Kohl's Fires CEO Over Undisclosed Vendor Conflict

Kohl's fired CEO Ashley Buchanan less than four months after his appointment, following an outside investigation by the board's audit committee that found he arranged multimillion-dollar deals with a vendor founded by a person with whom he had an undisclosed personal relationship. The investigation determined the deals were on unusually favorable terms for the vendor and violated company policy and its code of ethics. Buchanan will forfeit all equity awards and must reimburse a $2.5 million signing bonus. The board emphasized that his termination was unrelated to Kohl's financial performance or other employees, though it comes as the company faces ongoing sales declines and recent store closures. Michael Bender, board chair and former CEO of Eyemart Express, was named interim CEO as the board searches for a permanent replacement. This marks the third CEO change for Kohl's in three years, underscoring persistent instability at the retailer.