C-Suite Moves: November update
Here are the major C-suite changes that occurred in November, in the order they were announced. (All changes have already taken effect unless otherwise noted.)
•Michael Balmuth will step down as executive chairman of the board of Ross Stores Inc. on Jan. 31, 2026, at which time he will also retire from the board. K. Gunnar Bjorklund, current board member and lead independent director, will succeed Balmuth as board chairman, effective Feb. 1.
•Kohl’s Corp. appointed Michael J. Bender as CEO. Bender, 64, has served as Kohl’s interim chief executive since May 1, 2025. He was appointed to the role following the termination of Ashley Buchanan “for cause,” after an investigation found that Buchanan violated company policies “by directing Kohl’s to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.”
•André Maestrini was named president and chief commercial officer at Lululemon. In the newly-created role, Maestrini will oversee all of the company’s regions, stores, and digital channels globally, as well as the brand’s global commercial strategy with a focus on “continued market expansion, revenue generation, and accelerating best practice sharing.”
•Tailored Brands, parent company, Men's Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores and K&G Fashion Superstore, said that Mike Baughn will join the company as executive VP and CFO. Additionally, Karla Gray has been promoted to executive VP and chief operating officer.
•Women’s apparel retailer J.Jill named Viv Rettke as its first chief growth officer. She most recently served as chief strategy and transformation officer at Cole Haan.
•Dollar General promoted company veteran chief merchandising officer Emily Taylor to COO. The discounter also announced the promotion of Bryan Wheeler to executive VP and chief merchandising officer,
•In a move that caught the industry by surprise, Walmart Inc. CEO Doug McMillon, 59, will retire on Jan. 31. He will be succeeded by John Furner, 51, CEO on Feb. 1, who has also been elected to the company’s board, effective immediately. McMillon, who is credited with turning Walmart into a tech-driven retail powerhouse, has served as president and CEO of the company since February 2014.
•Convenience and fuel chain TravelCenters of America, part of the BP portfolio, named Jason Nordin as CEO. Most recently, he served as the president of Family Dollar, and was previously chief of stores at Dollar Tree before that.
•Asian-inspired restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s named Jim Mazany as CEO. Most recently, Mazany served as chairman and CEO of restaurant chains Rosa Mexicano, Yardbird and Shell Shack.
•Reza Taleghani will join Under Armour as executive VP and CFO in February 2026. He joins from from luggage and accessories company Samsonite Group S.A., where he has served as executive VP and CFO since 2018. Taleghani will succeed David Bergman, a 21-year Under Armour veteran, who will step down as CFO and remain with the company through the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
•Bath & Body Works tapped Maly Bernstein as chief commercial officer and Samantha Charleston as chief human resources officer. Bernstein was previously CEO at Macy's Inc.-owned Bluemercury, leaving in May after four years at the helm. Charleston joins Bath & Body Works from Americold, where she served as chief human resources officer.
