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Greg Foran
New Zealand businessman (born 1961) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gregory Stephen Foran (born 22 July 1961)[3] is a New Zealand businessman. He was previously CEO of the American division of Walmart, and was the chief executive officer of Air New Zealand from 2020 to 2025.
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Early life and education
Foran was born on 22 July 1961 in New Zealand to two school teachers. He grew up in Hastings and Hamilton. There he attended Twyford School, St John's College in Hastings, St John's College in Hamilton, and Hillcrest High School, Hamilton.[3] He did not attend university.[4]
Career
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Woolworths
Foran started working as a shelf stacker at a supermarket in Hamilton. At age 20 he became a Woolworths manager, and by age 48 he was on track to become the next CEO of Woolworths Australia but missed out on the opportunity.[3]
Walmart
Foran began working for Walmart in 2011. He became president and chief executive of Walmart China in March 2012.[5] In 2014, Foran was promoted to president and CEO of Walmart Asia[6] and in the same year transitioned to president and CEO of Walmart U.S. During this period he lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas.[3] Foran would occasionally shop in Walmart undercover in order to better understand the experiences of customers and employees.[7] According to Reuters, Foran is "credited with turning around Walmart's U.S. business by focusing on improving existing stores".[8] Foran raised Walmart's minimum gun-purchasing age to 21.[3]
Air New Zealand
Foran became the CEO of Air New Zealand in February 2020, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10][11] As the new CEO, he proposed to hold a 100-day review of the business, which included asking employees and customers how the business could improve, and personally serving beverages to customers and cleaning planes.[11][7] The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the completion of the review; he had instead begun leading in "crisis management mode", announcing at one point that the company was expecting a 90% reduction in revenue.[7] In March 2025, Foran announced that he had resigned and will leave the company on 20 October. On 20 October 2025, Foran was succeeded by Nikhil Ravishankar, the airline's former Chief Digital Officer.[12]
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Personal life
Foran has three sons and one daughter. His sons, Kieran Foran and Liam Foran, were both professional rugby league players.[3]
In 2023, Foran was jokingly floated by The Spinoff as a potential future Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, a reference to his predecessor, current National Party leader and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.[13]
References
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