Kohl's Names New Directors in Agreement With Activist Investors

Kohl's has come to an agreement with the group of activist investors who have been pushing to gain control of the company's board, CNBC reported. As part of the agreement, Kohl's named three new directors to its board.

Two of the new directors — Margaret Jenkins and Thomas Kingsbury — were nominated by the activist group. They will join the board at the end of Kohl’s 2021 annual shareholders meeting, CNBC reported. Previously, Jenkins was chief marketing officer of the restaurant chains Denny’s and El Pollo Loco. Kingsbury is the former CEO of Burlington Stores.

The third new director is Christine Day. She will be added to Kohl's board at the same time as the other two directors, with the support from the investors. Previously, Day was the CEO of lululemon athletica.

Total Retail's Take: It appears some common ground has been reached in the ongoing battle between Kohl's leadership team and a group of activist investors who demanded change at the department store chain. This saga has been going on for quite some time, with the stakeholders adamant that something had to be done about the retailer continually underperforming expectations. The activist investor group didn't back down, and had a lengthy list of why the directors they were nominating would improve Kohl's overall business. While their original demands weren't entirely met, it's still a partial victory for the investors. We'll see if there's additional change coming to Kohl's, particularly its leadership team, with three new directors joining the board.