Lee Scott (businessman)

Lee Scott is also the name of a British Member of Parliament.

H. Lee Scott, Jr. is the current president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Scott has worked for Wal-Mart in different capacities since 1979, but has held his current offices since January of 2000. Under his leadership, Wal-Mart has retained its position as the largest retailer in the world based on revenue, but its share price has fallen 22%. Scott was born and raised in Baxter Springs, Kansas and graduated with a degree in business from Pittsburg State University in Kansas. He is married to Linda G. Scott and has two children. The family has residences in Arkansas and California.

Scott was included in TIME magazine's lists of the 100 most influential people of 2004 and 2005.

Criticism

Scott has been required to respond to criticism aimed at his company during his tenure. Among other criticisms, Wal-Mart has faced criticism for its trade with China and for its labor policies. In response to accusations that Wal-Mart's trade with China has resulted in a loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States, Scott has stated that many companies engage in trade with China and that he sees a lack of innovation among American product developers. Critics have also accused Wal-Mart of implementing corporate policies that are detrimental or unfair to retail store employees, such as low hourly wage standards and anti-labor union policies. Scott's response to these criticisms has been that Wal-Mart actually pays its employees more than other retailers and that a large percentage of its workers enjoy health benefits. Scott has said that he believes such criticism has hurt employee morale and that employees look to him to speak up for them and respond.

On February 17, 2006, the headline of the New York Times' business section was a leak of Scott's internal "Lee's Garage" website, started as a way to communicate with his far-flung managers but now accessible by all employees. The leak was allegedly perpetrated by a disgruntled manager to the Wal-Mart Watch website, which reprinted the article. The article portrayed a different side of Scott than the public image, showing him taking a very sarcastic tone with managers who question Wal-Mart's benefits and other policies, labeling these managers as disloyal.

In February 2007, perhaps in response to company criticisms, he launched Sustainability 360 during a keynote lecture at Prince of Wales's Business and Environment Program [1] in London.

Sources

1. http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/7843.aspx?p=7823
2. CNN Money
3. Wall Street Journal

External links

• Interview with Grist Magazine