Kohl’s fires new CEO Ashley Buchanan after probe finds he violated conflict of interest policies

Kohl’s canned its chief executive — hired just four months ago — after an investigation showed that he violated the retailer’s conflict of interest policies, the company said on Thursday.

Ashley Buchanan directed Kohl’s to “engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest,” the company said.

Kohl’s audit committee oversaw an investigation led by an outside law firm which found that Buchanan had not disclosed the vendor relationships that were deemed inappropriate and for which he was fired for cause.

Ashley Buchanan was fired as CEO after just four months at the helm of Kohl’s. Kohlâs

Kohl’s named board member Michael Bender as Interim CEO effective immediately.

Bender has served as a Director since July 2019 and was appointed Board Chair in May 2024.

Kohl’s shares are up by nearly 6% to $7.09 on the news.

Buchanan directed the company to do business with a vendor founded by an individual who he had ties to, according to a Thursday securities filing.

The vendor signed a multimillion dollar consulting agreement with Kohl’s with unusually favorable terms, according to the filing.

Buchanan will forfeit all equity awards he received from the company and be required to reimburse Kohl’s on a pro-rated basis a signing award worth $2.5 million, according to the filing.

Kohl’s has had a revolving door of CEOs over the past several years. Getty Images

Kohl’s said that Buchanan’s termination had no bearing on the company’s financial performance as the company released preliminary financial results for the first quarter showing that comparable sales will be down by between 4% to 4.3%.

The budget department store based in Menomonee, Wis. has had three CEOs over the past three years as it struggles to stanch declining sales.

Buchanan’s appointment followed Tom Kingsubury who lasted less than two years on the job and succeeded Michelle Gass, who left Kohl’s for Levi’s.