SCDigest editorial staff

The News: Wal-Mart this week announced a series of executive moves impacting its supply chain, procurement, and IT leadership.

The Impact: For one of the few times in large corporations, a supply chain executive is named CIO.

The Story: Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, announced a major change in its executive leadership this week, impacting its supply chain, procurement, and IT organizations.

Linda Dillman, Wal-Mart’s high profile CIO who was a public champion of the company’s RFID efforts, has been named vice president of risk management and benefits administration. Ms. Dillman also will oversee Wal-Mart's sustainability efforts aimed at environmental responsibility and resource conservation.

Replacing Dillman as CIO is Rollin Ford, who was executive vice president of logistics and supply chain for the company. Moving up to Ford’s executive position is Johnnie Dobbs, who as senior vice president of logistics oversaw the retailer's distribution centers in the Eastern United States. Many retailers and consumer goods managers have enjoyed Dobbs’ participation over the past few years as one of the two leaders of the “Distribution Potpourri” session as the annual Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) Logistics conference, where he shared insight into Wal-Mart’s logistics learnings.

Wal-Mart also filled its top procurement spot, vacant last year since Ken Eaton left the company, by naming Lawrence Jackson's  to chief executive officer of the retailer's global procurement unit, which oversees Wal-Mart's purchasing of goods in 28 countries.

Before joining Wal-Mart in 2004, Jackson was president and CEO of retailer Dollar General Corp.

Wal-Mart is known to favor executive shuffling, based on a strategy founder Sam Walton referred to as “cross-pollenization.”

What do you think of the latest Wal-Mart management moves? Is making a supply chain leader CIO a smart idea more companies should emulate? Will the change in Dillman’s role impact Wal-Mart’s RFID plans? Let us know your thoughts (respondent confidentiality upon request).