Success in business is totally about performing, but doing it in the right way... caring about people....
When
one meets Michael Duke, CEO of the world's largest retailer, one is
almost taken aback at the top-man's unassuming yet effective demeanor.
Simply because, Duke is only the company's fourth CEO, and the first to
have climbed the retail behemoth's ranks without ever personally working
with Sam Walton, in more than half-century of the company's existence.
He must possess something extra-ordinary that made him eligible for that
high-profile job. While he may not have either the exuberance or the
aura of the company's founder, Sam Walton, but Duke is considered by
many --insiders as well as outside watchers-- as the right man to
succeed the company's long-serving and ex-CEO, Lee Scott. Here's a brief
peep into Michael Duke's not much known yet truly inspiring saga.
|
Early Days
Duke
was born (December 1949) into a working-class family of a non-descript
county, 8 miles outside Fayetteville, GA. Understandably, the humble
family background did instill in the eldest child of the family, a sense
of responsibility, hard-work, diligence, and of course, the ability to
look beyond the ordinary. He had his schooling from the Fayetteville
County High School before, ultimately, completing his majors in
industrial engineering from Georgia Tech, Atlanta.
Along
the way, Duke developed and nurtured a passion for sport. He played
baseball and football at the Fayetteville County High School - where,
during his senior year, he was the captain of the school's football
team, and played in the position of a receiver / line-backer. In Duke's
own words, more than the talent, it was the desire that drove him toward
sport.
The
same passion and desire were to manifest themselves in later years in
his working life. The competitiveness with which he went into games --
which brought him two awards: one for sportsmanship and one for
head-hunting, helped him become all the more competitive - a trait that
any young bloke looking to make something out of his/her life would look
to possess. But, what could have, perhaps, been a successful sporting
career, was cut-short by Duke's self-realization that he neither had the
size nor the talent to make it to a major college team. That besides,
there were also the vagaries of life that made it imperative for the
young man to acquire education and skills that can earn him a decent
livelihood. So, he joined Georgia Tech to pursue industrial engineering.
The Spark
Duke
was fortunate to have, in his high school physics teacher --one Mr.
McDaniel, a friend, philosopher, guide, and a visionary. For, if Mr.
McDaniel had not correctly predicted, back in 1967, that the services
industry was going to be the future of America, and not advised Duke to
go work in the services industry instead of manufacturing after majoring
in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech - like all engineers did,
then who knows what Duke would have been doing or where he'd be today.
However, for posterity's sake, Mr. McDaniel, like all good teachers, did
advise young Duke who, importantly, took it and put it to action.
Perfect Foil
Duke
met Susan, his future-wife, when he was in Atlanta, pursuing
engineering. They got married after a brief courtship and have been
together ever since - even after 38 long years!! But, all wasn't
hunky-dory for the young couple early in their married life. Duke was
still at college in Atlanta and, making ends meet was a difficult
proposition for the newly-married couple. So, Susan took-up a job at the
Coca-Cola headquarters nearby, while Duke worked on a loading dock and
delivered newspapers in the pre-dawn hours for The Atlanta Constitution.
Come to think of it - today he is one of the top earning CEOs in the
world (estimated to be around $18m per annum - salary & stock
options), so all the hard-ships, efforts, and perseverance have paid
off.
A Near-Perfect Career
While
his first paying job was given by his father - taking care of his
grandmother (for a dollar a day, he fetched her meals and kept her
company), Duke's professional career began at Rich's Department Stores
in Atlanta (in fact he worked for Richway, the discount department store
of Rich's). Well seized of the power of the services industry, Duke
worked for about 23 years with Rich's, Federated Department Stores
(present-day Macy's), May Department Stores, and venture Stores - taking
care of the logistics, distribution and administration divisions at
each of those companies.
This
long and extensive retail experience, especially his expertise with
logistics, was what made Lee Scott, the then CEO of Wal-Mart, bring Duke
on board.
