Mike Duke

Duke joined Walmart in 1995, serving as the executive in charge of the company's international operations. He became the CEO of Walmart in February 2009,[2] succeeding Lee Scott.

Duke also serves on the board of directors for the Retail Industry Leaders Association and Arvest Bank's community advisory board. He formerly held positions with a number of retailers, including Federated Department Stores, May Department Stores, and Venture Stores. Duke earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1971, where he joined the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity,[3] and now serves as a member of the institution's advisory board. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Consumer Goods Forum.[4]

In 2010 he set goals to make Walmart energy efficient as possible and to open Walmart stores in countries like Russia.[5] In 2012, his salary was $18.2 million.[6] In 2013, press reports indicated that the total value of Duke's pension, deferred compensation and other retirement accounts totaled over $113 million.[7]

Duke ranked No. 10 on Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People in 2013.[8] That same year, Walmart ranked No. 15 on Forbes list of Most Patriotic Brands—and the only retailer on the list—as voted by U.S. consumers.[9] As of November 25, 2013, Duke's tenure as CEO ended with his sudden replacement decided by Walmart's Board.[10]

Duke said in 2012 that his biggest regret as CEO was not investing more in e-commerce to better compete with Amazon. "I wish we had moved faster. We've proven ourselves to be successful in many areas, and I simply wonder why we didn't move more quickly. This is especially true for e-commerce," Duke said at the time. "Right now we're making tremendous progress, and the business is moving, but we should have moved faster to expand this area." [11]

• Wal-Mart profile
• Forbes profile