Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) reputation management chief to depart

Northern, WI 03/10/2013 (avauncer) –Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s reputation management chief will bid adieu to the services of the company, disclosed in a memo yesterday.

Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs Leslie A. Dach, 58, has been taking care of key activities like public policy and corporate communications. Wal-Mart will have to look for a suitable replacement, said in a memo addressed to employees by CEO Mike Duke. The announcement could be proved critical as it has come at a time when US regulators are still probing bribery allegations in company’s Mexico operations.

Dach, once a Democratic strategist who visits the company’s Bentonville office on a weekly basis, has told Duke that this is the ‘right time’ to go, said in the memo.

Many observers including Patricia Edwards, then a money manager at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich, at the time of Dach’s appointment had said that he would help Wal-Mart boost its image.

Prior to joining Wal-Mart Stores, Dach served in senior positions during Democratic presidential campaigns and supervised chores of the Clinton administration, as stated in his bio page on Wal-Mart’s website.

“Leslie has played a pivotal role in helping us understand the broader role Wal-Mart can play in meeting the major challenges facing society today, and social goals are now an integral part of how we run our business,” Duke stated in the memo. He has highlighted Dach’s contribution in the areas of nutrition and economic empowerment of women.

Dach’s is the second senior-level exit after Tom Mars, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, to be announced in few weeks.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) stock was up 0.25% to close at $73.03