How
he got into logistics and retailing is also quite a fascinating story
in itself. We've already recounted Duke's love for sport (above); he
also had another penchant, almost a burning desire - that of getting to
his destination that much quicker. Therefore, although, he was not a
great motor-sport aficionado, he liked speed. And, it is this love for
speed that got him into retailing, spurred on by the talk --about speed
and competition-- given him by an interviewer at Rich's.
It
all fitted well with his mind-set - getting there quicker and ahead of
others. That's how it all began - a stint each with reasonably large
retail companies, long-enough to fire him up for more and, in the
process, enrich his capacity.
It
is the same objectivity and meticulousness that got him to Wal-Mart in
1995, wherein he served as the Senior Vice President of Distribution of
Wal-Mart Stores Division (USA) up to 1996. Then, from 1996 on up to
2000, he was Senior Vice President of Logistics (Wal-Mart Stores Inc.).
His rise through the ranks was inevitable, based on his performance for
the distribution and logistics division. Accordingly, he was made the
Executive Vice President of Administration from (2000 to April, 2003)
& that of Logistics (March 2000 to July 2000), before eventually
being elevated to the post of Executive Vice President of Wal-Mart
Stores Inc., (April 2003 to September 2005).
The
fact that Duke was well and truly on his way up the ladder was evident
when, in the same year (April 2003), he was also made the Chief
Executive Officer and President of Wal-Mart Stores USA (Mart Stores
Division) - no small achievement for this man from rural Georgia and,
with less than modest beginnings.
To
further stamp its approval for Duke's caliber as a leader, he was asked
to assume responsibility as Chief Executive Officer and President of
Wal-Mart International in October 2005. This allowed Duke to attain
greater depth and range of experience in running both the international
and domestic businesses, which he did with flying colors --the company
opened nearly 8,000 retail units under 55 different banners in 15
countries. His approach was global expansion by focusing on markets with
the greatest growth opportunities and pulling out of less profitable
markets, as he did in Germany and South Korea. All this
facilitated for the elevation of Duke to the top-position of the world's
largest retail company. In 2009, he became its fourth CEO since its
founding. Obviously, there was some unpublicized competition, but Duke's
wealth of experience (of both international & domestic businesses)
helped him prevail over any potential alternative.
Not
only was Duke up for the challenges of taking forward a company built
on values by its famous founder, but he also stood the test of times in
the face of some adversities that had, apparently, cropped up because
somewhere along its growth, the company probably had digressed from its
values - those embedded in its fabric by Sam Walton.
So,
what did Duke do to correct this? He put the right people in the right
places; brought in some good merchants, promoted some good merchants.
And, all of it has worked.
Likewise,
he has drawn inspiration from the earlier CEOs and did his best to
tackle the issues confronted by the company, which has grown to
humungous proportions since it was founded. He went back to the basics -
building stores at a fast rate, returning selection to shelves and
pallets of goods to the aisles, emphasizing everyday low prices, and
cutting costs.
Duke
restructured the company, placing e-commerce on equal footing with
Wal-Mart's other, much larger divisions, made serious investments in
high-tech talent, and acquiring several startups.
Apart
from that, he has also kick-started initiatives that emphasize on
sustainability. Prime examples of the same being the local food program,
called Heritage Agriculture, and the $2 million grant by the Wal-Mart
Foundation to The Sustainability Consortium to assist its efforts in
China, to help it build more sustainable and more competitive
businesses. Many observers believe that he has done well at a company,
the size of which warrants more than one leader.
Other Associations
Besides
being on the board of directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. since 2008,
Duke has served the board of directors of The Consumer Goods Forum, the
executive committee of Business Roundtable. He is also is on the
executive board of the Conservation International's Center for
Environment Leadership in Business. He also serves on the board of
advisors for the University of Arkansas and the advisory board of the
Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing,
China. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Duke also
serves on the board of directors for the Retail Industry Leaders
Association and Arvest Bank's community advisory board.
Family
Mike and his wife, Susan, have two daughters and a son, and five grand-children.
Accolades
Michael
Duke consistently figures among the most admired CEOs of the world. Not
only that, he is also considered to be one of the most influential
CEOs.
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
கருத்துரையிடுக Facebook Disqus