J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) lost another executive. Kristin Blum, senior vice president and chief technology officer (CTO) of the beleaguered department store chain stepped down from her position according to Citi analyst, Deborah Weinswig in a note to investors.
J.C. Penney’s SVP Resignation:
Last month, Eric Hunter resigned as senior vice president for marketing at J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Sergio Zyman reduced his involvement as marketing consultant after clashing with CEO Mike Ullman. He hired an executive and colleague, Jeff Herbert to work on his behalf at J.C. Penney’s marketing department.
Maria Halkias of Dallas News cited that Scott Laverty, senior vice president of business solutions at J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) will temporarily assume the responsibilities left by Blum while the company is searching for a permanent CTO.
In her note to investors, Weinswig said that J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) failed to improve its web traffic. The department store chain’s web traffic in April was flat compared with its performance in the same period last year, and its online sales dropped by 30 percent.
At present, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) is in the midst of transforming its IT business. Weinswig said that the department store chain hired Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) to handle almost every aspect of its digital business and it would take three years to implement all the changes. The Citi analyst described J.C. Penney’s IT business overhaul as a “heart transplant” for the company.
“While CEO Mike Ullman continues to put the old band back together again, we would be encouraged to see him consider external Silicon Valley talent to quickly fill the position and invigorate the Internet business,” said Weinswig.
Prior to joining J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) in January last year, Blum served as CIO of the enterprise transformation unit at PepsiCo, Inc (NYSE:PEP). She previously worked with ousted CEO Ron Johnson and former COO Michael Kramer at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
More Departures At J.C. Penney
Three other marketing executives left J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Lisa DeStefano-Orebaugh departed in March and joined as vice president for marketing at The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE:HD), Michael Francis and Greg Clark resigned in June and October last year, respectively.
