C-SUITE

The food safety crisis that took the wind out of the sails of formerly high-flying Chipotle Mexican Grill has finally taken a toll on the chain’s executive suite.   The chain announced that Monty Moran has stepped down as co-CEO and from his board seat, effective immediately. Chipotle founder Steve Ells, currently co-CEO, will be the sole chief executive. He will also remain chairman.   

Lululemon athletica inc. has promoted Celeste Burgoyne to executive VP, retail, Americas, effective immediately.    Burgoyne has been with lululemon since 2006 and most recently served as senior VP, retail, North America where she was responsible for overseeing all Canadian and U.S. retail. She started her career with Abercrombie & Fitch, where she held various positions during her ten years with the company, including most recently, senior director of stores.  

President-elect Donald Trump will name Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, as labor secretary, according to several media reports.   Puzder, whose company operates the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger retail chains, has argued against raising the minimum wage to more than $9 per hour. He also has been an advocate of cutting back or eliminating regulations he claims have been a detriment to the restaurant industry and has been critical of the Affordable Care Act.  

Todd Sprinkle has been appointed CIO at QVC.   Sprinkle, who served as the company’s VP, IT strategy, planning and effectiveness, will now oversee QVC's global IT organization spanning the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan, Italy, France and China, and at QVC's global business service operation in Poland.     Under his leadership, QVC’s IT team will continue delivering a seamless and engaging multi-platform experience for customers and team members, globally.   

The Kroger Co. has tapped a tech veteran as its next chief digital officer.   The supermarket giant announced that 15-year-veteran Kevin Dougherty, 63, group VP and chief digital officer, will retire on Jan. 27, 2017. He will be succeeded by Yael Cosset, 43, chief commercial officer and chief information officer of 84.51.     

Gordmans Stores named Ramin Mozafari as senior VP of planning and allocation.   Mozafari joins Gordmans from Kohl's Department Stores, where he most recently was senior VP, divisional merchandise manager for accessories. Prior to Kohl's, from 2008 to 2012, he served DSW, where he held various merchandising roles including VP, general merchandise manager.  

Beleaguered Sears has lost two of its top executives.   Jeffrey Balagna, Sears' executive VP, and Joelle Maher, Sears president and chief member officer both left the company within the past week, reported Business Insider.    Sears, which will report its third quarter earnings on Thursday, did not announce or explain the departures,  

Family-owned and operated Meijer is getting a new CEO — and for the first time in the retailer’s 82-year history, it’s not a family member.   Effective January 1, 2017, Rick Keyes, president of Meijer, will add the title of CEO. He will replace Hank Meijer, who is stepping down as chief executive and will serve as executive chairman of the board.  

CNBC nabbed the first interview with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and COO Kevin Johnson since Schultz announced he would step down in April, and be succeeded by Johnson.   

With plans to expand to some 600 stores, At Home Group Inc. has appointed a chief operating officer and expanded its board with a Gap Inc. veteran.    The retailer, which currently operates 123 stores, said it promoted chief stores officer Peter Corsa to COO. Corsa, who joined the company in 2013, will continue to be responsible for store operations, loss prevention, distribution and logistics in addition to assuming oversight of inventory planning and allocation.