Longtime Walmart exec retires; retailer sees personnel changes in legal, communications

Del Sloneker, the influential Walmart executive who worked in several leadership positions around the world for the Bentonville retailer, is retiring at the end of the year, according to a memo sent July 22 to employees from Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner.

Sloneker, who has worked for Walmart since 1986, is a senior vice president working for the company’s Walmart+ operations. He transitioned out of that job at the end of July but will continue to work on special projects through December. His Walmart+ responsibilities shifted to executive vice president Diana Marshall.

Before focusing on Walmart+, Sloneker was the chief operating officer of Walmart U.S. Health and Wellness. During his career, he was also the chief operating officer of Walmart China, vice president of online grocery operations and vice president of Walmart Puerto Rico. In 2001, Walmart presented Sloneker with its highest honor, the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year award.

“Del leveraged his deep expertise as an operator to help bring Walmart+ to life in our stores,” Furner wrote in the memo. “Del epitomizes the customer-first mindset. He has a deep-rooted love for Walmart and is an impeccable culture champion. I value his wisdom and transparency and appreciate the impact he’s had on the business. Del’s legacy will live on long after he departs.”

LEGAL
Joe Beemsterboer joined Walmart on July 25 as vice president of government enforcement and legal investigations. He spent 12 years at the U.S. Department of Justice, most recently acting as chief of the fraud section in the criminal division of the DOJ. He will be based in Washington D.C., and report directly to Bob Balfe, chief counsel for global investigations at Walmart.

Walmart said Beemsterboer will develop government enforcement strategy and lead the ongoing efforts of the legal investigations and government response teams. Prior to his 12-year career at DOJ, he spent five years as an assistant state’s attorney in Cook County, Ill. He also represented Fortune 500 companies in corporate litigation and conducted internal corporate investigations during his time in private practice.

COMMUNICATIONS
Brian Besancency, chief communications director at Walmart, recently announced his departure from the retail giant for a position at aerospace titan Boeing. Besanceney will report to Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun and join the company’s executive council in his new post.

Besancency spent six years at Walmart most recently overseeing Walmart’s global communication operations. Prior to that he spent seven years at Disney as senior vice president of public affairs and government relations. Before Disney, he spent 15 years in Washington working in government affairs for the U.S. Department of State, Homeland Security and the White House.

In his social media post, Besancency said he is grateful for the time spent at Walmart and caliber of leaders he was able to work with over the past six years. He said the new journey with Boeing will begin Sept. 6 after relocating to Arlington, Va.