Wal-Mart de Mexico board names Ostale new CEO

Reuters
A person walks outside a Wal-Mart store in Mexico City January 11, 2013. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX), Mexico's biggest retailer, said on Friday that Enrique Ostale, Walmex Chairman and Latin America chief executive officer for parent company Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), will also take over as CEO of the Mexican company.

The change comes after Walmex said in October that Scot Rank was stepping down as CEO after five years, when it also reported an 8 percent fall in third-quarter profit.

Walmex said on Friday that Rank is stepping down from the board after 14 years. Ostale will take over as CEO on Jan. 1, and will continue to lead Wal-Mart's operations in Latin America.

The change in leadership also comes more than two years after the New York Times published an investigative report alleging Walmex bribed local officials to open stores faster. The company now faces legal probes as a result.

Walmex, controlled by the U.S. Wal-Mart, has since slowed its pace of expansion.

(Reporting by Simon Gardner and Veronica Gomez; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)