Abstract

The $256.3 billion retail chain Wal-Mart has the distinction of being the world’s largest company. Founder Sam Walton carried the company to new heights. As his term drew to a close, Sam debated whether to have a family member, or an outsider, or a company employee to succeed him. After weighing the pros and cons, Walton decided to make his eldest son the chairman after he died. He groomed David Glass a senior employee to take over as Wal-Mart’s CEO (Chief Executive Officer) in 1988. The Walton family is quite happy to stay away from day-to-day operations. But it has decided to be watchful and groom the next generation of Waltons to understand their responsibilities. Succession planning under Glass gathered momentum in the mid-1990s. Glass chose Lee Scott, an insider to succeed him in 2000. Wal-Mart’s board members and investors are happy at how smoothly the Glass-Scott transition has gone. The case discusses how proactive succession planning at Wal-Mart has ensured that there is no leadership vacuum.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

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Keywords

Wal-Mart, Corporate governance, Succession planning, Sam Walton, Rob Walton, David Glass, Jack Shewmaker, Don Soderquist, Lee Scott, Tom Coughlin, Bob Martin, Board members of Wal-Mart