Walmart has looked from within for its next president and CEO for Canada as the retail giant aims to create significant growth in the country with a $3.5 billion investment.
The company said Tuesday that Venessa Yates would take over the top job in the coming weeks, pending what it called authorization.
She most recently served as senior vice president and general manager of Walmart+, the company's membership program. Her experience includes leadership positions at retailers worldwide, including Woolworths and Aldi, in addition to Walmart.
"Venessa is a tremendous retail leader with experience in multiple countries and functions," Guilherme Loureiro, regional CEO of Walmart Canada, Chile, Mexico and Central America, said in a statement. "She is the right person to continue to drive Walmart Canada's growth trajectory and its transformation to become the country's leading omnichannel retailer."
Walmart has operated in Canada for 30 years and has more than 100,000 employees, making it one of the country's largest employers. It operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide, serving 1.5 million customers each day.
"We're currently in growth mode and I'm excited about our future," Yates said in a statement.
The company said in late 2023 it was at the midpoint of spending $3.5 billion on store infrastructure and to transform the customer's experience — an effort first announced in July 2020.
Walmart had about 7.5% of the Canadian grocery marketplace in 2022, according to Statista. Toronto-based Loblaw Companies controlled about 29% of the market at the time.
Walmart's current president and CEO in Canada, Gonzalo Gebara, is leaving the company at the end of February after a 25-year career. He will return to Argentina to be with his family and pursue other interests, the company said.
Walmart also said Steve Schrobilgen would become chief operating officer of its end-to-end operations — a role in which he will oversee supply chains, real estate and store formats. He currently serves as senior vice president and business unit leader of Walmart in the Western United States. He joined Walmart in 2023.
In a career that spans more than 35 years, Schrobilgen has held a series of increasingly senior roles at Sam's Club before joining Walmart.