Kohl's CEO to Retire After 35 Years With Company

Kevin Mansell, CEO of Kohl’s, will retire in May 2018 after serving 35 years with the department store. Mansell will be succeeded by Chief Merchandising and Customer Officer Michelle Gass, who spent nearly two decades working at Starbucks and began her career with Procter & Gamble. Additionally, Kohl's said it tapped Sona Chawla, its chief operating officer, as president.

Total Retail’s Take: Mansell lead Kohl’s through some tough times, including the Great Recession. During that time, he managed to grow the retailer's e-commerce business to $3 billion in sales. Also, under Mansell’s lead, Kohl’s announced partnerships with Amazon on a couple of different programs. Kohl’s will begin accepting Amazon returns at 82 store locations, and return them for free, and has also started selling Amazon devices at 10 stores in the Los Angeles and Chicago markets. Mansell seems to be leading the company in the right direction during tough times for the segment, and hopefully Gass will be able to continue the recent momentum.