Kohl’s has promoted a 30-year retail industry veteran Michael Bender as its permanent CEO, nearly seven months after serving in the interim for that top role. Bender permanently fills a void after the struggling department store chain, based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, fired its previous CEO Ashley Buchanan in May. Schilifske said the board engaged in an external firm and conducted a comprehensive search. At the conclusion of this effort, he said the board “enthusiastically and unanimously appointed Michael as CEO.” Kohl’s terminated Buchanan after an investigation determined that he directed the retailer to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.
