About Penney’s CEO in waiting

New York --J.C. Penney made history on Monday with its announcement that industry veteran Marvin Ellison will take the reins of the company from current CEO Mike Ullman in August 2015 (he joins the board and takes over as president on Nov.1). Ellison, 49, executive VP of U.S. stores at Home Depot, will be the first African-American CEO in Penney’s storied 112-year history, as well as the first black executive to lead a national department store chain.Initial analyst reaction was favorable.



“JCP's announcement of a new CEO hire this morning is a bright spot for the company,” said Chuck Grom, analyst, Sterne Agee. “To this end, while Mike Ullman has done a respectable job stabilizing JCP, it's become readily apparent that a new vision is necessary to transform the company and fix its largest problem--deteriorating traffic. Importantly, our checks have good things to say about Marvin Ellison, whose background should help the in-store experience at Penney."



It is somewhat unusual for management transition period to last nearly a year. But veteran retail analyst Walter Loeb said the time is needed.



"I think (Ellison) is an excellent leader...but he needs time to learn the fashion business," Loeb said in an Associated Press report.

Ellison has spent the last 12 years at Home Depot. As executive VP of U.S. stores for the retailer, a position he was appointed to in August 2008, he was the senior-most operations leader for Home Depot’s approximately 2,000 stores.

Prior to that, Ellison was president of the chain’s Northern Division. Previously, he was senior VP of global logistics, with oversight of all domestic distribution, transportation, store and appliance delivery, import distribution and international logistics throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, China and more than 35 other countries.

Before joining Home Depot, Ellison spent 15 years with Target in a variety of operational roles, including corporate director of asset protection.