Since late 2007, Sears has been searching for a CEO. In his annual note to shareholders, chairman Edward Lampert said the company had worked with Russell Reynolds over that period and its board had met "a number of very talented individuals" in the last year but stressed that no one had been offered the job.
"We have been impressed with a number of those individuals and are confident that they have had and will have very distinguished careers. That said, public commentary regarding the search has been incorrect. To be clear: as of the end of the fiscal year, we have not made a single employment offer to anyone to serve as our CEO," wrote Mr. Lampert, the legendary hedge-fund manager who orchestrated Sears' merger with Kmart in 2005. "That doesn't mean that we have not reached out to a number of people to explore opportunities or that we haven't had a number of meetings and interviews; we have."
Mr. Lampert also praised of Bruce Johnson, interim CEO, noting that his "steadiness through these difficult economic times" has allowed Sears' board to be "highly selective" in its search. Mr. Johnson, a supply-chain executive who came from Kmart, replaced the last CEO, Aylwin Lewis, in January 2008.
"The search for a new CEO has not detracted from our ability to attract extraordinary new senior executives," wrote Mr. Lampert.
Before touching on the CEO search in the lengthy 8,500-word shareholder letter, Mr. Lampert had noted that Sears hired a number of elite execs last year and underscored that any new hire had to be up for the challenge.
"To participate in a turnaround of this magnitude requires a level of drive and energy that is very different than in a company with performance at or above industry averages," wrote Mr. Lampert. "We encourage those who think they are up to the challenge to reach out to us to discuss opportunities at Sears Holdings."
The Chicago Tribune said Mr. Lampert's reputation as a hands-on chairman "has raised doubts as to how much freedom" a new CEO would have in running the chain.
Discussion Question: Why do you think Sears has yet to find a new CEO? What qualifications/qualities are needed to successfully lead a Sears' turnaround? Do you have any candidates in mind?