Walmart Hires Former Google, Amazon Exec Suresh Kumar as CTO, CDO

Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s latest hire as CTO is an IIT Madras alum and ex Google and Amazon.

Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s latest hire as CTO & CDO is an IIT Madras alum and ex Google and Amazon.

(Source: Twitter)

The world’s biggest retailer Walmart has poached Suresh Kumar, vice president at Google as chief technology and chief development officer to speed up its digital transformation, according to LinkedIn.

According to Bloomberg, Kumar has previously worked with Walmart rival Amazon, where he led the company’s retail supply chain systems for 15 years. He next went to serve as vice president in Microsoft’s cloud business, following which he worked as vice president and general manager of display and video ads, apps and analytics at Google, which was the 54-year-old’s most recent gig. Before Amazon.com, Suresh was a research staff member at IBM T J Watson Research Center.

Kumar would be filling the position left vacant by former CTO Jeremy King, who moved to Pinterest in March, reported CNBC.

“Walmart is one of the great success stories in how a company evolves over time to serve the changing needs of its customers, and today, it is in the midst of a very exciting digital transformation. With more than 11,000 stores ... the potential for technology to help people at scale is unparalleled, and I am excited to be part of this.”

Suresh Kumar said in a statement

An Alumnus of IIT Madras, Princeton

Suresh holds a PhD in Engineering from Princeton University, and a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He and his family live in Cupertino, CA.

According to Bloomberg, Walmart’s US online sales grew 40% last year and now total more than $16 billion, fuelled by an improved product assortment and also increased adoption of its web grocery service, which has provided a bulwark against Amazon’s encroachment. 

(With inputs from Bloomberg, CNBC, LinkedIn)