Who Is Ashley Buchanan? CEO, Power, And A Romance That Cost Him His Job

Ashley Buchanan is the recently hired and fired Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kohl, the retail chain. He was fired by the firm as an investigation illustrated that he had cut a "highly unusual" business deal with a woman who had been his romantic partner.

The Ashley Buchanan Story

As per a report by Wall Street Journal, Ashley Buchanan directed Kohl's to "engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest".

The retail chain Kohl had hired him to lead the department store chain in November 2024.

Buchanan was allegedly in a relationship with Chandra Holt, who was his former colleague at Walmart.

The vendor (Holt) signed a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement with Kohl's with unusually favourable terms. Kohl's audit committee oversaw an investigation wherein it was found that Buchanan had not disclosed the inappropriate vendor relationships.

The report added that Buchanan and Holt had both risen through the ranks at Walmart before leaving the organization at the same time for senior positions with other retailers.

In this process, not only has Buchanan lost his CEO job, but he will also have to forfeit all equity awards from the company and he will be required to reimburse Kohl's on a pro-rated basis for a signing award of $2.5 million, securities filings said.

Additionally, the board member of the retailer, Michael Bender has been appointed as the interim CEO effective immediately.

"This is not a moment we expected nor the outcome we wanted for the company and our associates, but it is the right decision for us," Bender said.

Who Is Chandra Holt?

Forty-four year-old Chandra Holt is a retail veteran and has held many leadership positions at Walmart, Conn's, and Bed Bath & Beyond. She has a career that spans ecommerce innovation as well as merchandising strategy. She has an MBA from the University of Minnesota and is currently working as a consultant and founder of Incredibrew, which is a coffee brand.

While responding to the allegations, Holt told the Wall Street Journal, "I've known Ashley Buchanan for 10 years, but I have not received any compensation for my Incredibrew business from Kohl's."

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