J. C. Penney Company Inc. on Tuesday announced that Brooke Buchanan, a seasoned communications executive with over 15 years of communications expertise, will join the company on October 28 as senior vice president, communications, reporting to CEO Jill Soltau.
“Brooke is a highly accomplished communications leader who has created and implemented external and internal communications strategies for several renowned retail and consumable product organizations,” said Soltau. “Her experience across communications, government affairs and investor relations will be instrumental as we continue to focus on deeply understanding our customers, meeting and exceeding their expectations and restoring profitable growth to JCPenney.”
Most recently, Buchanan served as senior vice president of corporate affairs at Whole Foods Market, where she led the company through both the 2017 merger with Amazon and the transition that followed. She also served as vice president of communications for Theranos, vice president of public relations for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and held multiple communications senior leadership roles at Walmart Stores, Inc. Prior to her corporate experience, she spent over a decade in roles of increasing responsibility in political and government communications, including national press secretary for the John McCain 2008 Presidential Campaign. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The company is also pleased to welcome Robin Beuthin as vice president, creative marketing reporting to Shawn Gensch, executive vice president, chief customer officer. She will be responsible for designing, managing and bringing the company’s brand storytelling to life through creative vision, voice and content. Beuthin is an innovative and seasoned creative leader across both traditional and digital channels, with over two decades of experience at top entertainment studios and retail organizations.
Beuthin joins JCPenney from The Walt Disney Company where she most recently served as vice president of retail brand and creative. In that role, she was responsible for managing the brand and creative vision across stores, e-commerce and third-party retail, including its Walmart, Target and Amazon partnerships. Prior to Disney, she was executive director, creative at Sony Pictures Entertainment and director of character art at Saban Entertainment. Beuthin received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts.
