Karenann Terrell, who has served as Walmart‘s CIO since 2012, will be leaving on Feb. 24, 2017. The retailer has not yet named a successor, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Terrell had joined Walmart in 2010 as EVP of Information Systems after four years as CIO of Baxter International, a health care firm. Her recent initiatives have included Walmart’s move into online grocery sales. Walmart did not provide any information on where Terrell is headed after she leaves.
The retailer’s executive ranks in e-Commerce have been shifting since Walmart’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com in August 2016. Following that purchase, Jet.com founder Marc Lore was put in charge of Walmart’s e-Commerce operations. Departures in the months that followed included Neil Ashe, the head of Walmart e-Commerce; Fernando Madeira, head of Walmart.com; Dianne Mills, SVP of Global E-Commerce Human Resources; and Brent Beabout, SVP of E-Commerce Supply Chain.
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The Jet.com acquisition has been just one element of Walmart’s sharper focus on the digital side of retailing, including earmarking $11 billion for e-Commerce, digital initiatives and store remodels during the current fiscal year. Walmart is determined to take on Amazon in the online sphere, and it may be the only omnichannel retailer with the resources to do that effectively.
