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Gisel Ruiz    

Former Executive Vice President & Chief Operations Officer for Sam’s Club

Gisel is a globally minded executive who served extensively in executive capacities for Fortune 1 company, Walmart Inc. During her 26 year career, she led teams through large scale growth in three fast evolving business segments - Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam's Club. She has a proven track record in full P&L ownership and in leveraging technology, data and consumer insights to drive long term strategic business initiatives. She has extensive experience in leading a large workforce and fleet of assets.

In her role as EVP, Chief Operations Officer at Sam's Club, she was responsible for over $65bil in revenue, ~600 facilities and ~100,000 employees. She led the innovation teams which launched tech-enabled tools to improve operational efficiencies, and employee and customer satisfaction. In this role, her remit also included real estate planning & strategy and operational execution teams.

Previously as the EVP, Walmart International People she set the strategy in areas of human capital management, common company culture and all C-suite level succession planning. In this role, she was responsible for HR teams supporting over 1 million employees across 27 countries outside of the US. During her tenure she launched an interactive HR portal where HR best practices could be shared around the globe.

As the EVP, and Chief Operating Officer for Walmart US, a $279 bill business segment, she oversaw the early acceleration of multi-channel initiatives including in-store eCommerce order fulfillment and online grocery pickup formats. During her tenure she led a redesign of real estate operations leading to significant savings and was awarded for her track record of delivering results.

In her executive roles, Gisel worked closely with the internal audit function, collaborating with all governance functions (legal, ethics, compliance, security). She evolved compliance practices from check-the-box audits to proactive practices addressing significant risks locally. Under her leadership, sustainability initiatives helped reduce energy costs and waste in stores, significantly contributing towards Walmart’s zero waste goals.

Gisel has spent countless hours interacting with the investor community and Walmart Board of Directors. Among other internal board appointments, she served as a board member for Walmart de Mexico S.A.B. de CV, one of the largest publicly traded companies in Mexico. She is an independent board director at Cracker Barrel (CBRL) an American home-style restaurant chain, Vital Farms (VITL) a national ethically produced pasture-raised food company, and Univision Communications, the leading Hispanic media company in the US. Gisel is a member of the Board of Trustees and a Retail Management Institute Advisory Board Member at Santa Clara University, where she graduated with a degree in Marketing. She completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program, is fluent in Spanish and is a member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association. She currently splits her time between Florida and Northwest Arkansas. Gisel Ruiz Recently Retired EVP, Chief Operations Officer Sam’s Club, Walmart Inc.

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