Rachel Brand, Walmart head of global governance and chief legal officer, has announced she will leave the retailer at the end of the company’s fiscal year on Jan. 31. Brand will continue to serve on the Walmex board of directors for the next year.
Brand joined Walmart in 2018 and has overseen the retailer’s global legal, compliance, ethics, corporate governance, risk management, aviation, investigative, and corporate security functions, including Walmart’s Global Security Operations Center located in Bentonville.
CEO Doug McMillon announced the news Sept. 16 on his social media feed.
“Our Rachel Brand has decided to embark on her next adventure and will be leaving our company at the end of January,” McMillon noted. “There is a lot to be thankful for, including that Rachel will continue to serve on the Walmex board next year. Since she joined us in early 2018, Rachel has brought her wise counsel, strategic judgment and steady guidance to help transform our company. Thanks for everything, Rachel! I appreciate your partnership as we’ve navigated these past 7+ years together. You’ve done a fantastic job, and we’ll miss you.”
Brand said she announced the departure early so she could help with the search for her successor to ensure a smooth transition.
“I have been incredibly conflicted about this decision, but coming up on almost eight years in this role, the time will be right to move on to my next chapter early next year,” Brand said. “I am so grateful to Doug McMillon, our Board of Directors, the Walton family, my colleagues on our executive council, my team in global governance, and the many other Walmart associates around the world who have made this an incredible experience. I look forward to continuing to work with all of them over the next few months.”
When Brand joined Walmart, the retailer was in the midst of a seven-year investigation into the company’s lack of compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Walmart settled those claims in June 2019, agreeing to a combined payment of $282.7 million. The global resolution ended all FCPA-related investigations or inquiries into Walmart and its subsidiaries by the DOJ and the SEC.
The hiring of Brand as the global ethics and compliance officer along with enhanced training and regular monthly compliance assessmentswas applauded by the DOJ in the final settlement.
Before joining Walmart in 2018, Rachel was the United States associate attorney general. She had previously worked in the U.S. Department of Justice as the assistant AG for the Office of Legal Policy during President George W. Bush’s administration.
Also during the Bush administration, Brand was associate counsel to the President at the White House. Her other government service includes an appointment by President Barack Obama as a member of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. She was a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, and Justice Charles Fried on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Brand also worked in private practice with law firms in Washington, D.C.