Hayes Dacus Stephen
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Northrop Corporation in September 1983, moved to Mars, Incorporated in March 1994 and became CEO of MasterFoods Ltd. in June 2001. He moved to Fast Retailing in September 2005 and to Walmart Stores, Inc. in July 2007, becoming CEO of Walmart Japan in June 2011 and Representative Director and Chairman of Sushiro Global Holdings in July 2016. He was an outsider who had moved between retail and restaurants.
Selection
On August 19, 2024, Seven & i confirmed in a timely disclosure that it had received an acquisition proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard, which in October raised its offer to $18.19 per share, about ¥7 trillion in total. The founding family's buyout camp notified the company by February 27, 2025 that it could no longer secure financing, and the plan was scrapped. On March 6 the departure of Ryuichi Isaka and the appointment of Dacus as President were announced, and he took office in May. He is the company's first foreign leader. Dacus had been an outside director since May 2022 and lead independent outside director since April 2024.
Initiatives
On July 16, 2025, Couche-Tard withdrew its acquisition proposal, citing a lack of constructive engagement. Clearing the US Federal Trade Commission review was expected to require the sale of about 2,000 stores, and the failure to present concrete measures for this was the reason for the breakdown. The day after the withdrawal, the share price closed down about 9% at ¥2,007.5. In 2025 the company sold 60% of York Holdings to Bain Capital and also sold part of its Seven Bank shares. The remaining core subsidiaries were three companies: Seven-Eleven Japan, 7-Eleven, Inc. and 7-Eleven International.
Career
Career
Northrop Corporation
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Sep 1983 | Joined |
Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Sep 1985 | Joined |
Mars, Incorporated
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Mar 1994 | Joined |
MasterFoods Ltd.
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 2001 | CEO |
Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Sep 2005 | Senior Vice President |
Walmart Stores, Inc.
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jul 2007 | Senior Vice President |
Walmart Japan Holdings
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 2010 | Vice President, Eguzekutibu |
| Jun 2011 | CEO |
Sushiro Global Holdings
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Oct 2015 | Outside Director |
| Jul 2016 | Representative Director, Chairman |
Hana Group SAS
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 2019 | Non-executive Director |
| Jun 2019 | CEO |
| Jul 2020 | Chairman of the Supervisory Board |
| Oct 2023 | Non-executive Director |
Daiso California LLC.
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Nov 2021 | Chairman |
Sebun → Ai Holdings
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 2022 | Outside Director |
| Dec 2022 | Member, Nominating Committee |
| Apr 2024 | Senior, Outside Director (at founding) |
| May 2025 | Representative Director, President, Executive Officer, President, Chief Executive Officer and Member, Nominating Committee |
7-Eleven, Inc.
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | Director |
7-Eleven International LLC
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | Director |