Sarah Williams, a speechwriter and director of executive communications for Walmart, will join 3M in January as chief communications officer for the Minnesota-based maker of products from Scotch tape to stethoscopes.
Williams spent the last two and a half years at the top retailer penning speeches for CEO Mike Duke and top executives. That followed stints writing for the chancellor of the Univ. of California, Davis, and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
She takes the top 3M post on Jan. 1, leading its global communications team and reporting to Ian Hardgrove, senior VP, corporate comms. and enterprise services. The Fortune 500 company had 2012 revenue of $29.9B and profit of $4.4B.
Williams entered the speechwriting realm from journalism, serving as an editor for the Sacramento Bee and reporter for the Seattle Times, among other outlets.
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