CorpDigest
Kohl's Corporation
Leadership History
7 leaders · Full leadership timeline
Last reviewed: 2025-07-15 · By Swet Parvadiya
Kohl's generated $15.46 billion in total revenue in fiscal year 2025, but the number that tells the actual story is $1.839 billion — that is the company's entire market capitalization, equivalent to about 12 cents of market value for every dollar of annual revenue. A business doing $15 billion in sales trading at a fraction of that revenue is not a growth company. It is a company the market has decided is shrinking, structurally challenged, and unlikely to reverse course. Maxwell Kohl, a Polish immigrant, opened his first grocery store in Milwaukee in 1927. The department store format launched in Brookfield, Wisconsin in 1962. The company went public and spent the 1980s and 1990s expanding across suburban America, reaching a peak of significant financial strength around 2019 before digital commerce and shifting consumer patterns began compressing sales. By 2025, the 1,175-store network across 49 states was generating $15.46 billion against a market cap that suggested investors have given up on a recovery. CEO Michael Bender, leading 87,000 employees, is working a specific turnaround thesis: Sephora shop-in-shop installations, which now operate in hundreds of Kohl's locations, are intended to attract younger and higher-income shoppers who previously had no reason to walk into a Kohl's store. The credit card program, which generates high-margin revenue through finance charges and late fees on the Kohl's charge account, remains one of the most underappreciated assets in the business — charge customers drive disproportionate revenue even as their comparable sales ran negative in Q4 2025. The digital channel accounts for 29% of sales. The suburban real estate footprint, which was once a liability during the retail apocalypse narrative of the 2010s, has become a partial asset as the stores now accept Amazon returns — a traffic-driving partnership that brings non-Kohl's shoppers physically through the door.
Founder
Maxwell Kohl founded Kohl's in 1962, applying supermarket efficiencies to department store retail. He created a formula that offered lower prices than high-end stores with higher quality than discounters. By 1972, the enterprise included 56 supermarkets, 6 department stores, 3 drug stores, and 3 liquor stores. He sold a controlling interest to British American Tobacco in 1972 and retired.
President
Herbert Kohl, Maxwell's son, served as the last family member to lead Kohl's Department Stores. He resigned as president when BATUS Inc. acquired full ownership in 1979. He later became a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1989-2013) and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks (1985-2014).
CEO
William Kellogg led the management buyout of Kohl's from British American Tobacco in 1986 for approximately $300 million. He oversaw the company's national expansion, the 1988 Main Street acquisition, and the 1992 IPO. Under his leadership, Kohl's grew from 40 stores to a national chain.
CEO
Michelle Gass served as CEO from 2018 to November 2022. She launched the Amazon returns partnership nationwide in 2019 and the Sephora partnership in 2020. However, she de-emphasized proprietary brands in favor of national brands, which alienated the core customer. She departed to become president of Levi Strauss. Revenue declined during her tenure, and activist investors pressured the board for changes.
CEO
Tom Kingsbury, former CEO of Burlington Stores (2008-2019), took over as interim CEO in December 2022 and was named permanent CEO in February 2023. He reversed course on proprietary brands, bringing back Sonoma Goods for Life, Apt. 9, and coupons. He expanded the Sephora rollout to over 1,100 stores and launched the Babies 'R' Us partnership. Store comparable sales were flat in 2023, the best performance since 2010. He departed in early 2025.
CEO
Ashley Buchanan, former CEO of Michaels, became Kohl's CEO on January 15, 2025. He was fired for cause on May 1, 2025, after an investigation found he directed the company to engage in vendor transactions involving undisclosed conflicts of interest with a former romantic partner. His tenure lasted less than five months.
CEO
Michael Bender became interim CEO in May 2025 and permanent CEO in November 2025. He has over 30 years of retail experience, including as CEO of Eyemart Express and COO of Global eCommerce at Walmart. He has been a Kohl's board member since July 2019. His mandate is to stabilize sales, reduce debt, and restore investor confidence after years of leadership churn.
The model's vulnerability is its dependence on middle-income consumers who are increasingly price-sensitive and shifting spending to discount retailers, off-price chains, and e-commerce. The third challenge is the credit card program, which generates high-margin revenue but is sensitive to macroeconomic conditions. Credit revenue declined 10% in FY2025, and the company warned that 'further deterioration in macroeconomic conditions, including persistent inflation or rising unemployment, could increase credit losses and write-offs.' Consumer preference is also shifting toward 'buy now, pay later' and digital payment methods, threatening the loyalty and higher-margin transactions associated with the Kohl's credit card.
Michelle Gass ran Kohl's from 2018 until November 2022 and launched two signature initiatives: the nationwide Amazon returns program in 2019 and the Sephora partnership in 2020. Her shift away from proprietary brands toward national brands alienated core charge customers as revenue slid. She departed to become president, and later CEO, of Levi Strauss.
Former Burlington Stores chief Tom Kingsbury became interim CEO in December 2022 and permanent CEO in February 2023. He reversed the national-brand pivot by reviving proprietary labels like Sonoma Goods for Life and Apt. 9, reintroducing coupons, and expanding Sephora past 1,100 stores. Comparable sales were roughly flat in 2023, Kohl's best performance since 2010, before he departed in early 2025.
Ashley Buchanan, formerly CEO of Michaels, started as Kohl's CEO on January 15, 2025 and was fired for cause on May 1, 2025, a tenure under five months. An outside-counsel investigation found he directed business to a vendor tied to a personal relationship on unusually favorable terms and failed to disclose the conflict. He was required to repay a pro-rated share of his $2.5 million signing bonus.
Michael Bender became interim CEO in May 2025 and permanent CEO in November 2025, the fourth chief executive in four years. He brings over 30 years of retail experience, including roles as CEO of Eyemart Express and COO of Global eCommerce at Walmart, and had served on Kohl's board since July 2019. His mandate is to stabilize sales and reduce the company's debt.
William Kellogg led the 1986 management buyout and served as CEO through 1999, growing Kohl's from 40 Midwest stores toward a national chain. Under him the company completed the 1988 Main Street acquisition and the 1992 IPO that valued Kohl's at roughly $600 million. His tenure established the freestanding suburban format that defined the brand for decades.