Ex-Walmart Vet Mac Naughton to Helm Lifestyle Retailer

Walmart's former Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer Duncan Mac Naughton will helm lifestyle merchandise retailer Mills Fleet Farm as CEO.

The appointment follows the Midwestern value-based chain's recently completed acquisition by global investment firm KKR. As part of the transaction, Hugh Leasum, current member of Mills' executive team, will assume the COO position.

"We are confident that Duncan Mac Naughton, in partnership with the outstanding executive team already in place, will drive the company's continued growth, while preserving the Mills’ values of honesty, integrity, hard work, service and loyalty," Leasum said.

Mac Naughton brings 30 years of experience in the retail sector. He first joined Walmart in 2009 in which he oversaw all of the Bentonville-based mega-retailer's merchandise categories across more than 3,700 stores in the U.S.

He departed Walmart in November of 2014 amid a shakeup of its management structure and a realignment of its strategy to focus more on ecommerce and smaller retail formats. Prior to that, he also served with Supervalu, Albertsons, H-E-B, and Kraft Foods Group.