Kohl's Elevates Interim CEO to Permanent Role

Kohl's announced Monday that Michael Bender, who has served as its interim CEO since May, will become its permanent chief executive as the department store tries to get back to sales growth. He becomes the third CEO for the department store in about three years. The move is effective as of Sunday. The retailer appointed Bender to the position after firing CEO Ashley Buchanan after just a few months into his tenure. Kohl’s fired Buchanan after a company investigation revealed that he had pushed for deals with a vendor with whom he had a personal relationship.

Total Retail's Take: Bender will have his work cut out for him as he looks to lead the turnaround of the department store chain. Kohl's said in August that it expects net sales to drop by 5 percent to 6 percent for the fiscal year. In addition to financial challenges, Bender will be tasked with bringing stability to the leadership ranks at Kohl's. Former CEO Michelle Gass left the company in 2022 to join Levi Strauss & Co. She was followed at Kohl’s by Tom Kingsbury, a then-board member of the company, who became interim and then permanent CEO. He was replaced by Buchanan, who Bender took over for following the former's short tenure as CEO. In short, it's been a revolving door in the corner office for Kohl's. Bender is hoping to change that, and he has the support of the company's board, who voted unanimously to name him permanent CEO.

"“Over the past several months as interim CEO, Michael has proven to be an exceptional leader for Kohl’s — progressively improving results, driving short- and long-term strategy, and positively impacting cultural change,” said board chair John Schlifske in a Kohl's press release.