JCPenney appoints three senior executives to drive 'profitable growth'

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. has announced the appointment of three senior executives, who the company said, will play an instrumental role in JCPenney's pursuit of operational excellence and sustainable profitable growth. Effective March 1, the company added, Michelle Wlazlo will join as Executive Vice President, Chief Merchant, reporting to Jill Soltau, CEO of JCPenney. Additionally, John Welling has joined the company as Senior Vice President, planning & allocation, reporting to Therace Risch, Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer and Mark Stinde will join on March 4 as Senior Vice President, asset protection, reporting to Mike Robbins, Executive Vice President, Chief stores and supply chain officer.

"I'm delighted to announce that these three highly accomplished and esteemed retail experts are joining our organization. Each of these executives will play a meaningful role in our company's evolution as we work to build our operational capabilities," said Soltau in a statement.

JCPenney appoints three senior executives

Wlazlo brings 30 years of merchandising and stores experience to JCPenney from a variety of apparel and accessory retailers. Most recently she served as senior vice president of apparel and accessories merchandising at Target Corporation. Prior to Target, Wlazlo spent 19 years at Gap, Inc. in a variety of roles, most recently as senior vice president GAP global merchandising across all brand divisions including women's, men's, kids, baby, body and fit. Over the course of nearly two decades, she held multiple merchandising roles of increasing responsibility for Gap, Gap Outlet and Old Navy. She began her career at Saks Fifth Avenue as a department manager before assuming store leadership and buying roles at Bebe Stores, Inc.

JCPenney added that among those reporting to Wlazlo include Jodie Johnson, senior vice president, general merchandise manager for women's apparel and interim general merchandise manager for home; Angela Swanner, senior vice president, general merchandise manager for center core, which includes salon and Sephora inside JCPenney; Jeff Useforge, senior vice president, general merchandise manager for men's and children's; and Val Harris, senior vice president, product design and development.

Welling brings over 25 years of experience in retail and consulting, most recently serving as senior vice president of merchandise operations for The Michaels Companies where he led planning, pricing, inventory management and merchandise finance. Prior to The Michaels Companies, he spent over a decade at Walmart serving in executive positions of increasing responsibility, and was a partner at Accenture for their North American retail practice.

Stinde has over 23 years experience in loss prevention and store operations, and is a leading retail expert in asset protection, safety and security. He has experience with leading national retailers. Stinde joins JCPenney from 7-Eleven where he most recently served as vice president of asset protection. He has held various leadership positions of increasing responsibility at Toys 'R' Us, The Home Depot, Sears, and Circuit City.

Picture credit:Michelle Wlazlo via JCPenney