Walmart CEO Doug McMillon to retire in January and US operations chief John Furner will take over

Source: Yahoo! Finance/AP

Updated Fri, November 14, 2025 at 9:18 AM EST


NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, who turned the nation's largest retailer into a tech-powered giant since taking over in 2014, will retire in January in a surprise move.

John Furner, 51, a longtime insider and head of Walmart's U.S. operations, will take over, the company said Friday. Shares fell 3% immediately in premarket trading after the news, which was unexpected. McMillon is 59 years old.

McMillon’s retirement is effective Jan. 31, 2026. Furner will start as CEO the next day.

During McMillon's tenure as CEO, he invested heavily in its workers by increasing wages, expanding parental leave and launching a program for certificates or degrees for employees seeking education opportunities. Walmart has also lowered its prices and embraced technology like artificial intelligence to improve customer and worker experiences.

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-ceo-doug-mcmillon-retire-132057828.html

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He did have the obligatory "pre-inaugural" meeting with Satan at Mar-a-Lago this past January - https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-meets-ceo-walmart-mar-lago/story?id=117448819 and met again at the WH in April with other retailers to discussion the tariffs - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/21/trump-tariffs-walmart-home-depot-lowes-target.html

But then there was apparently a bit of a "falling out" in May after his
comments related to tariffs - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/president-trump-lashes-walmart-inc-182052119.html

So away he goes!