Wal-Mart Philanthropy Chief Oversees Growing Corporate Giving Effort

Behind Wal-Mart’s pledge to spend $2-billion through 2015 on hunger relief is Margaret A. McKenna, the former university president who now runs the company’s foundation, The Boston Globe notes in a profile about the philanthropy leader.

Ms. McKenna, who served as president of Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., for 22 years, started her career as a civil-rights lawyer handling labor cases, so it gave her pause when she was courted three years ago by Wal-Mart, a firm long accused by activist groups of mistreating workers.

She said she was convinced Wal-Mart had changed its practices and was prepared to make a major impact in education and hunger relief. Wal-Mart and its foundation gave $288-million in 2009, more than any other corporation, and Ms. McKenna has designed philanthropy projects tailored to the urban markets in which the firm hopes to expand.

“If I did not believe the company had the commitment to treat people fairly now, and to give back to the community, I wouldn’t be there,’’ she said. “It couldn’t just be me, trying to make the bad guy look good.”