Strategy

Kimberly-Clark North America has named Grant LaMontagne as president of customer development. In his new role, LaMontagne will lead all sales and customer development activities for the company’s operations in North America and will report to KCNA group president Michael Hsu.

LaMontagne joins KCNA from Clorox, where he was most recently SVP and GM for Clorox Professional Products business, which includes the health care, janitorial/sanitary and institutional foods channels.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Company has named Ed Record as CFO, effective March 24. He will also serve as executive VP. Record, 45, comes to Penney from regional department store chain Stage Stores, where he most recently served as COO and, before that, as CFO.

Record will succeed Ken Hannah, who was hired in May 2012 under former CEO Ron Johnson.

While we’re only just getting started on 2014, already one of the big retail stories is store closings. While the economy is far from robust, we aren’t in a recession either, and so at first these closings might seem a little surprising. I don’t see it that way, however: The recent spate of planned store closing for 2014 is exactly what we should expect from an industry in transition. It’s not a crisis, so much as it is a realignment.

MasterCard has teamed up with Points International so it can offer cardholders enhanced rewards that give them more ways to redeem, exchange and trade their rewards points.

The flexible rewards management and monetization options are expected to drive engagement and value to rewards programs offered by issuing banks participating in the MasterCard Rewards Platform.

San Francisco -- Wine.com, announced the addition of Peter Elarde as chief marketing officer and Greg Tatem as VP, engineering to the Wine.com executive team.
   
"We're on a roll. Wine.com is profitable, growing, hiring and innovating," said Rich Bergsund, CEO. "Peter and Greg are bringing new energy and talent to our management team, and will be instrumental as we continue building Wine.com into a great company, great brand, and an exciting place to work."

Amazon has never been shy about tooting its own horn and the most recent example involves the company’s content engine known as Amazon Studios.

Since launching in November 2010, aspiring screenplay writers have submitted more than 20,000 movie scripts and 6,000 series projects. Amazon recently debuted a second batch of original series and one week later the company is heralding positive feedback from reviewers and customers.

La Jolla, Calif. — Ramsey Real Estate Group has announced the commencement of a $600,000 renovation to Decatur Inn Plaza in Las Vegas. The renovation will include new storefronts, design elements, exterior finishes, building systems, landscaping and parking lot work. Vacant suites will receive vanilla shell treatments. Structural elements will be repaired and replaced. The renovations will also include rebuilding the property’s monument sign. Existing businesses will remain open during the renovation.

Health and beauty pioneer Horst Rechelbacher died at his home in Osceola, Wis., at the age of 72 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.