There are some CEO jobs so big that it becomes a pastime to predict who will inherit them next. When one of the leading candidates is a woman, especially at a company that has never been led by a female chief executive, there are even more eyes on the decision.
One of the top succession races to watch for years has been at Walmart, the world’s largest retailer and No. 1 company on the Fortune 500 for 13 straight years. With $693 billion in annual revenue, Walmart beats out Amazon, Apple, and the rest of the tech giants to be, still, the world’s biggest business.
CEO Doug McMillon has run Walmart for a decade, only the fourth CEO in its history (including founder Sam Walton). For a few years, there have been signs McMillon was ready to pass on the reins—and there were many internal candidates for the role. One of the strongest was Kath McLay, who joined Walmart a decade ago and now leads its international division. That role has been a launching pad into the Walmart CEO job in the past, including for McMillon. That was one reason McLay ranked No. 25 on the Fortune Most Powerful Women list earlier this year—both because of the power she wields in her massive current role, and its potential to launch her to even more.
But this morning Walmart announced that Walmart U.S. chief John Furner will succeed McMillon as Walmart’s CEO. The company didn’t announce any other executive changes.
McLay has an impressive decade-long run behind her at Walmart, running Sam’s Club before the international business; the Australian exec is in her early 50s and could no doubt secure any number of CEO jobs should she choose to leave Walmart. Roz Brewer, who led Sam’s Club before McLay (and interestingly, whose immediate successor was Furner) went on to lead Walgreens Boots Alliance.
But Walmart is officially off the table as a major, major CEO job that could go to a female CEO—at least for a few years, barring any surprises. So where does that leave us? The other two most closely-watched succession bake-offs in the U.S. are at Disney and JPMorgan.
As I wrote in yesterday’s newsletter, JPMorgan had two serious female candidates in the mix—now it’s down to one, consumer and community banking chief Marianne Lake (No. 16 on the MPW list), after Jennifer Piepszak publicly said she would take herself out of the running to succeed Jamie Dimon.
At Disney, Disney Entertainment cochair Dana Walden (No. 22 on the MPW list) is a top contender to take over from Bob Iger—a race with even more eyes on it due to Iger’s boomerang and issues with his last successor. Walden came from the TV side of Disney (compared to some of her competitors, who rose up through theme parks), and this year was at the center of the entertainment giant’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s show from the air following conservative blowback to his comments about the death of Charlie Kirk. While it seemed as if such a controversy could threaten Walden’s likelihood of earning the top job, ultimately she seems to have come away from the dustup in a good place—even Kimmel said he thought Walden has done a “great job” and that talking to her throughout the ordeal helped him manage the situation. The three key players in conversation throughout the whole incident were Walden, Iger, and Kimmel, proving her status as an essential decision-maker on Disney’s highest-stakes choices.
So with Walmart out of the running, those of us who are rooting for women to run more than 10.4% of the Fortune 500—and the most consequential jobs within it—will have our eyes on these posts. Each company has emphasized that whoever gets the position will be the most qualified candidate for the job. But going 0 for 3 would be a shame!
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.
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PARTING WORDS
"I say, ‘I ain’t got time to get old!’ I ain’t got time to dwell on that. That’s not what I’m thinking about."
— Dolly Parton on turning 80 and emerging from her health challenges
