Sam's Club chief marketer exits as brand heads to Super Bowl, will be replaced by Ciara Anfield

Tony Rogers is leaving his post as chief member officer of Sam’s Club, his duties to be filled largely by 13-year Walmart and Sam’s Club veteran Ciara Anfield, who will become senior VP and chief membership and marketing officer. Anfield will report to Kieran Shanahan, newly appointed executive VP and chief growth officer, who is joining Sam’s in mid-March from Walmart Canada. Sam’s Club is a unit of Walmart, and while its $64 billion in sales last fiscal year were less than one-fifth that of its Walmart U.S. sibling, it’s been growing faster over the past year. Rogers is leaving Walmart on a roll, with his team heading to the Super Bowl, as Sam’s Club prepares to air its first-ever spot in the game on Feb. 13. Last month, he noted the club chain's momentum, including all-time high membership, as making it the right time for the brand to make its Big Game debut. “We feel like Sam’s is a brand that’s been a bit quiet for its size,” Rogers said as he discussed the ad starring Kevin Hart. “Over the past three years, Sam’s Club has experienced unprecedented growth,” Sam’s Club CEO Kath McLay said in a memo today. “I am extremely proud of our results and more impressed by our unyielding obsession with serving our members. We are winning. But our members, the retail environment and our competitors are relentless and ever-changing, and we can’t afford to become content or stagnant. We must continue to review, refine and accelerate our strategy to achieve our ambitious goals.” Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. Rogers hasn’t disclosed his plans but said in a statement: “For the last few years, we’ve been building a team of all-stars, including Ciara, to move the Sam’s Club brand forward. Ciara is a smart, strategic leader with a passion for our members, and with her in place, I feel great handing over the reins and beginning a new professional chapter of my own.” In a memo last week, McLay cited the club chain’s “best membership results ever” and said Rogers plans to return to Texas. A return to Texas would appear to preclude a return for Rogers to Walmart U.S., whose CEO John Furner hired Rogers into his current position while Furner was CEO of Sam’s Club in 2018. Janey Whiteside, Walmart U.S. executive VP and chief customer officer—a position similar to Rogers’ at Sam’s—is leaving in March, the company announced in January. A replacement in that role has not yet been named. Before joining Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart, Rogers was an executive with PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay (based in Texas). He was with Walmart for 13 years before heading to Sam’s Club in 2018, including stops as chief marketing officer of Walmart China and Walmart U.S. His Walmart career was interrupted briefly in 2008 when he announced he was leaving for a job with former Walmart agency GSD&M, Austin, before he relented and returned to Walmart. RSVP for Ad Age’s Super Bowl event on Feb. 8 at AdAge.com/InDepthSuperBowl. In today's memo, McLay said direct reports to Shanahan in his new post will include Anfield, Lex Josephs, who previously reported to Rogers after being appointed late last year as VP-general manager of Sam’s Club Media Group; Ella Chan, VP strategy; and Tim Simmons, senior VP and chief product officer.

Sam's Club chief marketer exits as brand heads to Super Bowl, will be replaced by Ciara Anfield

Featured Stories