Labor & Employment

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties announced that Farzana Mitchell has succeeded John Foy as CFO.  

Foy will remain in the near term as executive vice chairman to provide continuity through the transition.  

In addition, the CBL board announced that Katie Reinsmidt has been promoted to the new position of senior VP – investor relations and corporate investments.

Los Angeles -- The Westfield Group announced that David T. Weinert will join the U.S. unit of the group as senior executive VP leasing.

Weinert joins Westfield after 25 years with the Taubman Co., most recently serving as senior VP of leasing.

Stockholm, Sweden -- Ikea said Monday that its CEO Mikael Ohlsson will step down effective Sept. 1, 2013, and will be succeeded by Peter Agnefjall, current country manager of Ikea Sweden.

To prepare Agnefjall for his new role, Ikea said that he will serve as VP of the company beginning in 2013 until his September transition.

Chicago -- A study released on Tuesday by BDO USA found that retailers are generally confident that year-end sales will top last year’s. According to the sixth-annual BDO Retail Compass Survey of CFOs, which examined the opinions of 100 leading retail CFOs nationwide, retailers are expecting a 4.5% increase in total 2012 sales.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. said Tuesday it plans to hire more than 52,700 associates this holiday season, about a 10% increase over last year’s holiday hiring numbers.

Kohl’s said it anticipates hiring an average of 41 associates per store, a 4% increase over 2011, as well as 5,700 seasonal DC positions and more than 30 seasonal credit operations positions.

Hiring began this month, and most jobs will be filled by mid-November, said the retailer.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens announced Tuesday several senior-management shifts intended to capitalize on its new partnership with Swiss drugstore chain Alliance Boots.

CFO Wade Miquelon is assuming an expanded and global leadership role at Walgreens as executive VP/CFO and president, international, leading a newly named Value Creation Services and International Division.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has appointed Thomas Moriarty as EVP and general counsel of CVS Caremark.

Moriarty most recently served as general counsel at the Celgene, a biopharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for global legal strategy and served on the company's management committee. Prior to that, Moriarty was general counsel and corporate secretary at Medco Health Solutions.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Despite its interest in making a New York City debut in a new Brooklyn neighborhood shopping center, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday it was unable to agree to economic terms for a new store. Instead, developer Related Cos. struck a deal with ShopRite to open a new grocery store at the 630,000-sq.-ft. Gateway II shopping center planned for Brooklyn.

Foothill Ranch, Colo. -- The Clinton Group Inc., a 7% shareholder in Wet Seal, made a formal request on Monday to replace most of the retailer’s current board of directors.

Delray Beach, Fla. -- Starboard Value disclosed on Monday that it has taken a 13.3% stake in Office Depot. According to a report by Reuters, the activist hedge fund now becomes the office supply retailer’s biggest shareholder.

In a letter to Office Depot CEO Neil Austrian, Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith called for lowering expenses to improve performance.