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Walmart hires Target exec William White as chief marketing officer

Retail marketing veteran fills vacancy left by departure of Barbara Messing

Russell Redman

April 23, 2020

2 Min Read
Walmart_Supercenter-sign.png
William White fills the vacancy left by Walmart U.S. and eCommerce CMO Barbara Messing, who departed the company last August.Walmart

Target Corp. marketing executive William White is slated to join Walmart next month as U.S. chief marketing officer.

Walmart announced the move yesterday in a company memo from Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer. Plans call for White to start in the new role on May 11.

William White-Walmart copy.jpgWhite (left) fills the vacancy left by Walmart U.S. and eCommerce CMO Barbara Messing, who departed the company last August. Messing came to Walmart U.S. as CMO in August 2018 from TripAdvisor.

Most recently, White served as senior vice president of marketing at Target, which he joined in 2013. Before that, he held various global and domestic leadership posts at The Coca-Cola Co. He started his career as a media planner for Starcom MediaVest in New York. 

While at Target, White and his team devised and executed marketing strategies that energized sales and bolstered brand equity and customer loyalty, Whiteside noted.

“William is a customer-centric, innovative marketer and is a passionate leader who loves to build and nurture teams. He is an avid runner and an extremely proud father of three children. I am so excited to see him join the Walmart family and drive us forward,” Whiteside said in the memo. “We’ve been searching for a CMO for several months, and I cannot thank Rich Lehrfeld enough for his leadership during that time. He stepped up to the challenge to unite the team and make us all storytellers, and we are better for it.”

Related:Walmart U.S. marketing chief Barbara Messing steps down after a year

Lehrfeld, senior VP of brand, creative and media at Walmart U.S., will report to White, along with Ciara Anfield, VP of seasonal and cross-category marketing; Caroline Burd, senior director of marketing strategy and support; Brittney Duke, VP of general merchandise and services marketing; Karissa Price, VP of food, consumables and health and wellness marketing; and Saleel Sathe, VP of performance marketing.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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