Dive Brief:
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J.C. Penney has tapped Home Depot executive vice president of stores Marvin Ellison as its next CEO, the retailer announced Monday.
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Ellison will join the retailer’s board Nov. 1 and become president and CEO-designee, essentially co-CEO, and will take over as CEO next August.
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Ellison has been at Home Depot for the last 12 years and in his most recent position for six. Previously he was at Target in a variety of positions.
Dive Insight:
J.C. Penney has seen a surprising turnaround since the late 2013 return of its previous CEO, Mike Ullman, to rescue the retailer from the changes wrought by former Apple Inc. retail guru Ron Johnson. Ullman’s tenure was always seen as temporary, although he had taken pains to declare himself not “an interim CEO.” But the retailer, like many others, seemed unable to find the right person for the job.
Until now. Marvin Ellison has a lot of executive retail experience, especially in operations and logistics, something that Penney has juggled with varying success since Ron Johnson first began making his changes.
