OREANDA-NEWS. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) today announced a series of leadership moves in its Latin American division.  Gian Carlo Nucci, currently president and CEO of Walmart Chile, has announced his retirement and will leave the business in June 2015. In 22 years with Walmart, including the last two running Walmart’s business in Chile, Nucci has served as a tremendous leader and an important part of the leadership team in Latin America. In addition, we have invited Gian Carlo to join the Boards of Directors of Walmart Chile and Walmart México and Central America and we will be making a proposal to that effect in the near future.

During his 22 years at the company, Nucci successfully led different formats in Mexico, where he was always characterized by a great ability to reverse results in challenging times. In his last years in Mexico, before moving to Chile as CEO, he led all formats and full operation of Mexico achieving consistent results in every business.

Replacing Nucci as the president and CEO of Walmart Chile will be Horacio Barbeito, currently president and chief executive officer – Walmart Argentina. Day-to-day operations of Walmart Argentina will be led by Agustín Beccar Varela, currently Director of Marketing, Corporate Strategy and eCommerce – Walmart Argentina, reporting to Barbeito. Chile and Argentina will remain separate businesses, each dedicated to serving its unique customer needs. By aligning the leadership of both markets under one leader, Walmart can operate more efficiently and better leverage its scale.

Barbeito’s story is an example of the opportunities available at Walmart, having joined the company in 1995 as a trainee buyer in Argentina. Since then, he has held both regional and international leadership roles and was named president and CEO of Walmart Argentina in 2012. In his new role, Barbeito will continue to report to Enrique Ostale, Walmart’s president and CEO of Latin America.

“Today’s moves demonstrate the tremendous pool of leadership talent that exists in our Latin American business, said Enrique Ostale, president and CEO of Walmart Latin America. “I’d like to thank Gian Carlo for his tremendous contribution to the Walmart business over a 22 year career. We are pleased that he will continue contributing his experience to the business in a different capacity in the near future.”

“As we evolve our business to serve our changing customer, we’re confident Horacio will continue to build on our strengths by increasing efficiency and leveraging our scale for good in both Chile and Argentina.”