(Reuters) - Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon will chair the Business Roundtable, the CEO trade group.

McMillon replaces Jamie Dimon, chief of JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) and will serve a two-year term starting Jan. 1, the group said on Thursday.

A pledge by top CEOs to work for more than shareholders drew criticism in August from investor activists, who accused the corporate leaders of contradicting their inclusive message by lobbying against social and environmental reform efforts.

The activists faulted the CEO group for taking a public stand that corporations should seek to promote the interests of a wide range of stakeholders, including workers and communities, while pressing for such rule changes as making it harder to file proxy resolutions.

"In the coming months, there will be extensive conversations about America's future and the role business plays in shaping it," McMillon said in a statement https://www.businessroundtable.org/walmart-president-and-ceo-doug-mcmillon-named-chairman-of-business-roundtable.

McMillon has held the top job at Walmart for more than five years.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Reuters