Labor & Employment

New York -- Consumers are feeling bullish, buoyed by low gas prices and an improving job market. The University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for January rose to an 11-year high of 98.2, from a final reading of 93.6 for December.

New York -- Apparel manufacturer and retailer Kellwood has named Joseph Lombardi, the former CFO of Barnes & Noble, as CEO.

Lombardi joined Kellwood as CFO in 2013, and has three decades of retail experience across a variety of sectors, including apparel.

Bethesda, Md. -- Washington Prime Group Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of Glimcher Realty Trust, created a new company WP Glimcher, based in Columbus, Ohio.

Mark S. Ordan will serve as executive chairman of the combined company’s board of directors and Michael P. Glimcher will serve as the combined company’s CEO and Vice Chairman, reporting to Ordan.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Josh Beyer, P.E., has been promoted to senior VP of Development at The Sembler Company, overseeing all shopping center development in Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the southeastern U.S.

Beyer has been with the company for 12 years and, in that time, has been involved with more than 1.5 million sq. ft. of development, including Colony Plaza (The Villages, Florida), Park Street Retail Center (St. Petersburg, Florida) and Cross Creek Village (St. Cloud, Florida).

Atlanta – The Home Depot Inc. has named CEO and president Craig Menear as chairman, effective Feb. 2. He will succeed Frank Blake, who will retire as chairman.
 

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – AutoNation Inc. has named Mike Jackson, chairman and CEO, to the additional role of president, effective Feb. 4, and signed a five-year employment contract extension through 2019. Jackson has been the CEO of AutoNation since 1999 and the chairman since 2002.  

Deerfield, Ill. - Thomas Sabatino Jr., executive VP, global chief legal and administrative officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance, will be leaving the company to join Hertz Global Holdings effective Feb.9. Sabatino will join Hertz Global Holdings as senior executive VP, chief administrative officer and general counsel.

Sabatino will remain in his current role with Walgreens Boots Alliance through the end of January to ensure a smooth transition of his current responsibilities. The company expects to announce his successor at that time.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – In a move that was somewhat expected, The Wet Seal Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move comes a week after the struggling teen retailer said it was closing 338 of its stores, leaving it with approximately 173 stores nationwide.

“After careful consideration, the Board of Directors unanimously concluded that filing for Chapter 11 was the appropriate course of action for the Company,” said CEO Ed Thomas.

Home Depot’s CEO Craig Menear will take over as chairman of the board when Frank Blake retires Feb. 2.

Menear, formerly head of Home Depot’s retail operations, was named Blake’s successor as CEO in August, and the company said at the time that Blake would remain as chairman. Menear took over the CEO role at the beginning of November.