Carlyle Group LP has enlisted former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Chief
Executive Mike Duke to join the stable of executives the
private-equity firm taps to help it find and vet deals and steer
the companies it owns.
Mr. Duke, 65 years old, retired from Wal-Mart in early 2014
after five years in the top job at the world's largest retailer. At
Carlyle, he will work with a group of deal-makers at the
Washington, D.C., firm that buys and invests in consumer product
and retail companies.
The position as a so-called operating executive is akin to being
a paid consultant for the firm, rather than an employee, and will
allow Mr. Duke to continue to serve as a member of Wal-Mart's
board. It won't prevent him from taking on other roles
elsewhere.
"Mike will be an invaluable addition to our team, helping drive
value creation within our existing portfolio and adding a new
dimension as we research new investments," said Sandra Horbach, who
leads Carlyle's consumer and retail buyout group.
Carlyle has about 25 of these operating executives who have held
high-ranking positions at organizations ranging from International
Business Machines Corp. to the Internal Revenue Service and other
private-equity firms. They work with Carlyle's full-time investment
professionals, often assigned to specific industry groups, and
counsel executives at companies in which Carlyle invests. They also
are frequently asked to serve on the boards of Carlyle-owned
companies.
Mr. Duke said his relationship with Carlyle co-founder and
co-CEO David Rubenstein, whom he has served with on the advisory
board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management
in Beijing, led to his joining the firm. He said he plans to lend
Carlyle "strategic guidance, and that could be through the
investment process or the operating process."
The consumer and retail group has invested about $12 billion
over the years in companies ranging from doughnut shop chain
Dunkin" Brands Group Inc. to headphone maker Beats Electronics LLC
and Moncler SpA, an Italian maker of luxury clothing.
Mr. Duke's tenure atop Wal-Mart was marked by significant
expansion outside the U.S. The Bentonville, Ark., company added
6,200 international stores during his five years on the job, and
the company's shares rose by 58%.
Before becoming CEO in 2009, Mr. Duke was vice chairman and led
Wal-Mart International for four years. An engineer by training, he
joined the retailer in 1995 and at times led its logistics,
distribution and administration businesses as well as Wal-Mart U.S.
He spent more than 20 years with Federated Department Stores and
May Department Stores before joining Wal-Mart.
Write to Ryan Dezember at ryan.dezember@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for International Business Machines
Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US4592001014
Access Investor Kit for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US9311421039
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires