Joel Anderson, the president and CEO of Walmart.com U.S., has joined the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition 2012 presenter roster as a featured speaker.  He will speak in a session entitled “Creating innovation through the next generation of retail” on June 6 from 9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

IRCE 2012, the world’s largest e-commerce gathering, will take place in Chicago from June 5 to June 8. Walmart.com, the e-commerce operation of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is No. 6 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

Anderson appears at IRCE 2012 as the retail chain’s research lab, @WalMartLabs, launched only last year, works on developing technology that ties together social and mobile channels with in-store shopping. For instance, such technology might enable consumers to use their mobile phones to interact with other shoppers in a store to receive more information about products and deals.

In his session, Anderson plans to talk about how retailers can create a climate of innovation and also encourage their own employees to come up with ideas that can advance online retailing. Anderson also will talk about the objectives the chain has for @WalMartLabs, and describe the technologies that hold the most promise for retail.

Anderson joined Wal-Mart about four years ago, and took his current job last year, after Wal-Mart announced in August a shake-up of its e-commerce operations  around the world. Prior to his current position, Anderson worked as the chain’s senior vice president for the northern Plains region. Before joining Wal-Mart, Anderson had been chief merchant at ToysRUs.com, No. 29 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.