Cognizant appoints Walmart's Becky Schmitt as Chief People Officer

Currently at Sam's Club, Schmitt oversees the employee experience and career development of 100,000 associates across nearly 600 locations

Cognizant on Friday announced the retirement of its Chief People Officer (CPO) James Lennox and appointment of  Becky Schmitt, currently senior vice president and CPO at Sam’s Club, a $59 billion division of Walmart, as its executive vice president (EVP) and CPO. Schmitt will join Cognizant on February 1, 2020.

In a message to the employees, Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries said that Lennox, who has been the CPO, EVP, and member of the Executive Committee, had informed him four months ago that he planned to retire from Cognizant at the end of this year, after 16 years with the company. Lennox