Glass to retire from Wal-Mart board

Former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. President and CEO David Glass has announced he will retire from the company's board of directors when his term ends June 5.

Glass is a 1960 graduate of Missouri State University, where the school's David D. Glass Hall houses the College of Business Administration.

Glass joined Wal-Mart in 1976 as vice president of finance, was elected to the board a year later and became president in 1984, according to a company news release. He succeeded company founder Sam Walton as president and CEO in 1988 and retired from that position in 2000.

Under his leadership, Wal-Mart established its first distribution center outside of the company's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters. He also was instrumental in creating Sam's Club, which now has more than 700 stores worldwide, and he pioneered development of Wal-Mart's first supercenter store, the release said. Wal-Mart became the largest retail company in the U.S. during Glass' tenure.

Glass also is a former owner of the Kansas City Royals professional baseball team.

The board's 15 remaining directors will be up for re-election at the company's annual shareholders' meeting June 5 in Fayetteville, Ark.[[In-content Ad]]