An Interview with Michael Ellgass, Chief Marketing Officer at Walmart

Mike Ellgass is the Sr. Director of Marketing for the Western Region of Walmart Stores. His team leads the marketing strategy for over 1,000 stores in 23 states. Mike has been with Walmart for over five years and has had a broad range of marketing assignments including leading Grocery Category Marketing. He has led the relaunch of the world’s largest food brand, Great Value. And he has also created new brands such as Marketside, which has become a multi-billion dollar brand that has helped redefine Walmart’s commitment to fresh, wholesome food. His team also launched World Table, a brand committed to unique authentic foods. Mike originally joined the company in August of 2005 to accelerate the strategic organization of the Sam’s Club private brands portfolio and realignment of the brand strategy to behavior segmented marketing. Prior to joining Walmart, Mike had 13 years of consumer packaged goods experience starting with Oscar Mayer and then Kraft Foods. He managed multiple brands, business channels and consumer segments in both foodservice and retail channels, including Maxwell House Coffee, Crystal Light Beverages and DiGiorno Pizza. He received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, and earned a master’s degree from the Babcock School of Management, Wake Forest University.