J.C. Penney on Wednesday said it has filled more positions in its executive ranks to help tackle its ongoing turnaround efforts.
Steve Whaley becomes senior vice president, principal accounting officer and controller. Whaley will report to Bill Wafford, who was hired in March to be Penney's chief financial officer.
Whaley joins Plano, Texas-based Penney from Walmart, where he worked for 11 years. Before that, he was at Dallas-based Southwest Airlines for 16 years. He will be over Penney's finance and support operations in Salt Lake City and Bangalore, India.
Laurene Gandolfo takes over as senior vice president for home product design and development. More than 20 years of her career was specifically in the home business at both Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
Trish Adams comes to Penney after retiring recently from Target to be a strategic adviser and work with the company's chief transformation officer Truett Horne, who was hired in January.
Adams will evaluate and create plans to simplify and improve the effectiveness and profitability of Penney's pricing and promotion strategies, the company said. Adams' 34-year career at Target included leadership roles as the discounter was first creating partnerships with high-profile designers to create lower price collections.
One important C-suite job remains open. The Plano-based retailer is searching for a chief customer officer, which oversees marketing. The marketing top job can be a hot seat as good merchandise still needs to be backed up with messaging.
Penney CEO Jill Soltau has made several hires and promotions since Penney recruited her away from JoAnn Stores in October.
"Over the past few months, we have assembled a talented team of proven executives with a relentless drive for results," Soltau said in a statement. "Their leadership will play a meaningful role in delivering profitable growth and positioning J.C. Penney for success."
