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New CEO at Wal-Mart.com
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March 1, 2000: 8:27 p.m. ET
Retailing giant taps Jeanne Jackson to lead online efforts
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Retailing giant Wal-Mart said it has hired Jeanne Jackson, one of the most prominent figures in online retailing, to be the new CEO of its Wal-Mart.com operation.
Jackson, 48, has served as CEO of the Banana Republic division of Gap Inc (GPS: Research, Estimates), since 1996. For the past two years, she has led the online programs for all three Gap brands - Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy - as well as the Banana Republic catalog.
While Wal-Mart (WMT: Research, Estimates) generated $165 billion in sales through its nearly 3,000 brick-and-mortar stores in its latest fiscal year, its online sales have been trivial by comparison. The retailing giant is banking on Jackson to energize its online operations to take on the dominant online players, such as Amazon.com
"Jeanne was one of the first people we thought of when we started our search for the CEO position," said Jim Breyer, managing partner of the venture capital firm Accel Partners and a Wal-Mart.com board member. "She is an exceptional leader who will help us fully leverage the trusted Wal-Mart brand."
Wal-Mart announced last January that it was setting up Wal-Mart.com as a separate company, which it plans to take public. This new company, Wal-Mart.com Inc., is based in Palo Alto, Calif., and jointly owned by Wal-Mart and Accel Partners, a top Silicon Valley venture-capital firm.
The ability to offer online executives stock options in the spun-off company will help Wal-Mart.com attract talent. Technology executives also tend to prefer living in Palo Alto, Calif. to rural Bentonville, Arkansas, where Wal-Mart is based. More importantly, the newly formed Internet operation will be able to avoid charging sales tax in most states because it will have a physical presence only in California, Arkansas, and Utah.
Wal-Mart's stores serve 100 million customers each week, giving its online operations huge potential if even a fraction of those customers can be convinced to use the retailer's web site. Wal-Mart revamped the layout of its site at the end of last year.
During her 22-year career, Jackson has held positions at Federated Department Stores, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Walt Disney Co., and Victoria's Secret, in addition to Gap Inc. Fortune magazine named her as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women" in U.S. business each of the past two years. 
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Wal - Mart.com
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