Birth Name: | Gregory Stephen Foran |
Birth Date: | 22 July 1961 |
Birth Place: | New Zealand |
Office1: | CEO of Air New Zealand |
Term1: | February 2020 – present |
Predecessor1: | Christopher Luxon |
Children: | 4, incl. Kieran Foran |
Office2: | President and CEO, Walmart U.S. |
Term2: | August 2014 – November 2019 |
Successor2: | John Furner |
Predecessor2: | Bill Simon[1] |
Office3: | President and CEO, Walmart Asia |
Term3: | May 2014 – August 2014 |
Predecessor3: | Scott Price |
Successor3: | Scott Price[2] |
Office4: | President and CEO, Walmart China |
Term4: | March 2012 – May 2014 |
Predecessor4: | Ed Chan |
Successor4: | Sean Clarke |
Gregory Stephen Foran (born 22 July 1961)[3] is a New Zealand businessman. He was previously CEO of the American division of Walmart, and is currently chief executive of Air New Zealand.
Foran was born on 22 July 1961 in New Zealand to two school teachers. He grew up in Hastings and Hamilton. There he attended Twyford School, St John's College in Hastings, St John's College in Hamilton, and Hillcrest High School, Hamilton.
Foran started working as a shelf stacker at a supermarket in Hamilton. At age 20 he became a Woolworths manager, and by age 48 he was on track to become the next CEO of Woolworths Australia but missed out on the opportunity.
Foran began working for Walmart in 2011. He became president and chief executive of Walmart China in March 2012.[4] In 2014, Foran was promoted to president and CEO of Walmart Asia[5] and in the same year transitioned to president and CEO of Walmart U.S. During this period he lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Foran would occasionally shop in Walmart undercover in order to better understand the experiences of customers and employees. According to Reuters, Foran is "credited with turning around Walmart's U.S. business by focusing on improving existing stores".[6] Foran raised Walmart's minimum gun-purchasing age to 21.
Foran became the CEO of Air New Zealand in February 2020, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] [8] [9] As the new CEO, he proposed to hold a 100-day review of the business, which included asking employees and customers how the business could improve, and personally serving beverages to customers and cleaning planes.[10] The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the completion of the review; he had instead begun leading in "crisis management mode", announcing at one point that the company was expecting a 90% reduction in revenue.
Foran has three sons and one daughter. His son, Kieran Foran, is a professional rugby league player.
In 2023, Foran was jokingly floated by The Spinoff as a potential future Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, a reference to his predecessor, current National Party leader and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.[11]