Kohl's terminates CEO Buchanan for cause; interim CEO Bender appointed; preliminary Q1 EPS -$0.20 to -$0.24
KOHLS Corp
CEO Ashley Buchanan terminated for cause after investigation found undisclosed conflict of interest with vendor; forfeits equity and must repay $2.5M signing incentive.
Board appoints Michael Bender, current Board Chair, as Interim CEO; permanent CEO search to begin with leading search firm.
Preliminary Q1 2025: comparable sales -4.3% to -4.0%; operating income $40-45M; diluted EPS -$0.24 to -$0.20.
Buchanan's termination unrelated to financial performance or reporting; no other personnel involved.
On April 30, 2025, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Company terminated J. Ashley Buchanan as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer for Cause (as defined in the Executive Compensation Agreement dated as of January 15, 2025 between Mr. Buchanan and Kohl’s, Inc. (the “ECA”)), effective immediately.
Key facts
Extracted from this filing and checked against the source text.
Executive changeSEC 8-K Item 5.02confidence 1.0
Michael J. Bender was appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer at KOHLS Corp.
Action
appointed
Role
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Exact text from the filing
On April 30, 2025, the Board appointed Michael J. Bender, Chair of the Board, as the Company’s Interim Chief Executive Officer.
J. Ashley Buchanan was terminated as Chief Executive Officer at KOHLS Corp.
Action
terminated
Role
Chief Executive Officer
Exact text from the filing
On April 30, 2025, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Company terminated J. Ashley Buchanan as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer for Cause (as defined in the Executive Compensation Agreement dated as of January 15, 2025 between Mr. Buchanan and Kohl’s, Inc. (the “ECA”)), effective immediately.
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