Walmart China President Zhu Xiaojing sent an internal email on June 17 announcing several personnel changes: Zhang Qing, Chief Merchandising Officer of Sam’s Club China, submitted her resignation for “personal reasons,” effective at the end of June. During the transition period, her duties will be handled by former Chief Merchandising Officer and current full-time consultant Neil Maffey, who will report directly to Sam’s Club President Liu Peng. A new head is being recruited globally. In addition, Tony Paladinetti, Vice President of Strategy at Walmart International, will relocate to Shenzhen in August 2026 to become Vice President of Strategy for Walmart China, reporting directly to Zhu Xiaojing. Zhu Jun, President of the Walmart Stores format, will see his responsibilities expanded to include the real estate department.
Previously, data from Qichacha showed that on June 15, Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (Sam’s Club headquarters) completed business registration changes, with Chairman and Legal Representative changed from MUK SOOK YEE to Liu Peng.
The immediate backdrop to these personnel adjustments is a series of intense food safety crises: On June 15, the State Administration for Market Regulation publicly announced that it had held a regulatory meeting with Sam’s Club’s senior management regarding food safety issues exposed by the media and discovered through inspections at both Sam’s physical stores and online shops in recent periods. Sam’s Club responded the same day, stating that it had established a special rectification task force and initiated a full-channel self-inspection. However, the series of executive changes immediately following the regulatory meeting indicate that crisis management has escalated to the organizational level. Since 2018, Zhang Qing had fully led Sam’s Club China’s product strategy and procurement management, and was seen by outsiders as one of the core drivers of Sam’s Club’s explosive growth. However, frequent product selection controversies since 2025 — delisting high-repeat-purchase private label items and introducing more generic products — have raised questions about product differentiation capabilities. Meanwhile, Sam’s Club has 63 stores in China, with first-quarter sales of RMB 45 billion this year, a slowdown from the ~40% growth peak last year. Whether organizational capabilities can keep pace with scale is a central concern for outsiders.