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Kohl’s Corp. is expected to name Michael Bender as its permanent chief executive officer as early as Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The board interviewed several candidates, the person said, but decided to put Bender, who has been interim CEO since this spring, in the role full time. He has been on the company’s board since July 2019. Bender was CEO at Eyemart Express, and has worked at Walmart as well as Victoria’s Secret.
Bender took the post after Kohl’s fired its then-CEO Ashley Buchanan for directing millions of dollars of business to someone with whom he has had a personal relationship that was not disclosed. That person was Chandra Holt, a former retail executive who Buchanan has been romantically involved with. The leadership scandal came on top of already slumping sales for the company.
Buchanan was axed from Kohl’s just months after he had taken the top job.
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Neither Kohl’s nor Bender immediately responded to a request for comment. The company is set to report earnings on Tuesday, which will provide a further look into how Bender’s leadership and a strategy set by Buchanan is going.
By Matthew Boyle and Lily Meier
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