Kohl's CEO Fired Over “Unethical Behavior” | JP
Kohl’s newly appointed CEO has just been fired.
Kohl’s CEO, Ashley Buchanan, who was appointed as CEO of the department chain Kohl’s five months ago, was forced out over “unethical behavior.”
An investigation by hired outside investigators revealed that Buchanan “violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.”
The current chairman of the Kohl’s board, Michael Bender, will serve as the interim CEO.
The news of the firing didn’t faze Wall Street, and Kohl’s stock price soared 8% following the news of Buchanan being canned.
Bloomberg TV, broke down Buchanan’s firing:
Kohl’s fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after the board found he directed the company to do millions of dollars of business with someone he had a personal relationship with.
Shelly Banjo has more https://t.co/AGsjrK85ny pic.twitter.com/1dGnBvhUOf
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) May 1, 2025
Check out what CNN reported:
Kohl’s has fired its newly installed CEO, who has spent less than five months in the position, after the retailer found that Ashley Buchanan engaged in unethical behavior.
Buchanan’s dismissal was “for cause,” a rare rebuke of a business leader that carries serious weight in the business community. It comes after an investigation from an outside counsel found that he “violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest,” according to a press release.
Buchanan, a former chief executive of arts and crafts chain Michaels, began as Kohl’s CEO on January 15 with the hopes of turning around the struggling retailer. But during his short tenure, he failed to do that with sales falling as much as 4.3% the company revealed in preliminary earnings.
Michael Bender, the current chairman of the Kohl’s board, will become interim CEO until a replacement is found. The news sent Kohl’s (KSS) shares soaring as much 8% in trading.
Buchanan’s departure is a “distraction that the company does not need and can ill afford,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said in a note.
Kohl’s fires new CEO Ashley Buchanan after probe finds he violated conflict of interest policies https://t.co/80lPUqF5TG pic.twitter.com/ZgCnNkVUfz
— New York Post (@nypost) May 1, 2025
Per Fox Business:
Kohl’s announced on Thursday that it fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after an investigation found he violated company policies.
The retailer said its board terminated Buchanan, who became chief executive in January, after the investigation “determined Mr. Buchanan violated company policies by directing the Company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.”
The investigation “found Mr. Buchanan had directed the Company conduct business with a vendor founded by an individual with whom Mr. Buchanan has a personal relationship on highly unusual terms favorable to the vendor and that he also caused the Company to enter into a multi-million dollar consulting agreement wherein the same individual was a part of the consulting team,” the retailer said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
His termination did not have anything to do with the company’s “performance, financial reporting, results of operations,” nor did it involve any other employees, Kohl’s said.
Kohl’s is slated to release its first-quarter financial results in late May.
Exclusive: Kohl’s fired its CEO for funneling business to a romantic partner https://t.co/m4j0k9VGKU
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 1, 2025