Walton Family Foundation Loses Fourth Leader Since 2016

Stephanie Cornell will step down as executive director of the $7 billion Walton Family Foundation, making her the fourth leader in less than a decade to depart the philanthropy Walmart built.

Her departure was a “personal decision,” Cornell told staff in a Wednesday letter, “that comes from a desire to spend more time with my family at an important moment.”

Without citing specific accomplishments, Cornell wrote that the foundation was making progress in each of its key areas: improving education, fostering economic development in Northwest Arkansas and the Delta region, and promoting climate-friendly agricultural practices and water resource preservation.

Cornell came to the Arkansas-based family foundation in July 2023 after serving as managing director of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a Silicon Valley venture philanthropy firm. In her letter, she told staff she will depart by the end of December, which is when the foundation’s current five-year strategy winds up.

Having served just more than two years at the helm of Walton, which was founded by Walmart Stores founder Sam Walton and his wife, Helen, Cornell is the latest Walton chief with a relatively short tenure. Her immediate predecessor, Caryl Stern, was the longtime leader of UNICEF USA before joining Walton in 2019. Before Stern, the foundation was led for three years by Kyle Peterson, who was formerly the managing director of the philanthropy consulting group FSG.

Peterson replaced Buddy Philpott, who was known as a family insider and who served more than 15 years on the job.

The median tenure for top executives at foundations was 7.5 years, according to a 2024 survey conducted by the Council on Foundations.