wmt glass resigns jan 2000

Change location » Little Rock, AR Weather: 32° F | Clear

A subscription is required to access daily content. Registration is free.

Search ArkansasOnlineStories Go

Delivery date : Sunday, January 02, 2011 7:41:06 pmUsername : kstar72 :: (Log out)Your query : kristal kuykendallCharge for this story: $1.95Publication: Arkansas Democrat-GazettePage(s): A1Section: A1Original Date: 01/15/2000

Glass resigns as Wal-Mart chief He sees 'it's time to make way'; ViceChairman Scott takes top spotKRISTAL L. KUYKENDALL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTEBENTONVILLE -- At 7:15 Friday morning at the weekly managers' meeting, David Glass, Rob Waltonand H. Lee Scott Jr. delivered the news that everyone knew was coming but didn't expect sosoon:Glass was resigning as chief executive, and Scott is Wal-Mart's new top executive.Glass, 64, who helped Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grow into the world's largest retailer during his12-year tenure as chief executive, will take the helm at Wal-Mart's board of directors executive committee andstay on full time for at least a year, the company said Friday.Scott, 50, becomes Wal-Mart's third chief executive and president after 20 years of working his way up from hisfirst job in the logistics department. Before Scott, a native of Joplin, Mo., was named vice chairman and chiefoperating officer a year ago, he was chief executive over the Wal-Mart Stores division, executive vice presidentof merchandising and senior vice president of logistics.Glass resigned now "because he was ready and he felt Lee Scott was ready for the job," said Wal-Martspokesman Jay Allen. "Glass has been saying for several years now that he didn't want to work as presidentand CEO of Wal-Mart forever. He just feels like it's time for him to make way for the new guy."At least some of Glass' plans for the future have nothing to do with retail: He's been chairman of the Kansas CityRoyals board of directors since 1993, and he recently announced he will try to buy the team.His resignation is not related to his activities with the Royals, Wal-Mart said.The sale still has a long way to go and must be approved by the team's board and by Major League Baseball,but Glass is the obvious favorite, said Soren Petro, a popular sports radio talk-show host in Kansas City."The feeling around here, all over Kansas City, is that [Glass' purchase of the team] is all but a done deal," Petrosaid Friday. "He was handpicked by former owner Ewing Kauffman, who said he wanted Glass to own the teamafter he died."Scott, widely respected in the retail industry for his behind-the-scenes work on Wal-Mart's distribution andlogistics systems, is, like Glass, a quiet introspective type who listens first and decides later, several people whoknow him said Friday.George Billingsley, Sam Walton's former tennis partner and a longtime Wal-Mart investor, said Walton, who diedin 1992, would definitely be pleased with Friday's developments."Sam brought David Glass to this company, and David brought Lee Scott," said Billingsley, owner ofInternational Tours in Bentonville and chief executive of Pacific Resources Export Limited."Sam followed Mr. Scott's career and was very enthused about his future with Wal-Mart. He knew he had awinner in Lee Scott."For the past year, Scott has trained the top spot, working at Glass' side overseeing Wal-Mart's domestic stores,international operations and Sam's Club division.If Glass' reputation and background is any indication, Scott has learned a lot during the last year.In 1964, Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton heard about a financial wiz named David Glass working at a drugstorechain in Missouri. Walton started wooing Glass -- he would do so for 12 more years before snagging him -- andinvited Glass to the grand opening celebration at the second Wal-Mart store, in Harrison.It was a disaster."It was the worst retail store I had ever seen," Glass wrote later in contributing to Walton's autobiography, MadeIn America . "It was about 115 degrees, and the watermelons began to pop, and the donkeys began to do whatdonkeys do, and it all mixed together and ran all over the parking lot."Inside, Glass wrote, the mess was just as bad; people had tracked the mixture of donkey droppings andwatermelon all over the floor."I wrote him off," Glass recalled. "It was just terrible."

Home News Obituaries Business Entertainment Sports Photos Videos Features Classifieds Jobs Real Estate Autos

Arkansas Online Archives http://library.ardemgaz.com/ShowArchiveStory.asp?Path=ArD...

