Walmart Names Financial Services Co. CFO to Board

The board of directors of Walmart Inc. has appointed Sarah Friar, CFO of financial services, merchant services aggregator and mobile payment company Square Inc., as a new independent director, effective immediately. Friar becomes the 12th member of the board, as well as a member of the company’s audit committee and strategic planning and finance committee.

“We’re pleased to welcome Sarah to the Walmart board and know that Walmart will benefit from her fresh perspective and skillset, which includes strong expertise in finance, operations, strategy and knowledge of technology,” noted Walmart Chairman of the Board Greg Penner. “We’re confident Walmart has the right strategy to drive sustainable growth and shareholder returns and believe that Sarah’s insights and experience as a board member will complement the company’s ongoing efforts to better serve customers.”

“From raising wages to leading important sustainability initiatives, Walmart is one of the few businesses able to effect meaningful, positive change on a global scale,” observed Friar. “I look forward to working with the team to continue building a company and a culture worthy of this responsibility.”

Since July 2012, Friar has been CFO of San Francisco-based Square, which provides businesses with commerce tools ranging from payments to point-of-sale to financing. Before that, she was SVP of finance and strategy at Salesforce. From July 2000 to April 2011, Friar held various roles at investment banking company The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., among them managing director in the equity research division.

Friar is currently a member of the board of directors of computer software company Slack, and at digital intelligence company New Relic Inc., where she sits on the audit committee.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates more than 11,600 stores under nearly 60 banners in 28 countries and ecommerce websites.