Last updated on August 25th, 2014 at 02:29 pm
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) on Sunday presented retired Walmart President and CEO Mike Duke with its 2014 Hall of Achievement Award before more than 400 industry leaders at the GMA Leadership Forum at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. The Hall of Achievement Award represents the highest honor given by the more than 100-year-old association.
“Mike Duke’s record of service and success is an inspiration and model to all in the food, beverage and consumer products industry. His visionary leadership has had a profound and lasting impact on the companies, communities and consumers he has served in the course of his impressive career,” said Pamela G. Bailey, president and CEO of GMA. “It is with great pleasure that we recognize his many contributions with the Hall of Achievement Award.”
Duke’s tenure at Walmart began in 1995, and he quickly rose through the ranks, leading the logistics, distribution and administration divisions. In 2005 he assumed responsibility for its international arm and also served as vice chairman. Duke was named president and CEO of Walmart Stores Inc. in 2009, becoming just the fourth person to hold the position in the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer’s history. As CEO, he is credited with delivering strong financial performances while making critical investments in technology and human resources to support Walmart’s global expansion. Duke also has been a champion of the company’s efforts to address social and environmental issues. During his tenure, the company opened more than 220 stores in food deserts across the U.S., launched the Great For You icon to help customers quickly and easily identify more nutritious foods for their families, saved customers more than $3.5 billion on fresh fruits and vegetables, donated more than 1.58 billion pounds of food to local food banks and pledged to source $20 billion in goods from women-owned businesses by 2016. Today, Duke serves as chairman of the executive committee of Walmart Stores Inc.’s board of directors. Prior to joining Walmart, Duke gained 23 years of retail experience as an executive with Federated Department Stores and May Department Stores.
Duke has served on the board of directors of the Consumer Goods Forum, the executive committee of the Business Roundtable and the advisory board for Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing, China. He currently sits on the executive board of Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business and on the board of advisors of the University of Arkansas.
The GMA Hall of Achievement Award honors the extraordinary service and contributions of the consumer packaged goods industry’s most distinguished leaders. Established in 1984, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the award, of which past recipients include A.G. Lafley of The Procter & Gamble Co., Doug Conant of Campbell Soup Co., Ric Jurgens of Hy-Vee Inc. and Danny Wegman of Wegmans Food Markets.
In the feature photo above: Mike Duke accepts his award from General Mills’ Ken Powell, GMA board chairman.
