JCPenney CEO Departs for Lowe’s

JCPenney Co. (Plano, Texas) has announced that its CEO and Chair Marvin Ellis has resigned from his position to return to home improvement retail with Lowe’s (Mooresville, N.C.). Ellis has been CEO of JCPenney since he joined the company in 2014. Prior to leading the department store company, he served as head of U.S. stores for The Home Depot (Atlanta).

Ellis will retain his role as director and CEO until June 1, and after that, JCPenney’s Lead Independent Director, Ronald Tysoe, will replace him. Since the news broke, Tysoe has publicly lauded Ellis for retiring the company’s $1.4 billion in debt and renewing its revolving credit facility. Upon public announcement of Ellis’ departure, the retailer’s shares dropped more than 6 percent in pre-market trading.

Tysoe has had a long career in retail. According to Women’s Wear Daily, he was Vice Chair of Finance and Real Estate at Cincinnati-based Macy’s Inc. (formerly Federated Department Stores Inc.) from 1990 to 2006, was CFO of Federated from 1990 to 1997 and joined the JCPenney board in 2013.