J. C. Penney Company, Inc. announced the appointment of several accomplished senior executives to their team of retail experts. Among those joining the organization is Steve Whaley who has been named senior vice president, principal accounting officer and controller, reporting to Bill Wafford, executive vice president, chief financial officer, effective April 29.
Whaley joins JCPenney with over 35 years of accounting and audit leadership experience. He will lead the company`s accounting operations and financial reporting functions, and will have oversight over the JCPenney finance and support services teams in Salt Lake City, UT, and Bangalore, India. He will work closely with leaders of the organization to develop and execute strategic financial decisions designed to meet near and long-term financial objectives.
Whaley was with Walmart for over 11 years where he served as the senior vice president and controller, principal accounting officer. While there, he developed the global controllership organization and function from both a talent and operational perspective, and was also responsible for financial reporting, SEC compliance, internal controls and SOX compliance. Prior to Walmart, he was with Southwest Airlines for over 16 years, ultimately serving as their vice president and controller. Whaley began his accounting career with KPMG.
The company is also pleased to welcome Laurene Gandolfo as senior vice president for home product design and development reporting to Michelle Wlazlo, executive vice president, chief merchant. Gandolfo is a seasoned leader with 35 years of varied retail experience, including over 21 years specializing in the home area at both Macy`s and Bloomingdale`s. In this newly created role, she will apply her significant home experience to re-establish relevance across the company`s home categories and focus and segment JCPenney brands including JCPenney Home(tm), Cooks(R) and Liz Claiborne(R).
Gandolfo joins JCPenney on April 22 from Macy`s, where she most recently served as executive vice president of men`s and kids` private brands. Prior to that, she was executive vice president of home private brands where she ran a portfolio of 13 exclusive brands for Macy`s and Bloomingdale`s, several of which she and her teams helped launch. Gandolfo began her career at Levi Strauss & Co. and also held merchandising and store line positions in ready-to-wear, men`s and intimate apparel.
Additionally, Trish Adams will serve as a strategic advisor to JCPenney, supporting the company`s transformation office led by Truett Horne, senior vice president, chief transformation officer. In this role, Adams will evaluate and create plans to simplify and improve the effectiveness and profitability of the company`s pricing and promotional strategies. Adams has had an extensive career at Target Corporation and previously served as their senior vice president of apparel and accessories where she played a leadership role on the team that was among the first to forge partnerships with high profile designers to create lower-priced collections exclusive to Target. Most recently, she was executive vice president, merchandising product group where she was responsible for overseeing Target`s product design and development, sourcing and visual merchandising initiatives. In addition, Adams served as executive vice president, apparel and home, where she led a team of merchants and product designers to develop and execute Target`s apparel and home strategy.
“I am delighted to welcome these highly regarded leaders to JCPenney. Each brings significant expertise in their respective fields, and a track record of innovation and delivering results for some of the world`s largest and most reputable companies. Together, we will continue to strengthen our operational capabilities, optimize our product selection, and create a compelling and rewarding shopping experience for our customers,” said Jill Soltau, chief executive officer for JCPenney. “Over the past few months we have assembled a talented team of proven executives with a relentless drive for results. Their leadership will play a meaningful role in delivering profitable growth and positioning JCPenney for success.”
