Wal-Mart Adds Former American Airlines CEO Horton to Board

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has added Tom Horton, the former chief executive of American Airlines, to the retailer's board, bringing its size to 16 directors.

"Tom's management and business experience and, in particular, his roles in operational and financial management at American Airlines will bring valuable insights to the board," Wal-Mart Chairman Rob Walton said.

Mr. Horton's appointment marks the second new director at Wal-Mart in recent months after two board members departed.

The retailer faced criticism earlier this year from proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., which said it needed a more independent board to improve directors' handling of a protracted foreign-bribery probe and executive pay, among other things.

Mr. Horton, who is 53 years old, oversaw the $17 billion merger between American parent AMR Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2011, and US Airways Group that formed American Airlines Group in December 2013. American Airlines is now the country's largest carrier.

Mr. Horton joined AMR in 1985, rising to chief financial officer. He left American in 2002 for AT&T Inc. to serve as CFO and, later, vice chairman, but returned to AMR in 2006. He became chief executive of AMR the day it filed for bankruptcy-court protection in 2011, but the terms of the merger required him to cede the CEO slot to Doug Parker, the former CEO of US Airways. Mr. Horton had a transitional appointment as nonexecutive chairman until June 2014.

Mr. Horton will serve as a member of Wal-Mart's audit committee.

In September, Wal-Mart named Instagram Chief Executive Kevin Systrom to its board in a bid to expand its technology expertise to better compete with Web rivals like Amazon.com Inc.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has struggled as shoppers favor smaller stores and make more purchases online. The company recently said it would build half as many supercenters next year as this year and will instead shift investment to e-commerce, which represents the fastest-growing part of its business but continues to generate operating losses. In October, Wal-Mart cut its sales growth forecast for the current fiscal year to between 2% to 3%, down from a previous range of 3% to 5%, citing a tougher-than-expected sales environment.

Write to Angela Chen at [e-mail]

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