Good morning! Fei-Fei Li’s startup developed a system to generate 3D scenes, former Fox News anchors’ scorecard tracks companies’ employee silencing practices, and these are three women to know Walmart.
– Buy smart. As the holiday season approaches its peak, retailers have their hands full. That’s doubly true for America’s largest retailer: Walmart, a $650 billion giant that ranks number one on the Fortune 500 list.
There are three key executives in crafting Walmart’s holiday season strategy, as my colleague Phil Wahba explores new Wealth story. They are:
- Latriece Watkins, Chief Merchandiser at Walmart US
- Megan Crozier, head merchandiser at Sam’s Club
- And Andrea Albright, executive vice president of procurement, who oversees suppliers
From left: Ethan Miller—Getty Images (2); Courtesy of Walmart
Watkins tells Phil that the main dealer is, in a way, America’s personal shopper. Her team—for the company’s largest division with 69% of sales—decides which products will hit store shelves and online.
Crozier’s trip to the Sam’s Club flagship store included stops for cameras, food and iPods. These days, Sam’s Club is adding new products like lab-grown diamonds—just in time for the hype engagement season. The membership-only retailer and Costco competitor is responsible for about 13% of Walmart’s annual sales.
Trader jobs can lead to bigger things with big traders; CEO of Walmart Doug McMillion and US CEO John Furner both spent time as senior traders. So, along with other Walmart executives like the head of Walmart International Kath McLay these three women are CEOs to watch—throughout this holiday season and beyond.
Read Phil’s full story here.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Wealth’daily briefing for women who lead the business world. Today’s edition was prepared by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
– 2D to 3D. Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs has developed an AI system that creates an interactive 3D scene from an imputed image. The startup, launched by the “Godfather of Artificial Intelligence” earlier this year and valued at more than $1 billion, is part of a growing category in the artificial intelligence space called “world models”. TechCrunch
– Scoring system. The advocacy group Lift Our Voices, co-founded by former Fox News anchors Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, created a scorecard to rank Russell 3000 companies. Surveys sent to companies will ask questions about their use of non-disclosure agreements and forced arbitration, practices often used to silence sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Axios
– A remarkable case. The Supreme Court will hear a case today challenging a Tennessee law that bars certain medical care for transgender youth. This is the second major court case on transgender rights, coming as trans issues have become a key political issue for the GOP. The outcome will affect what protections trans people can claim under the Equal Protection Clause. CNN
– Work now, rest later. Women 55 and older are staying in the workforce longer and retiring later, because some like to work and because they have to work to be able to retire. Thirty-three percent of women over the age of 55 participated in the labor force in 2023, up 7% from 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Washington Post
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
OpenAI engaged Coinbase’s Kate Rouch as its first CMO.
Susan Diamond it will be stepping back as CFO of Humana, a health and wellness company. Celeste Mellett will be the next CFO; He is currently the CFO at Global Infrastructure Partners.
President of the Carolina Panthers Kristi Coleman, one of the two presidents in the NFL, he was promoted to CEO of Tepper Sports and Entertainment, adding oversight of Charlotte FC and Bank of America Stadium.
Aurorium, a supplier of specialty ingredients and materials, called Faye Freeman CEO. She is currently the president of the company.
Dow, a materials science company, called Karen Carter chief operating officer. She is currently president of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics.
Designated Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan Ellen Sexton as EVP and Chief Growth Officer. She was most recently COO at Curative.
Appointed by Adobe Lara Balazs as CMO and EVP, Global Marketing. Previously, Balazs was CMO and General Manager of the Strategic Partners Group at Intuit.
Zilliant, Lifecycle Pricing Management Company, Named Lauren van Heerde SVP of Customer Experience. She was previously the global head of industry cloud customer success at Salesforce.
MetLife Investment Management, MetLife’s institutional asset management arm, appointed Kerry O’Brien a global leader in insurance asset management and liability solutions. She most recently served as Head of Insurance Portfolio Management at Insight Investment.
ON MY RADAR
Women bosses have made gains this year – just not in top management The Wall Street Journal
How Glossier got its shine back Inch.
Misogyny is making a roaring comeback the Atlantic
PARTING WORDS
“We always tell businesses: Plan for all your risks and worst-case scenarios… We’ve been forced to practice what we preach.“
— Carolyn Rodz, co-founder and CEO of Hello Alice, at maintaining the company while fighting an affirmative action lawsuit
