NEW YORK — Walmart CEO Doug McMillon , who turned America's largest retailer into a tech-powered giant and spearheaded a period of robust sales growth since becoming chief executive in 2014, plans to retire early next year, the company said Friday in a surprise announcement.

John Furner, 51, the head of Walmart’s U.S. operations, will take over on Feb. 1, the day after McMillon's retirement becomes effective, the company said. Although McMillon is set to spend a year advising his successor, Walmart shares fell 3% immediately in premarket trading after the news of the unexpected leadership change but recovered somewhat and were down 1% by midday trading.

Unlike Amazon’s Jeff Bezos or Tesla’s Elon Musk, McMillon isn’t a household name, but he has played a key role in the U.S. economy

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