Wal-Mart names next CEO

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Friday that the head of its international division would become chief executive after the holiday season.

Mike Duke, 58, will replace H. Lee Scott Jr., 59, who led the world’s largest retailer for nine years, on Feb. 1. Duke also joined Wal-Mart’s board of directors, effective immediately. Scott will remain chairman of the board’s executive committee.

Duke, who joined Wal-Mart in 1995, has served as head of its U.S. division and worked in administration, logistics and distribution. As vice chairman of the international division, Duke oversees operations in more than a dozen countries as well as global procurement.

Wal-Mart’s international division is the fastest-growing segment of the company, with sales increasing at more than double the rate of its domestic operations this year. The division posted a nearly 17% gain in revenue to $74 billion in the first three quarters of the year compared with the same period last year. U.S. stores grew only 7% but accounted for $184.3 billion in sales.

The company said it would name Duke’s successor by the end of the fiscal year.