Leading a Dual Transformation

Transforming an iconic company while faced with technological disruption is one of the toughest challenges a leader can face. For Walmart, the world’s largest physical retailer, it had to mean staying focused on customers in its stores while also embracing the next wave of digital commerce in the cloud, shopping via AR and VR, and incorporating machine learning and AI.

To lead this transformation, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon in 2019 hired Suresh Kumar, a renowned tech leader who had learned key lessons about transformation strategy from his mentor at Microsoft, Satya Nadella. During the same year, Microsoft ranked as #5 on the Transformation 20 (https://www.innosight.com/insight/the..., Innosight’s list of the world’s most transformative companies. Kumar’s role helping Microsoft triple its cloud capacity is part of a 25-year career that also included key positions at Google and Amazon.

Under Kumar, Walmart embarked on a dual transformation strategy that he calls company’s “powering the present, while enabling the future.” For this video series, Innosight spoke with Mr. Kumar for his perspectives on where tech is taking retail. As Kumar tells the story, he reveals how this required forging “a new relationship” with the customer who now has more choices than ever and how that too can disrupt the experience of shopping.