The story of how John Furner became the next CEO of Walmart is more than just a corporate succession story. It is a story based on decades of expertise, exposure to the globe, and a leadership style formed by crises, new ideas, and a deep grasp of the world’s largest retailer from the inside. He will take over as the head of a big global corporation on February 1. He will also have to deal with a huge number of problems, expectations, and chances that will test his ability to balance old ways with new ones.
Furner is not an outsider who was brought in to make things better. He was born and raised in Arkansas, the same state where Walmart started as a little discount store and evolved into a huge retail chain. He started working there as a teenager and has worked there his whole life. That type of dedication provides him something that many new CEOs don’t have: a real understanding of the company’s culture. He knows how Walmart thinks, how its employees do their jobs, and how its consumers shop. This is important because Walmart is striving to combine its conventional capabilities with big bets on digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
His style of leadership was quite obvious during the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic. He ran Walmart’s biggest U.S. division in 2020, and he did something that showed how he thinks: he phoned coworkers in China. He had been there for almost two years, and he knew that they were months ahead of the rest of the world in dealing with the impacts of the pandemic. China was already changing how it planned its supply chains, how it predicted demand, and how it got ready for changes in how people buy things. Furner used those findings to change how he made inventory decisions in the US before panic purchasing broke the system. He told reporters back then that it was important to know what people would need before they did. That incident revealed that he is open to seeking for answers outside of the U.S. market and that he likes to learn rather than guess.
That ability to work together will be put to the test again when he takes over for Doug McMillon, who led Walmart through a massive overhaul of its digital operations and worldwide strategy. The end of an important era is marked by McMillon’s retirement. Now, people will judge Furner on whether he can keep making progress while still dealing with new challenges. Walmart is putting a lot of money into AI-powered technologies, better automation, and more advanced data modeling. Shareholders want to see clear profits. At the same time, tariffs and price pressures are cutting into profits, and competition is stronger than ever. Changes in how people shop, even slight ones, can have big effects on thousands of establishments and millions of workers.
Matt Prescott, president of The Accountability Board, a nonprofit group of shareholders who are also Walmart shareholders, put it best. “The business is having a hard time because of tariffs, pricing pressures, and changing consumer behavior,” he said. “We hope he can meet the challenge.” That remark sums up what a lot of people think about Furner: he is talented but hasn’t been tested at the highest level. He is going in at a time when the economy is shaky, shoppers are keeping a tight eye on prices, and even successful stores have to work hard to keep customers.
People who support Furner say he is down-to-earth, easy to talk to, and very team-oriented for someone in a high leadership position. People know him for wandering through businesses, talking to employees on the floor, and promoting open discussion. People who have worked with him claim that he likes to listen first and then make a decision. That could mean he is well-prepared to deal with the problems that come up inside a big organization. Walmart is not just a store; it is also one of the biggest employers in the US. You need to be diplomatic, sensitive, and sure of yourself while dealing with suppliers, lawmakers, workers, and worldwide partners.
But he is also entering a world where the meaning of “retail” is changing. Walmart is no longer merely up against grocery stores and department stores. It is up against tech-driven businesses, subscription models, delivery systems that are very fast, and brands that are very flexible and were made wholly online. Walmart is investing in AI to stay ahead of the competition. These aren’t just ideas that scientists are testing out anymore: tools that predict buying trends, robotic systems that move merchandise faster, and chat systems that make customer care more personal. They are necessary for life. Furner needs to show that these technologies are not just cool, but also make money.
His experience in other countries may come in handy again. The lesson he learned in China during the pandemic is a bigger truth: Walmart’s size only works if it can shift faster than the world can. The next changes might not come from health emergencies. They could come from trade rules, new competitors, or even just the fact that buyers today want things to be easy and cheap.
People say that Furner’s next chapter will be about balancing the need to keep Walmart’s reputation as a low-cost leader with the need to show that new technology can make that promise stronger without boosting prices. Many of Walmart’s consumers don’t have a lot of extra money. They react strongly to tiny price changes. If AI investments don’t make things more efficient, the corporation could get in trouble. At the same time, slowing down innovation could give Amazon and other competitive competitors an edge.
What makes Furner’s rise interesting is that he isn’t a strategist who writes presentation slides from a distance. He has worked in warehouses, foreign marketplaces, crisis rooms, and on store floors at daybreak. It’s not just about strategy to be a leader in 2025. It’s about trustworthiness. People want to know if the person in charge knows what it’s like to deal with actual challenges. Furner’s job history implies that he does.
Still, no leader steps into a situation like this without having some questions. If long-term investment involves patience, would shareholders tolerate lesser returns? Can Walmart keep its employees while retail jobs are being lost to automation? would customers believe that Walmart would employ AI in a way that is fair and respectful? The responses will not only shape Furner’s legacy, but also the destiny of the organization.
