Walmart hires new chief antitrust counsel

Walmart announced a new addition to its legal team for the role of chief antitrust counsel being filled by Suzanne Wachsstock, effective March 4. Wachsstock joins Walmart from American Express, where she served as vice president and chief antitrust counsel responsible for building its antitrust and trade association compliance program. She spent 12 years at American Express.

Wachsstock is filling a newly created role about one month after Walmart agreed to accept a $20.5 million settlement from StarKist tuna over antitrust claims relating to price-fixing.

At Walmart, Wachsstock will lead all antitrust matter across the global retailer. Her prior experience leading global antitrust compliance, merger and acquisitions, investigations and strategy make her a perfect fit for the role, according to Karen Roberts, executive vice president and general counsel at Walmart. She said Wachsstock will be based in Washington D.C., and will report to her.

“As Walmart’s business continues to evolve, we are always evaluating where we can acquire talent to support the business,” Roberts noted in the email memo.

Wachsstock is an active leader in the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association. She is also a member of the Antitrust Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association Antitrust Section, according to Robert’s emailed memo.

“I look forward to learning from Walmart’s diverse, multi-faceted business while diving in to issues that are on the cutting edge of competition law,” Wacchstock said.

A 1994 graduate of Harvard Law School, Wachsstock started her legal career as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell for nearly three years. She spent several years as a partner at Wiggin and Dana in Stamford, Conn. before joining American Express.