Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said on Saturday that its board appointed James Cash Jr. as lead independent director. Cash is an emeritus professor at Harvard University and a member of Wal-Mart’s audit compliance committee.
He joined Wal-Mart's board in 2006 and replaces 51-year-old James Breyer, who served on the board for more than a decade.
Breyer rotated off the retailer’s board this year under the company's rules of corporate governance.
Rob Walton, son of the company’s founder, remains chairman of the board at age 68. The Walton Family owns slightly more than 50% of the retailer’s outstanding shares.
Earlier this month, Wal-Mart shareholders approved the election of all 14 director nominees at the company's annual meeting, despite the ongoing fallout from the alleged bribery scandal in Mexico.
The audit committee of which Cash is a member has been criticized amid allegations that Wal-Mart executives squelched an internal probe into bribery activities within its Mexican business unit.