Greg Hitt Succeeds David Tovar As Walmarts VP of Communications

Greg Hitt, formerly an executive at international public relations firm Hill+Knowlton Strategies, began June 1 as the vice president of corporate communications for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

According to the Holmes Report, Hitt’s hiring was announced in May through an internal memo. Hitt will report to Dan Bartlett, Walmart’s executive vice president of corporate affairs.

Bartlett, a former White House counselor, also previously worked at H+K, serving as president and CEO before moving to his current role at Walmart in 2013.

Most recently, Hitt has been senior vice president of H+K’s U.S. crisis practice since January 2012, based in Washington, D.C. He has also worked for the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones News Service, traveling with the White House press corps, in addition to covering Congress, public policy, presidential campaigns, congressional campaigns and major political party conventions.

Hitt replaces David Tovar, who resigned via email Sept. 12. It was later reported by Bloomberg News that Tovar left the company after the retailer discovered that he had not received a diploma from the University of Delaware, the school from which he claimed to have earned a bachelor’s degree in 1996.