Walmart Names New Chair

Keeping the company’s leadership in the family, Walmart Stores (Bentonville, Ark.) named vice chair Greg Penner its new chair. Penner is the son-in-law of retiring chair Rob Walton. Friday’s appointment of Penner, 45, extends the founding family’s influence over the company’s board, notes CNBC.

Penner was appointed to Walmart’s board in 2008 and was named vice chair last June. Analysts at the time speculated that the appointment to the vice chair position hinted at Penner’s eventual succession of Walton, 70, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton and the company’s chair for the past 23 years.

The appointment is not without controversy. In recent years, citing a need for independent oversight, some shareholders have called for a chair from outside the family.