Mona Williams, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart, confirmed Roehm and Womack's exit from the company but would not comment on the event or any potential repercussions.

Several sources close to the review process, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say the process--coupled with its immediate aftermath--revealed a series of events that if taken alone, would not have caused Roehm's dismissal. But in combination, they proved insurmountable.

Roehm joined Wal-Mart as senior vice president of marketing communications last February from Chrysler, spearheading the search for a new set of agencies to run the company's $570 million ad account. It was awarded last month to Interpublic Group's DraftFCB and Aegis' Carat, replacing Omnicom's GSD&M and an independent agency, Bernstein-Rein.

In situations like these, says Steven Gundersen, CEO of executive-search firm Gundersen Partners, a rejection by the culture is usually the case. "Wal-Mart is unique in its heritage and DNA," he says. "They do have a very distinctive culture; it's strong and deliberate." He speculated that the fit might not have been right.

"It's very unusual for someone at that level [to exit] in that amount of time, especially since she just directed a formal agency review," he adds.

One source says that during the pitch process for the Wal-Mart account, a lot of "gratuitous gifts" changed hands, raising eyebrows inside the company. Wal-Mart has a very strict policy about gratuities. While many executives in the ad industry wouldn't flinch at the worth of the things Roehm may have pocketed during the pitch process, Wal-Mart management felt otherwise.

In addition, almost immediately following the awarding of the account to DraftFCB, the agency ran a full-page advertisement, which was placed prior to the review's decision, in Creativity magazine touting the Cannes Lions Awards that depicted two lions mating, with the caption: "It's good to be on top."

This did not create a roar of approval at corporate headquarters. The copulating couple caused quite a buzz inside the company as executives questioned Roehm's judgment, says a source.

Finally, there were grumbles in the executive suite that Roehm did not keep senior management as closely informed about the review process as it would have liked, which a source defined as "political missteps."

Combined with Wal-Mart's lackluster performance over the Thanksgiving sales weekend, this series of events made it impossible for Roehm's tenure to continue.

Does this mean the recently awarded business might soon be back in play? Spokesmen for both DraftFCB and GSD&M refused to comment, and referred calls to Wal-Mart.

This news story is important. I recommend that everyone read it.