replaced Mike Duke as CEO, Walmart has managed to implement better strategies that have kept Walmart up and above waters, swimming leisurely in today’s economic currents. There are many things about this CEO that’s unfamiliar to many in addition to his face. He may be a quite person, but we’ve discovered a few things about the Walmart CEO that you probably didn’t know about.
1. Walmart employee
Doug has worked with Walmart all his life. He actually got his first employment ever at Walmart as a summer associate when he was only a teenager. He worked at the distribution center unloading trucks. It was the perfect job for a young boy, but little did he know what the future had in store for him.
2. Studies
Doug got his Bachelors Degree at the University of Aransas back in 1989. Afterwards, he went to the University of Tulsa to acquire his MBA, which he completed in 1991. During this time, Doug contacted Walmart stating that he ws interested in becoming a buyer after he finished his studies.
3. Walmart employee again
Before he received his MBA, Doug went back to Walmart to work as an assistant manager at a store in Tulsa. As soon as he got his degree, he began the buyer-training program in Oklahoma. He became a general merchandise manager for Walmart before he took on an executive role overseeing various areas.
4. Young CEO
When Doug took on the role back in 2014, he was only 47 years old. Some though that he might’ve been too young to take on the responsibility, but Doug has proven himself to be worthy to take the title. He’s now 51 years old and has been successful so far, especially considering that he came upon Walmart at a really tough time in the company’s history. Doug was the youngest CEO to lead Walmart ever since Sam Walton founded it so many years ago.
5. 5th CEO
Throughout Walmart’s 51-year history, Dough will only be the fifth person to take on the role and title of CEO. The individual who had it before him, Mike Duke, had the shortest term of it all—5 years. Doug has already been CEO for 4 years at this point, and it looks as if he’s going for the long haul.
6. E-commerce
One of Doug’s most prominent goals while he’s serving as CEO is to put more focus towards the e-commerce business of Walmart. This means that he also plans on closing a few brick and mortar stores along the way. There’s no question that many business are headed towards this direction; however, it’s also difficult not to see how this growth could impact so many people in various communities.
7. Family
Doug lives in Bentonville, Arkansas, where he first took his buyer-training courses so many years ago. He lives there with his wife, Shelley, and their two sons, who are now grown and in college. Doug stated in an interview back then that it was difficult for him to take any executive roles for Walmart because he had young sons. His sons are now grown, so he’s able to put in more effort and work towards Walmart.
8. President Trump
Doug serves as an advisor in President Trump’s board. However, after the events of the protests in Charlottesville back in 2017, Doug rebuked the President’s actions towards the protests. He stated that the president “missed a critical opportunity to help bring our country together.”
9. Gun sales
It was under Doug’s charge that Walmart changed the company’s guns sales. In 2015, he ceased the sales of military-style semiautomatic weapons. He claimed that gun sales at Walmart would only focus on hunting and sports shooting, nothing more.
10. Most powerful
Forbes has named Doug in its list of the World’s Most Powerful People in a few consecutive years—in 2014, 2015, and 2016. He’s also been ranked by ExecRank as number 4 in the list of top CEOs for large companies back in 2015.
