Walmart taps Target exec William White as chief marketing officer

Walmart has hired William White, a marketing exec from competitor Target, as its next chief marketing officer. The position was vacated in August 2019 by Barbara Messing who held the position for a year.

Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer at Walmart, made the announcement in an internal company memo on Wednesday (April 22). Whiteside said White has an impressive record during his tenure at Target where he developed a comprehensive marketing strategy that helped to drive sales, build brand equity and create a loyal customer following.

She also said Walmart searched for the right candidate for several months, and she commended Rich Lehrfeld for his interim work and leadership during this time of transition.

White spent seven years at Target as a senior marketing exec and prior to that, he worked at Coca Cola holding several positions in advertising and marketing. He began his career as a media planner for a Starcom MediaVest in New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University.

Whiteside said in the memo the new leadership team reporting to White includes:
• Ciara Anfield, vice president of seasonal and cross-category marketing;
• Caroline Burd, senior  director marketing and strategy, support;
• Brittany Duke, vice president, general merchandise services marketing;
• Rich Lehrfeld, senior vice president brand, creative and media;
• Karrisa Price, vice president food, consumables, health, wellness marketing; and
• Saleel Sathe, vice president performance marketing.

This is the fourth revamp of the marketing department at Walmart in the past four years since Stephen Quinn departed in late 2015. Tony Rogers came on board to lead the department until 2018 when he went to Sam’s Club. Messing joined Walmart in 2018 to take the position from Rogers. White will be the fourth chief marketing officer since 2015. White will be based in Bentonville.