by Tyler Hale
Walmart’s executive team is experiencing a shakeup as one of its top executives prepares to leave.
According to an internal memo sent to employees by Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner, Steve Bratspies will be leaving the Bentonville retailer. Bratspies has served as Walmart’s chief merchant, and he will be replaced by Scott McCall who leads Walmart’s entertainment, toys and seasonal division.
Bratspies joined Walmart in 2005 as vice president of category marketing, according to his Walmart bio. In 2007, he was promoted to senior vice president of marketing, where he oversaw all marketing aspects for each merchandise category and the Walmart brand.
In other big news for the retailer, Walmart named a new chief operating officer for Walmart U.S., selecting 30-year company veteran Dacona Smith to serve in the role. The role had been vacant since Judith McKenna left to take over Walmart’s international division in 2018.
Smith had served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Sam’s Club. In that role, he headed up operations for 600 Sam’s Clubs across the United States and Puerto Rico.
According to the company memo, Lance de la Rosa will be taking over Smith’s role at Sam’s Club. On de la Rosa’s LinkedIn page, he is listed as the senior vice president for operations transformation, a role he has held since February 2016. Before that, he had served as senior vice president for Club operations since from August 2010 to February 2016.
The news comes on the heels of Ashley Buchanan’s departure in December to take the CEO position at Michael’s. Buchanan previously served as Walmart’s chief e-commerce merchant.
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