Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY
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BUSINESS A25
Saturday 6 June 2015
Wal-Mart keeps it all in the family, chair passed to Penner
A. D’INNOCENZIO The announcement comes not a surprise after Wal- my y’alls out.” She said she an uneven economy that
C. CHOI Wal-Mart is facing chal- ton named Penner as vice grew up shopping at Wal- hasn’t buoyed its custom-
AP Retail Writers lenges on all fronts, from chairman at last year’s an- Mart. ers financially. Meanwhile,
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) how it runs its operations to nual shareholders’ meet- The meeting, held at Bud shoppers are increasingly
— Wal-Mart is passing how it treats its workers. ing. The Walton family con- Walton Arena at the Uni- researching and buying
the chairmanship of the Penner, 45, joined Wal-Mart trols about 50 percent of versity of Arkansas., 30 online, and the company
world’s largest retailer as a management trainee
from the eldest son of late and held a number of po- New Wal-Mart chairman Greg Penner speaks to the Wal-Mart shareholder meeting in Fayette-
founder Sam Walton to a sitions including senior vice
third generation. president of finance and ville, Ark., Friday, June 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
The company said that strategy for Walmart.com
board Chairman Rob Wal- and chief financial officer the company’s shares. miles away from the com- faces intensifying competi-
ton will step down and be for the Japan unit. He had Keeping with Wal-Mart’s pany’s headquarters in tion from dollar stores and
succeeded by Vice Chair- been a general partner of practice of showcasing Bentonville, was packed Amazon.com.
man Greg Penner, who is Madrone Capital Partners, celebrities at the annual with 14,000 workers from all To counter that pressure,
his son-in-law. an investment manage- event, the meeting was over the world. Despite all Wal-Mart is accelerating
The change took effect ment firm since 2005. He being hosted by actress the hoopla, the company the rollout of smaller stores
at the end of the compa- joined Wal-Mart’s board in Reese Witherspoon. Sing- is under a microscope. and also investing in tech-
ny’s annual shareholders’ 2008. Rob Walton noted on ers Brian McKnight, Rod Revenue at U.S. Wal-Mart nology, like online grocery
meeting Friday and came stage at the meeting that Stewart and Ricky Martin stores open at least a year services. It just launched a
despite pressures from la- Penner is married to his also performed on stage. have risen for three straight subscription service for on-
bor-backed worker groups daughter. Entertainer Carol Burnett quarters, but that came af- line shoppers with an an-
to name an independent Penner had been the was on stage, too, and did ter seven straight declines. nual fee of $50.
chairman. The calls for in- chairman of the com- her trademark Tarzan call. And the recent increas- But the company, which is
dependent leadership pany’s technology and “I was born and raised in es have been small. Like also under pressure from la-
mounted in the wake of al- e-commerce committee the South. It’s nice to be many retailers catering to bor-backed groups to treat
legations of bribery in Mex- since it was formed in 2011 back in the South,” said lower-income shoppers, its workers better, is also in-
ico and other countries and has been instrumental Witherspoon. “I can get Wal-Mart has been hurt by vesting in its workers.q
Wal-Mart operates in that in guiding the company on
came to surface in spring the technology front.
2012. “You’ve been a great
Walton, son of Wal-Mart mentor. No one can fill
founder Sam Walton, has your shoes,” said Penner,
been chairman since 1992. referring to Walton. Penner
The company says the joined Walton on stage as
70-year-old will continue well as Doug McMillon, the
to serve as a director. Jim company’s CEO, and for-
Walton, another son of the mer CEO David Glass who
late founder, also remains served at the helm from
on the board. 1988 to 2000.
Penner, whose back- Walton said that Penner
ground is in technology “brings an ideal blend of
and finance, will be the finance, technology, and
company’s third chairman international business ex-
in the company’s 53-year pertise — as well as a deep
history. Rob Walton took knowledge and love of
over as chair upon the Wal-Mart — to this role.”
death of his father in 1992. The announcement was
Fed Chair Yellen won’t provide some documents in leak probe
MARCY GORDON and the Fed’s watchdog est-rate information to a information was deliber- ized as resistant to ac-
AP Business Writer inspector general. Yellen financial newsletter. ately leaked from the Sep- countability, transparency
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fed- said the inspector general Hensarling, a vocal critic tember 2012 interest-rate and oversight,” Jeff Emer-
eral Reserve Chair Janet has told the Fed that the of the Fed, issued a sub- policy meeting. Any dis- son, an aide to Hensarling,
Yellen is balking at turning documents in question — poena to the central closure of information on said in a statement.
over some of the docu- which include records re- bank last month, saying it Fed policymakers’ views Yellen disclosed last
ments ordered by a key lated to an earlier internal had repeatedly failed to appeared to have been month that she met once
House lawmaker in his in- review by the Fed’s gen- adequately respond to “unintentional or care- in 2012 with Regina Schlei-
vestigation of a possible eral counsel — should not the panel’s questions and less” and did not contain ger, a senior managing
leak of market-sensitive be provided. requests for documents. details of policy proposals, director of Medley Global
information. “The Federal Reserve is He has said that his com- the Fed concluded. Advisors, which publishes
Yellen has told Rep. Jeb mindful that we must not mittee is trying to deter- An aide to Hensarling said the newsletter. Yellen was
Hensarling, R-Texas, who impede that open crimi- mine whether or not the the central bank has “not the Fed’s vice chairman
heads the House Financial nal investigation,” Yellen Fed’s probe was dropped provided a valid legal jus- at the time.
Services Committee, that wrote in a letter to Hensar- at the request of several tification for its failure to But Yellen said the meet-
she can’t provide some ling Thursday. members of its policymak- provide complete and ing occurred several
documents sought by his The move escalated a ing body. adequate responses to months before the pri-
subpoena because do- months-long battle be- The Fed told the commit- the committee.” vate Fed discussions at is-
ing so could jeopardize a tween the Fed chair and tee in March that its own “The Fed once again is sue took place, and dealt
criminal investigation by the lawmaker over an al- investigation found no acting in a manner that with general economic
the Justice Department leged leak in 2012 of inter- evidence that sensitive can only be character- matters.q
