When Walmart revealed that David Guggina, its U.S. e-commerce chief executive, would take over as CEO of its roughly $500 billion U.S. division, one detail in his résumé stood out: Unlike previous leaders, Guggina has no experience managing stores and has never held a merchandising position, either at Walmart or elsewhere. These are two traditional must-haves in retail. For instance, incoming Walmart CEO John Furner—who has overseen U.S. operations since 2019—began his Walmart career as an hourly associate in 1993 and held roles in merchandising, operations, and sourcing.
But Guggina does have deep experience in another area: e-commerce, automation, and supply chain. By placing him at the helm of the division responsible for 69% of the company’s revenue, Walmart is indicating it now views itself as both a retailer and a tech company. Guggina has spent eight years at Walmart, following nine years at arch-rival Amazon.com. In its announcement, Walmart praised Guggina’s work in developing delivery capabilities that reach 95% of U.S. households in less than three hours and noted his appointment “positions him to keep advancing our goal of being America’s favorite place to shop.”
Over the past decade, after years of starts and stops, Walmart has emerged as a major e-commerce competitor, with annual U.S. digital sales of nearly $100 billion—still well behind Amazon but far ahead of any other U.S. retailer. In its most recent quarter, . This has come from billions in investments to connect Walmart’s 4,600 stores with its e-commerce operations. This effort has improved shipping speed while also integrating technology more effectively into areas like inventory management, supply chain, and in-store customer service. Guggina played a crucial role in these accomplishments, working under Furner, who will become next week.
“This is a one-of-a-kind moment in retail,” Guggina said in a about his new role. “AI is transforming how people shop, and customer expectations are higher than ever. But no one is better prepared to lead the next chapter of retail.”
The timing of Guggina’s promotion was appropriate: It came shortly after to the exchange, where tech giants like Amazon, , and are listed. In December, Walmart stated the move highlights its “technology-forward approach.”
Guggina isn’t the only tech-focused executive gaining prominence at Walmart. The company also named Seth Dallaire chief growth officer for Walmart U.S., giving him the job of expanding Walmart U.S. beyond traditional retail into tech-driven lines of business—including its rapidly growing advertising, media, and online marketplace ventures. Dallaire is a veteran of and Amazon.
Analysts consider Walmart to be well ahead of other retailers in AI-powered shopping. In October, it announced a partnership with OpenAI that lets shoppers browse and purchase Walmart products directly within ChatGPT using a built-in instant checkout feature. Last week, Walmart and Google announced . Also last week, Daniel Danker, Walmart’s executive vice president for AI acceleration, product, and design, mentioned at a conference that the company is working on auto-ordering for staple item replenishment.
Strengthening Walmart’s tech and AI reputation has also had the added benefit of boosting its stock: Over the past year, Walmart shares have risen 27%—twice the growth of the S&P 500 and far outpacing Amazon’s 1% increase.