Chuck Conaway Resigns from Kmart

Kmart ceo Charles Conaway resigned his position with the bankrupt Troy, Mich.-based discount mass merchandiser this morning. He was replaced by James Adamson, the outside Kmart board member who had replaced Conaway as chairman of the board in January.

Conaway said he had been contemplating the departure “for some time.”

Conaway, former president and coo of the CVS drugstore chain, signed a five-year contract with Kmart in May 2000, replacing Floyd Hall. As part of his compensation package, Kmart is to forgive a $5 million loan it made to Conaway last year, according to bankruptcy court filings. The agreement also called for him to receive $6.5 million on July 31, 2003, or sooner if he was fired.

The move was one in a series of management shake-ups that occurred this morning. Kmart also named Julian C. Day, former executive vp and coo of Sears, Roebuck & Co., as president and coo. And cfo John McDonald will be replaced by Albert Koch, chairman of the restructuring firm Jay Alix & Associates. Another Jay Alix executive, Ted Stenger, has been named treasurer of Kmart.