According to reports, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon plans to helm the country’s largest retailer for at least three more years as the company continues work to identify a successor.
Retail analysts believe John Furner is the front-runner to be the next CEO. I disagree. I believe the most likely successor to McMillon is David Guggina, EVP, Supply Chain Operations. Furner is certainly capable of being CEO, no doubt. However, Guggina reminds me of someone at Walmart – Doug McMillon.
Walmart may choose to select someone from outside the company to become the next CEO. If so, who? In my opinion, the coup of the century would be Walmart hiring Satya Nadella to become CEO.
I believe it’s possible that Walmart, and other retailers, are going to be severely disrupted by the power of AI to create new business models and companies almost at the speed of thought. Few executives understand the power and potential of AI better than Nadella.
The market with the most potential for Walmart is India. Nadella is highly respected in India, and he would significantly grow Walmart’s India business.
Would Nadella accept the CEO role? It’s possible but not likely without a massive comp package. There’s no bigger job in business than being the CEO of Walmart.
I’m not surprised that McMillon wants to remain as CEO of Walmart through 2025. The company has a lot of strategic projects that must be completed. And then what? What’s next for Doug once he leaves Walmart?
In my opinion, McMillon will be approached to run for President. The timing is perfect. We are about to witness the most brutal and costly Presidential election in history. It appears that the 2024 election will be a rematch between Trump and Biden. The election will be much different than what occurred in 2020. If Trump wins in 2024, he can only serve one term. For this reason alone, Republicans should select another candidate. They won’t. This means 2028 becomes a completely different election.
By 2028, the U.S. is going to be facing multiple internal and external crises. Among them, fallout from a crash of commercial real estate; high unemployment from attempts to lower inflation and increased use of AI; increased military threats in the Middle East and Asia at a time when the U.S. military is weakening; skyrocketing crime rates; and a multitude of social issues fracturing the country.
No politician will be able to fix the problems. This opens the door for McMillon to run, probably as a moderate Democrat. McMillon’s pragmatic leadership, domestic and international business skills, and his savvy understanding of politics and influencing others, will make him the favorite.
Will Doug run for President? Yes, I believe he will. When you’re the former CEO of Walmart, the only job worth going after is President of the United States.
#retail #cnbc #foxnews The Wall Street Journal #cbsnews #abcnews #politico #politics The Hill Stephen Neukam
