Walmart Taps Broader to Lead Canada Division

In the wake of news of rival discount chain Target Corp.’s entry into Canada in 2013, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has named Shelley Broader  president and CEOof its Canadian operation, replacing David Cheesewright, who will head a new regional management team overseeing the retailing giant's operations in Canada, the United Kingdom and Sub-Saharan Africa.

In his newly created role, Cheesewright will oversee business development in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada. He will assume his role immediately and report directly to Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart International.

Broader, most recently former president and COO of craft store chain Michaels, joined the 300-store Walmartdivision in December 2010 as CMO. Prior to that, she held a range of key positions in the retail industry, including CEO and president of Delhaize’s Tampa, Fla.-based Sweetbay Supermarket division. She was also president and COO of Kash n' Karry Food Stores, Inc., and prior to that, held various positions of increasing management responsibility at Delhaize's Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford Bros. Co., including SVP of business strategy, marketing and communications. She has also held positions in the financial service industry, including at Massachusetts Financial Services Co. and AVP at First Albany Corp.

“Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada hold tremendous potential for our company, and we are excited to have David Cheesewright leading the team,” said McMillon. “Since joining the company, David has been a champion for our customer, led innovation and delivered returns.”

“Walmart has a strong and successful presence in Canada, Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom,” added Cheesewright. “I look forward to continuing this success and bringing our mission of saving people money so they can live better to even more families across the region.”

Walmart has more than 283,000 associates and 1,182 retail units in Canada, Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom.

Cheesewright, most recently president and CEO of Walmart Canada, joined Asda, Walmart’s business in the United Kingdom, in 1999. While at Asda, he held a variety of key leadership positions in operations, merchandising, logistics, strategy and format development. Prior to Asda, Cheesewright worked at Mars Confectionary.