Nuala O'Connor Joins Walmart in New Digital Citizenship Role

Today, Walmart announced it has appointed Nuala O’Connor to a new senior vice president and chief counsel of digital citizenship role reporting directly to Rachel Brand, executive vice president of global governance, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. O’Connor joins at a time when Walmart is rapidly transforming its customer and associate experiences. The new function will focus on how Walmart uses data and technology in a way that supports the company’s goal to be the most trusted retailer.

O’Connor brings more than 20 years of technology policy and legal leadership experience coming from the Center for Democracy and Technology, Amazon, General Electric and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“This Digital Citizenship function will counsel the company on issues related to privacy, use of data and data governance, emerging technologies, cybersecurity, and records management,” Brand said. “They will advise not only on whether we may legally use data or technology in a particular way, but also on what effect that use would have on our relationship of trust with our customers and stakeholders. I can’t think of anyone better than Nuala O’Connor to serve in this new role. She is an internationally recognized expert in technology policy, and her vast experience in data privacy, information governance, and emerging technology issues makes her a perfect fit for this role.”

“Walmart is one of the most important and influential companies in America and around the world,” O’Connor said. “I am thrilled to join the business and look forward to working on responsible digital citizenship as technology transforms the retail industry and the daily lives of our associates, customers, and communities.”

O’Connor was most recently at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a global nonprofit focused on digital civil liberties, where she served as president and CEO. In the private sector, she served as both vice president of compliance and customer trust and associate general counsel for privacy and data protection at Amazon, was the chief privacy leader at General Electric, and held both privacy leadership and legal counsel roles at DoubleClick.

In the public sector, Nuala served as the first chief privacy officer at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as deputy director of the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, and later as chief counsel for technology at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Nuala began her legal career in private practice at Sidley Austin, Venable, and Hudson Cook.

Nuala holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, a Master of Education from Harvard University, and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.

Source : Walmart