BENTONVILLE, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced Rachel Brand will join the company as Executive Vice President, Global Governance and Corporate Secretary. Brand will report to President and CEO Doug McMillon. She will be responsible for the organization’s Legal, Global Ethics and Compliance and Global Investigation, Security, Aviation and Travel departments, along with her role as corporate secretary.

“We are fortunate to have a leader of Rachel Brand’s stature join the company,” McMillon said. “We have strengthened our governance capabilities and Rachel will help us continue on that journey. Her strong character, capabilities and experience will enable her to contribute broadly as we shape the future of Walmart and strive to serve our customers even more effectively.”

Brand is replacing Jeff Gearhart, who retired at the end of January. Brand brings deep academic and professional experience to her role, coming to the company from the U.S. Department of Justice, where she served as Associate Attorney General, the department’s third-ranking position. Brand, the first woman to serve as Associate Attorney General, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn into office May 22, 2017. As Associate Attorney General, Brand oversaw thousands of attorneys and professionals across the department’s civil law divisions, including Antitrust, Tax and Environment and Natural Resources.

After graduating from Harvard Law School, where she served as deputy editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Brand clerked on the Massachusetts Supreme Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court, where she clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy. Brand previously served as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy in the George W. Bush administration and was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

Outside of government, she served as an Associate Professor of law at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School and a private-practice lawyer in Washington, D.C. Brand earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota-Morris. She will be joining Walmart April 2 and will relocate to Bentonville with her husband and two boys.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 260 million customers and members visit our more than 11,600 stores under nearly 60 banners in 28 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2017 revenue of $485.9 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.

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