India’s Bharti Retail has recruited former executives from its previous joint venture with US retailer Walmart.

Raj Jain and Pankaj Madan were appointed the company’s new CEO and CFO.

Jain was the former head of Bharti Walmart, the joint venture between Bharti Retail and Walmart, which was ended in October. Madan was the former CFO of the defunct JV.

Walmart has bought the 50 per cent stake in the JV to fully operate the wholesale stores Best Price Modern.

“Bharti is committed to building a world-class retail venture and we are delighted to have Raj and Pankaj on board. I am confident that their rich expertise and insights into the retail business will add immense value to company’s growth plans,” said Bharti Enterprises vice chairman and MD Rajan Bharti Mittal.

Bharti Retail operates more than 200 Easyday stores in India. It will invest Rs800 crore (US$130 million) per year to expand the chain.