New Delhi, Oct 24 (IANS): Wal-Mart India Pvt. Ltd Friday announced that Murali Lanka has been appointed its new chief operations officer (COO) to lead store operations and business development.

Wal-Mart India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of the United States.

The company in a statement said the appointment of Murali will be effective from Dec 1.

He will report to Krish Iyer, president and chief executive officer, and will lead store operations, sales & business development, membership & marketing and ssset protection functions for the Best Price Modern Wholesale stores, owned and operated by Wal-Mart India.

"I am very pleased to have Murali as the new COO, who will spearhead our objective to strengthen the business and set foundation for future growth... I firmly believe that his passion and experience in Food and General Merchandise and commitment to e-commerce will help us serve our customers even more effectively in the years to come," Iyer said.

Murali, who joined Wal-Mart in 1989, came to India in 2008, as the head of operations. He spent five years in the India business before repatriating to US in 2013 as the Developmental Regional General Manager in the Texas division.

In his earlier stint at Wal-Mart India, Murali played a key role in setting up 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale format in India.