Wal-mart to revamp its board

The world's second largest retailer, Wal-mart, is to revamp its board. Smaller in turnover only to Chinese retail giant Alibaba, Wal-mart will see Jim Walton, the son of the company's founder Sam Walton, retire.

Wal-Mart is using the opportunity to bring its board structure closer to norms for US corporations and would be able to respond more quickly to market changes as a result. The company will shrink the board by three to 12 people as of June 3.

Other departing members include former Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke, retail veteran Roger Corbett and politician Aida Alvarez. Wal-Mart is aiming to speed up its decision making in the face of falling profits and higher costs. Its board members, at 15, had been higher than the average size of around 11 for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

"The changes we are making are designed to maximise our effectiveness as we adapt to ever-evolving customer requirements," said independent director James Cash.