Now that Marvin Ellison has moved from CEO-designee to CEO of J.C. Penney, you would expect that he would begin to put together his own executive team. That appears to be what is happening following Monday's announcement that Penney has hired two senior executives from Home Depot and Target, both former employers of Mr. Ellison, to help make his omnichannel vision for the retailer a reality.
Michael Amend, formerly vice president of online, mobile and omnichannel for The Home Depot, has been named as executive vice president of omnichannel for Penney. While at Home Depot, he was responsible for rolling out a number of initiatives such as buy online pick-up in-store that earned the chain "Internet Retailer of the Year" for 2014 by Internet Retailer. Mr. Amend replaces Mike Rodgers, who has left the company to pursue other interests.
Mike Robbins, formerly the senior vice president of global supply chain for Target, will join Penney next week as its senior vice president of supply chain. Mr. Robbins, who spent 13 years at Target, previously worked in marketing and supply chain positions with AutoZone and Procter & Gamble. He replaces Marie Lacertosa, senior vice president of supply chain, who is retiring from Penney after 30 years with the company.
Left: Michael Amend; Right: Michael Robbins
"Mr. Amend and Mr. Robbins are two exceptional industry veterans who have a successful track record of creating enterprise inventory networks that enable brick-and-mortar and e-commerce to merge into one seamless shopping experience," said Mr. Ellison in a statement. "Their backgrounds perfectly align with our long-term growth plan to become a world-class omnichannel retailer."
Mr. Ellison formally became CEO of Penney on Aug. 1, replacing Myron "Mike" Ullman who has remained with the retailer as executive chairman. He worked for 12 years at Home Depot before joining Penney as president and CEO-designee last November. Before joining Home Depot, Mr. Ellison served in a variety of roles at Target for 15 years.
- JCPenney Announces Two Senior Executive Appointments to Propel its Omnichannel Growth Strategy - J. C. Penney Company, Inc.
- J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison hires execs from Home Depot and Target - The Dallas Morning News
- J.C. Penney Hires Home Depot, Target Executives to Boost Online Offerings - The Wall Street Journal (sub. required)
- Penney CEO search is finally (almost) over - RetailWire