1 of 3 1/2/11 7:41 PM

Home | News | Daily Newspaper |Entertainment | Sports | Photos |

Videos | Weather | Classifieds | Auto |Real Estate | JobsArkansas | Help |

Terms of Use

But 12 years later, Glass was persuaded in a bidding war to leave his job as general manager of a regionalMissouri grocery chain, and he became executive vice president for finance and distribution, then the No. 4 spotat Wal-Mart.Before long, an obvious rivalry developed between Glass -- a favorite of Walton's -- and Jack Shewmaker, theNo. 3 executive.Both Glass and Shewmaker were believers in technology. Both encouraged Walton to invest heavily in computersystems that later would prove key to making Wal-Mart the world's top retailer.Shewmaker, referred to by some insiders as brash and headstrong, was highly regarded by Wall Street and theretail industry. As president, he often staked out the more visible positions while Glass, the more quiet, analyticalof the two, focused on the underpinnings of the company.Then, in 1984, Walton shocked both the men by telling them they were switching jobs: Glass would bepresident, and Shewmaker would be chief financial officer.Shewmaker, although he was wooed by several rival retailers, stayed with Wal-Mart despite his obviousdisappointment at being replaced in the important line of succession.And Glass worked harder than ever, with employees at every level within the company, to prove his worthinessof the promotion.His hard work paid off eventually, but first it bit back -- with a heart attack, in 1985. He refused a suggestedbypass operation and instead opted to rest, take medication, improve his diet and exercise. Within weeks, hewas back at work, putting in more hours than ever.Three years later, almost to the day, Walton made him chief executive officer. That same day, Wal-Martannounced that Shewmaker was retiring to pursue other interests, such as his Bentonville cattle ranch.Since then, Wal-Mart has undergone enormous growth. Sales under Glass have soared -- nearly 1,000 percent-- to an estimated $165 billion this fiscal year, which ends Jan. 31.More than anything, though, Glass is credited with ensuring the development of Wal-Mart's backbone, itstechnology systems that run its enormous distribution system from purchases to stocking to sales to reordering.(That work started early. In 1976, he supervised the construction of a satellite network that enabled stores tocommunicate with the central office -- long before intranets or the Internet were commonplace. He alsocomputerized the company's distribution systems, which he found to be "shockingly" antiquated in 1978.)Immediately after Glass took charge, Wal-Mart introduced a new kind of store, a really big one. The firstWal-Mart Supercenter opened in Washington, Mo., as a test, and a few more followed over the next few yearsas the company made adjustments to the concept.In 1992, Walton died. The next year, Wal-Mart shares began to drop -- from $34.13 just after a stock split tounder $20 two years later in 1995.To help increase sales and drive the stock price back up, Glass pushed hard for the national expansion of thesupercenters. Glass also looked at international expansion. He set a long-term goal of $300 billion a year insales.Wal-Mart already had a handful of stores in Mexico under a joint venture agreement, as well as 15 stores inPuerto Rico.But in 1994, the nation's largest retailer began its transformation into the largest in the world. Between 1994 and1999, Glass led Wal-Mart into six new countries and buy a majority interest in its Mexican operations, Cifra SA,its largest international chain to date.The most recent acquisition, completed in July, was likely Glass' most important contribution to Wal-MartInternational: By buying United Kingdom retailer Asda Group Plc, the company more than doubled itsinternational division's annual revenue and secured a home base for future expansion in Europe, home to theworld's largest retail markets."David Glass will certainly be viewed as one of the best CEOs of this century," said Wal-Mart spokesman Allen.Now that he's resigned as Wal-Mart's head, Glass will stick around for at least a year and will run the topcommittee of Wal-Mart's board of directors; the committee acts on behalf of the board between meetings.Wal-Mart officials declined to say whether Glass' pay -- which last year was nearly $10 million -- would change.Last year Glass announced his intention to try to buy the Kansas City Royals.He's long been involved with the team and was a lifelong friend of now-deceased former owner, Kauffman.The auction for the team hasn't even officially opened yet, but word around Kansas City is that Glass is thefavorite. The only other person who's come forward as a possible buyer is New York businessman MilesPrentice, whose bid to buy the team last year was rejected by Major League Baseball."People here really want Glass to get the team," said talk-show host Petro in Kansas City. "I mean, he's workedwith the guys on the board for years, and some on the board aren't sure about some of the investors inPrentice's group."[The fans] are comfortable with Glass, and other owners in Major League Baseball have said the same thing."According to protocol, bidding for the team and approval could take at least another year to complete."He wants the system to move faster," Allen said. "He's impatient for it to move along."Graph: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/GREG MOODY SOURCE: Bloomberg Business News Wal-Mart underDavid Glass Map: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette SOURCE: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.Research: Sarah L. Courteau Wal-Mart's worldwide locations Photo: David Glass Slug Line: bwalmartglass151A, w/artThis article was published on page A1 of the Saturday, January 15, 2000 edition in the A1 section.


2 of 3 1/2/11 7:41 PM

NEWSArkansasToday's NewspaperExtrasObituariesOpinion / LettersReligionNationalPoliticsWorldOffbeatLiving GreenArchivesSister PapersE-mail UpdatesWeather

BUSINESSBusinessToday's NewspaperBusiness wireTech wire

SPORTSArkansas SportsToday's NewspaperRazorbacksLR MarathonHigh School NewsHigh School FootballRecruiting Guy BlogSubmit a Hole in OneAP SportsCollege FootballNFLNBA

MLBPGANASCARTennis

ENTERTAINMENTEntertainmentWeekendEvents CalendarMoviesMovie FinderMusicDining OutRestaurant FinderToday's NewspaperTravelEntertainment wireComicsOnline gamesSudokuTV listings

WEB EXTRASFixIt Pothole MapVideoPhotos for purchaseStaff GalleriesCommunity PhotosDatabasesBlogsPollsSupport Groups & ClubsArkansas LinksAP PhotosAP Videos

COMMUNITY NEWSTri-Lakes EditionRiver Valley & Ozark EditionThree Rivers Edition

SUBMISSIONSHonors & AchievementsBridal, engagements &

anniversariesCalendar EventsSupport & Club meetingsLetters to the EditorSubmit a Hole in OneNews Tips

SPECIAL FEATURESFeatures listInaugurationPrevious News FeaturesA Soldier's WifeWar CasualtiesCentral High: A Look BackDemocrat-Gazette History

CONTACTForgotten Password?Subscriber HelpFAQ/Contact UsAdvertisingSubmit AchievementsSubmit BridalSubmit EventsSubmit MeetingsSubmit LettersSubmit TipsCorporate

Newspaper StaffWebsite StaffNewspaper DeliveryFAQ

TARGETED PUBLICATIONSSyncTri LakesThree RiversRiver Valley & OzarkBridal PlannerArkansas LifeHerStyleSpecial SectionsTaking New PatientsWhere We LiveDowntown Little RockSpelling BeeCapture ArkansasEvents

PROMOTIONSBridal ShowContestsDemocrat-Gazette Store

CLASSIFIEDSClassifiedsJobsReal EstateAutoJobs with Us

ADVERTISINGAdvertise with us

Site Index

Copyright © 2010, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.All rights reserved.This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2010, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, orredistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcastor publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in acomputer except for personal and noncommercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissionstherefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. All rightsreserved.


3 of 3 1/2/11 7:41 PM

wmt glass resigns jan 2000

Documents