Wal-Mart appoints new India CEO two months after Bharti joint venture collapse

By VCPOST Staff Reporter

Dec 13, 2013 04:32 AM EST

American retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Friday named Krish Iyer as the new president and chief executive officer of its Indian unit. Iyer's appointment will be effective starting January 20. According to a report by Reuters, Iyer will replace Ramnik Narsey. Narsey was appointed interim head of Wal-Mart India in June after the departure of its long-serving country head Raj Jain. 

Iyer joined Wal-Mart's international unit in 2012 as its senior vice-president, the report said. Bloomberg in a separate report revealed that Iyer joined Wal-Mart after spending six years in Hong Kong retailer A.S. Watson. 

Wal-Mart in October called of its Indian joint venture with conglomerate Bharti Enterprises Pvt., Reuters said. Bharti Enterprises is owned by Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal. Wal-Mart's plans to open retail outlets in India suffered a setback with the end of its six-year joint venture. The partnership collapsed after an internal probe of possible violations of US anti-corruption laws, Bloomberg said. 

Wal-Mart has 20 wholesale stores in India and needs an Indian partner to open supermarkets in the country, the report added.   

© 2024 VCPOST, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics