Walmart Names Suresh Kumar New Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer
BENTONVILLE, AR - Walmart has returned from behind competitors' lines and with a new Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer at that. The retailer has added to its top talent after naming Suresh Kumar to both of those Chief positions. Kumar formerly worked for Amazon and Google.
"Walmart is one of the great success stories in how a company evolves over time to serve the changing needs of its customers, and today, it is in the midst of a very exciting digital transformation,” Kumar stated in a press release. “With more than 11,000 stores, a high-growth e-commerce business, and more than two million associates worldwide, the potential for technology to help people at scale is unparalleled, and I am excited to be part of this.”
With over 25 years of experience in retail, e-commerce, advertising, cloud, and machine learning, including stints at Google and Amazon, Kumar brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role. He most recently served as Google's Vice President and General Manager of Display, Video, App Ads, and Analytics. Prior to that, Kumar was a part of Amazon's team for 15 years, serving in various roles like Vice President of Technology for Retail Systems and Operations.
“The technology of today and tomorrow enables us to serve our customers and associates in ways that weren’t previously possible,” said Doug McMillon, CEO. “We want to take full advantage of those opportunities. Suresh has a unique understanding of the intersection of technology and retail, including supply chain, and has deep experience in advertising, cloud, and machine learning. And, he has a track record of working in partnership with business teams to drive results."
Kumar has also worked as President of Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure and Operations. And before Amazon, he was a research staff member at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. Kumar holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from Princeton University, and a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
In his new role Kumar will report directly to McMillon.
Congratulations to Suresh Kumar on his new position!
