RWRetailWire
Back to Discussions
DISCUSSION

What's Up With J.C. Penney's Board Fighting in Public?

Written by George Anderson

For those trying to keep up with the latest episode in the soap that is J.C. Penney, here we go:

2010

William "Bill" Ackman takes a 16.5 percent stake in J.C. Penney. The former CEO of the department store, Allen Questrom, tells The Wall Street Journal, "Out of the leading department stores, Penney comes in dead last. So from my vantage point, Ackman's [involvement] is not bad. Clearly, J.C. Penney needs to improve its performance."

2011

Mr. Ackman is named to Penney's board of directors along with Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, which owns about 10 percent of the department store chain's stock. CEO Myron "Mike" Ullman welcomes Messrs. Ackman and Roth to the board.

2011

Mr. Ackman, making no secret of his unhappiness with Mr. Ullman's leadership of the chain, personally recruits Ron Johnson from Apple to lead J.C. Penney. It is announced that Mr. Ullman will stick around to oversee accounting, finance, logistics and other aspects of the CEO's duties while Mr. Johnson does some on-the-job training.

2012

Ron Johnson takes over J.C. Penney and the business declines even further.

2013

Former CEO Allen Questrom publicly criticizes Ron Johnson's leadership of the department store chain as sales continue to slide.

April 2013

Ron Johnson is out as CEO of J.C. Penney. Mr. Ullman is named interim CEO while the chain searches for someone to take over the position.

Yesterday

CNBC reports seeing a letter Mr. Ackman sent to the company board in which he claims that Mr. Questrom has agreed to rejoin J.C. Penney as chairman as long as he approves with the choice of a new CEO.

Later Yesterday

J.C. Penney's board takes the unusual step of releasing a statement by board chairman Thomas Engibous that takes Mr. Ackman to task. In it, the board claims "significant progress" has been made in correcting issues made under "previous management" since Mr. Ullman's return. It further states that the permanent CEO search is underway and that it will be "careful and deliberate to ensure we find the right long-term leader."

The best was left for last. Mr. Engibous writes, "Mr. Ackman has been integrally involved in the board's activities since he joined two years ago. This includes leading a campaign to appoint the company's previous CEO, under whose leadership performance deteriorated precipitously. His latest actions are disruptive and counterproductive at an important stage in the company's recovery."

Discussion Thread0