JC Penney to welcome Jill Soltau as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a member of the board of directors, which will be effective from October 15, 2018. Soltau, a 30-year retail veteran who most recently served as the president and CEO of Joann Stores, one of the largest fabric and crafts retailers, after serving as president of Shopko Stores.
According to the company press release, Paul J Brown, JCPenney Board Director and Chairman of the search committee, said, “Jill stood out from the start among an incredibly strong slate of candidates and as we looked for the right person to lead this iconic Company, we wanted someone with rich apparel and merchandising experience and found Jill to be an ideal fit.”
He further added that not only she is an established CEO and former chief merchant, her depth of experience in product development, marketing, e-commerce, and store operations have been an important basis for the turnaround work she spearheaded at prior companies.
I am highly passionate about the customer and I spent my entire career focused on the needs of a value-based consumer by researching, understanding and meeting her expectations for style, quality, and inspiration.
Soltau expressed her feeling by saying that JCPenney is a quintessential American brand with a strong and loyal customer base, and I could not be prouder to lead such an iconic retailer.
“I am highly passionate about the customer and I spent my entire career focused on the needs of a value-based consumer by researching, understanding and meeting her expectations for style, quality, and inspiration. Every position I’ve held has prepared me for this role, and I couldn’t be more excited to meet the talented and hard-working JCPenney teams and get to work,” she added.
Quoting Ronald W Tysoe, Chairman of the board, the release said, “I am delighted to welcome Jill to the JCPenney family. She is a strategic, customer-focused leader with a demonstrated track record of enhancing profitability and delivering results. Jill has the talent and passion to revitalize the business and position the company for growth.”
