Wal-Mart in Need of Stronger Domestic Leadership

Greg Foran, in his eighth month as the new president of the U.S. division of Wal-Mart, recently met with analysts to discuss his outlook for the company. The meeting, attended by more than 100 senior analysts, was a disappointment since it was mostly just a review of basic merchandising and procedures. There were few hard facts, and I think that Mr. Foran is in awe at running 4,500 stores — a fact he repeated several times. He didn't project the impression of a strong, confident manager. His theme was that he's proceeding slowly and cautiously to make changes.