"We can't copy. If you want to copy somebody, you're going to be second at best, and always a step behind."
-- Doug McMillon, newly named president and CEO of Wal-Mart (WMT) International. He's succeeding Mike Duke, who is due to take Wal-Mart's helm as CEO Lee Scott retires.
When McMillon talked with Fortune's Geoff Colvin in "The Colvin Interview" last October about innovation and Wal-Mart's global growth prospects (click here for video), he was the 42-year-old CEO of Sam's Club, a $44 billion business. If you know anyone younger running such a giant business, tell us his or her name. Now McMillon will be running a $90.6 billion business. That's 25% of the world's biggest company. No wonder Wal-Mart watchers say that McMillon stands a chance to be Wal-Mart's CEO himself someday. --Jessica Shambora
My Fortune colleague Geoff Colvin reminds us in his Guest Post that the best time to test and stretch your talent is during tough times. Ever since we published Geoff's piece on Postcards yesterday, I've been thinking about this a lot. Last night, at a Bank of America (BAC) dinner at Manhattan's Four Seasons restaurant to benefit the International Women's Media Foundation's Courage in Journalism Awards, I sat with a MORE
Patricia Sellers - Oct 21, 2008 12:28 PM ET
"It was as if somebody handed us a different pair of glasses, and the whole world looked different."
-- Doug McMillon, CEO of Sam's Club (WMT), who is the subject of "The Colvin Interview" in the current issue of Fortune. McMillon explains how he developed a completely new perspective on sustainability when he realized it actually supported the company's mission of saving people money so they can live better. At 41, MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Oct 14, 2008 5:08 PM ET
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Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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